For this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, Linda G. Hill has asked us to use the words “easy” and “hard.” I decided to brainstorm inside my head by contrasting things that are easy versus that are hard. This was also attempted to be a little poetic (no rhyming, though), because a reader, Rall, informed me that today is World Poetry Day.

There are some things are easy
and some things are hard

The pen gliding across a blank page
and the first word that refuses to arrive

The door that swings open with a gentle push
and the one that sticks, swollen in its frame

A name remembered without effort
and a face that won’t return no matter how hard you search

Morning light slipping easily through the blinds
and sleep that refuses to come at night

A laugh that rises without thinking
and forgiveness that drags its feet

The first step down a familiar path
and the courage to choose a different one

Rain falling freely from the sky
and a single honest word, held back

The simple act of breathing
and the work of truly living

A smile offered to a stranger
and the truth spoken to a friend

A path clearly marked through the woods
and the one that disappears at your feet

Music remembered after a single listen
and silence that stretches, unbroken

The glass that shatters with a drop
and trust that fractures without a sound

A quick apology, lightly given
and the slow repair of what it broke

The tide that comes and goes on time
and grief that keeps its own hours

A child’s question, simple and bright
and the answer that cannot be shaped

The sun setting without hesitation
and a goodbye that lingers too long

The match that sparks on the first strike
and the fire that refuses to catch

A joke that lands without effort
and meaning that slips between words

The map folded neatly in your hands
and the place you cannot seem to find

A promise made in a moment
and the lifetime it asks to be kept

The clock moving faithfully forward
and a single minute that doesn’t seem pass