When Times Get Tough
By Sarah Liss
January 2025,
A bad dream
That you couldn’t wake from.
Los Angeles was on fire
My childhood home
On the brink of evacuation
Altadena, the first place where I could make home
Being destroyed
Right before our very eyes
Friends scared for their lives
Family avoidant of it all
Trump becoming president yet again.
Back with vengeance
Foaming at the mouth for chaotic corruption
All I could hear was Adrianne Lenker singing,
“This whole world is dying”.
Life is full of uncertainty
Especially in these times
We have chaos and corruption
Calling the shots up top
How can one be hopeful in these times?
How can we not be afraid for the future?
I’m in my 30s.
A time I hoped to fine tune
What I’ve been working through
To further establish
What I’ve been figuring out
To build a foundation
From what I’ve started
Nothing hits
Quite like bad timing
I don’t like talking about it
Not even really thinking about it
As I sit in the waiting room
We’re all wondering the same thing
What got the other one here?
Some in remission
Some in chemo
Some just finding out
And some just like me,
With genetic mutations.
No one talks to each other
There’s no need to
We’re all just waiting to be called in
My leg jitters
High on cortisol and caffeine
With the sound of daytime television
Blasting from above
Waiting is the worst
But soon enough I’ll be called in
Putting one foot in front of the other
In hopes of changing a predetermined fate.
The mural photographed is called, La Vida Es Un Sueno located in Barrio Logan, San Diego, CA.
Tummy time
Yours pressed against mine
I smell the top of you head
Between the ears
Right on your stripes
The sweet smell of cinnamon and earth
Your warmth
Your weight
Held tenderly
Within my arms
You make me feel at home
You are my home
You are everything
Sister
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
A light that beams through the door
Ready for anything
Bouncing from wall to wall
You keep us all sprung
Reminding us of play
Of silliness
And the true meaning of cattitude
A loyal lover
And fearless fighter
You gave me light
That I hadn’t felt since the passing of Chawney
And you continue to
As each day rises
In the garden
I feel whole
Grounded.
Hopeful for what’s to come
Hopeful for what’s being imagined. . .
About The Artist
Sarah Liss is a multimedia artist originally from Los Angeles, California and is currently based in San Diego, California. She is now in her second year of study at the California Institute of Integral Studies in hopes of becoming an Expressive Arts Therapist. Making art has always been a practice of self-care, sense-making, and self-expression. Her artwork focuses on the human condition particularly when it comes to mental health and trauma. These subjects are usually represented in an expressionist and surrealist fashion while using nature as a metaphor for the human experience. She hopes that her work can foster a sense of support and solace for those who need it.