by Howard David Johnson

In the face of…

In the face of
personal defeats

in this life,
do not continue

to wander the
earth, mewling,

but plan for the
future with the

fire left over from
your battle and

look out over the
horizon with the

confidence that
you have survived.

Joanna Jeanine Schmidt has been published in literary magazines such as Slipstream Magazine #33, 34thParallel Magazine #44, and several of her poems will be published in the forthcoming April issue of FreeXpresSion Magazine (Australia).