Remove This Anchor (A Poem)

She sat at her kitchen table

Trying not to cry.

Her 3-year-old daughter would see her sad

And she didn’t want to try to explain why.

The pile of bills in front of her keeps growing.

Her credits cards are already at their max.

A single mom’s income doesn’t go very far nowadays.

Against her, the deck is stacked.

She feels she could do so much better

And give her daughter the life she deserves.

But, she’s already working two jobs

And yet every penny still needs to be conserved.

As her tears continued to well up

And her frustration filled the air

She put her head down on the table

Before putting her hands together in prayer.

“Lord, please remove this anchor.

The one that is pulling me down.

I can no longer keep my head above the water.

And I’m afraid I’m going to drown.

God, please remove this anchor.

The one that seems to be tied to every limb.

I don’t need to be able to fly.

I just need to be able to swim.”

He sat in his one-room economy apartment

Counting change in an old pickle jar.

He hoped he had enough quarters and pennies to make rent

So he keep a roof over his head for a few weeks more.

His 5-year sentence is behind him.

He paid his debts for the crime he did commit

But his youthful indiscretions still haunt him

With every job application he submits.

His record makes jobs hard to find.

And the ones he does get don’t pay squat.

All employers see is the words “convicted felon.”

None of them see the desperate man looking for another chance, another shot.

He pauses a moment to look at his hands,

Wondering how far they could have taken him if it weren’t for a one-time stray.

Then, clasping them together

He bowed his head and began to pray.

“Lord, please remove this anchor.

The one that is dragging me down.

I can no longer keep my head above water

And I’m afraid I’m going to drown.

God, please remove this anchor,

The one that seems to be tied to every limb.

I don’t need to fly.

I just need to be able to swim.”