Now I Carry Matches – 4th July 2026

wearing kindness
               as a shield
for the fear of being forgotten

performing happiness
               to keep the peace
for an uninterested audience

~ one hand clapping ~

setting things on fire
               keeping warm
an unappreciated sacrifice

demanding more
               to stoke the embers
until the field is full of ashes

low maintenance
               (badge of honour)
boundaries not asserted

a tool on the shelf
               cherished for function
once broken, to be forgotten

no longer building a house
               just settling accounts
....

raising the price
               putting value in place
a privilege reset

silence as an answer
               is not absence
a space to be filled with love

bridges to the past
               of approval over need
               of popularity over peace
               of convenience over comfort
need the river set on fire. 

This poem is inspired by Bella Smith’s If You Think I’ve Changed, You’re Right and the title is taken directly from there.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Protect The Flame

Protect your own good in all that you do
For everything else take what is given
It’s a small flame burning inside of you
And it needs to right fuel to keep living