“Remedy for Sadness” by Barbara Arenburg

Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Remedy for Sadness” by Barbara Arenburg.


Remedy for Sadness

By Barbara Arenburg

Just then, in the silence, when everyone sleeps

and the hum of the air vent lulls you

and the blackness of night stares straight

Your legs like bricks

and you must have swallowed a stone

Your arms feel tied fast with rope.

Think of that time you went walking alone

right after you carried your heart on your sleeve,

the pine forest cushioned with needles

a scented path you cannot ignore.

You walk by the brook

bent over and throwing sticks

They drift downstream to someplace else

you dream of following


Copyright © Barbara Arenburg

Barbara Arenburg works for the Hamilton Public Library and is a Hamilton-based emerging poet and writer. She was mentored by Canadian poet Jaclyn Desforges through the Writer-in-Residence program at McMaster University. Barb’s work has been published in Tower Poetry, Canadian Running Magazine, and HPL.ca. She can be found on IG writing about books and snippets of life @books_and_blurbs.


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