Lighten Up

Alan Berecka

August 6, 2023

You don’t have to be Atlas 

to know this world is a heavy place.

If the meek be blessed, I ask

what of the belligerent, the alpha dogs 

who bite and claw, stepping on others

all the way to what they see as success,

unburdened by pangs of conscience?

By adding to the burden, piling on, 

they do nothing more than aid gravity’s

mindless force that crushes the life 

out of all of us a bit quicker 

than it would leave on its own.

No, I believe the real the trick, the only true 

human accomplishment, is to make the world

a lighter place. Start small, pat a slouching back, 

hand out a compliment, dry a tear, share a smile, 

or a laugh, create some art, lift a soul, 

if even it’s just your own, or better yet, 

let your work reach a friend or two, 

or go all out like the saints, open 

your heart wide, feed the hungry, 

cure the sick, visit the lonely, 

befriend justice and reap 

the blessings, listen

for the sigh

of Atlas.

Alan Berecka is the author of five books of poetry, the latest A Living is Not a Life: A Working Title (2021, Black Spruce Press) was a finalist in the Hoffer Awards. His poetry has appeared in such journals and websites as The Christian Century, The Concho River Review, The Texas Review, The Texas Poetry Assignment, and The Main Street Rag.  He recently participated in the Lithuanian Writers Union’s international spring poetry festival which took place in May 2022. This was the second time Berecka has been invited to read at festivals in the birthplace of two grandparents. He earned his living for many years as a librarian at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi. In January 2023, he finally lived long enough so he retired. He and his wife Alice reside in Sinton, Texas where they raised their now two adult children.