Give and Take

by Elly Swartz

I think this garden is like my boxes. A place where memories last and specks of happiness live forever.

And wonder if there will ever be a time when good-byes don’t leave a gaping hole in my heart.

Did I put this in the universe when I wished for her to stay? Did I do this? Guilt crashes down on me.

Similes, metaphors, hyperboles, alliterations, puns, and personifications are all part of the poetic language. I want you and your partner to search songs, ads, newspapers, menus, the internet—anywhere in your regular life—to find examples.”

“Never talk from the place where anger lives.” That’s what she always says. “You have to give those feelings room to drift and drain.”

1. Never forget. 2. Don’t let go.

THE GREAT THING IN THIS WORLD IS NOT SO MUCH WHERE WE STAND, AS IN WHAT DIRECTION WE ARE MOVING. —OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES

Don’t forget what you love. Don’t forget who you love. Don’t forget anything. Ever.

I walk to the garbage in silence. The lid flips up like jaws opening wide. I count. There are five wrappers.

Instead, he tells me that he found an alliteration. “What about ‘Dunkin’ Donuts’? That’s like ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,’ just shorter. Right?”

metaphor from today’s sports page, “Rigley Smith was a beast on the basketball court in last night’s blowout game, scoring 48 points.”

But the truth is, Maggie, sometimes we do a wonderful thing just because we can. Because it’s the right thing to do. Not because

“Is believing in something really

enough?” “Sometimes it has to be. Sometimes believing in something is all we have.”