From The Laundry Room Poem by Shalyn Stachmus

Sometimes I feel like
a broken spoke
on a wheel.
Stronger parts
surround me,
intact,
while I remain
broken, in fact.
So they roll
and roll,
moving,
turning,
moving,
churning,
getting somewhere,
choking,
then CRACK.
Going nowhere now.
They're choking
on me.
I've let down
the team.
Weakest link,
weakest link.
‘I can't even begin
to imagine why
it goes like this, ' I think.
And then I realize
that I can feel
human again.
You know me:
That I'm so lonely,
that the only
thing I know
is taking off
my head and
letting my soul go.
Too much thinking
causes sinking,
and leaves much too much
unknown.
Sometimes I feel like
a diamond.
Hard and clear.
Buried, unnoticed.
Hidden like a secret,
hidden in a code.
And I'm only visible
to those who care to know.
You can't even begin
to imagine why
this is how it goes.