Written by Sam “One-Wheel” O’Neil
In life there’s strife that cuts us deeply,
A knife that might dice our sleep into
Sleeplessness, little bits of lethargy punctuated by drifting off
A wandering mind that doesn’t notice, can’t see, won’t look past my own
Troubles. Lord knows today has enough of them.
I have places to see, people to be. Don’t ask me, please
To stop.
The ease with which I ease off the gas but slowly pass, with little more than passing glances,
Motorists, stranded. What can I do? My time is demanded
By others
Elsewhere
Always
I would if I could.
I know that I should…
But I don’t want to shoulder the boulder of burdens from others on top of my own
But perhaps I could if I would.
I want to do good, to help others, to shine brightly through the strife into life
But in the night, with stars alight, my striving mind questions:
Did I do all the good I could?
Is it ever enough?
I know on my own I can’t fix it all
I can’t undo the Fall.
All I can do is to fall on my face
Into grace
Not to save face, but to face the fact that all my acts of good
Could do no more than the little good that does me.
.
Sam O’Neil was born to write. His first books were stapled between sheets of construction paper by his mother, and he has never stopped producing stories. When not writing, he teaches 9th Grade English. In addition to Epistemic Literary, his work has appeared in SciFanSat, and he won their Bartleby B. Boar Award for best piece of the year in 2024. He lives in Texas with his wife and three sons.