Massachusetts poet Sheila Lynch-Benttinen’s “Equations” is a work of heavy content, juxtaposed with simple elegance and sparseness. “Equations” casts an unflinching look at the choices left as a life descends from its peak, and the beautiful decision to choose love above all else in the darkening confines of chronology.
Equations
I have choices
as I morph into my spirit body
——–I reminisce about
sweet love in my life
——–joy and transcendence
and heartache by the shards
——–I have decided
as much as I can direct
——–in the remaining ambles
I am going to try to live
——–on the love side of
———————–the equations
I have choices
Sheila Lynch-Benttinen
Sheila Lynch-Benttinen has had a varied career life. Overnight waitress, executive director, president of a board, nursery plants-person, photographer, poet, painter, avocational archaeologist, author, etc. She has been published in many poetry journals and plans to publish a book of her poems soon. She resides in Massachusetts with her family and has degrees from U.Mass Amherst and Harvard University. She has worked in Boston for many years in a variety of occupations. She finds inspiration and collegiality from the Duxbury Free Library Poetry Circle.