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Some Days I Just Don’t, But I Do
By Jane Tawel
April 11, 2026
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I guess it’s not fair
to say I don’t care
but somedays there are times
when I don’t.
Don’t wanna’ keep fighting
Don’t wanna’ keep hoping
Don’t want more nail-biting
Or dreaming or moping.
I’m barely now coping
So, forgive me for writing
this doggerel dressed up like a poem.
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I may be quite small —
just a gnat, or a flea
on the tail of the dog-eating-dog lives we lead.
But I think even small things should matter —
Don’t you?
I think children and tadpoles
And flowers and bees,
And fire-flies and moon-beams
And seashells and seeds —
All matter should matter — and all that’s beyond —
All life’s matter should matter to me.
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There are some times I should
just breathe deeply, just be.
But at junctures of fear, doubt, or faith,
there’s a Voice that will whisper,
there’s a choice to be made:
Should I speak up with courage?
Should I fight, quit, or flee?
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So, I live in the question —
in this Time, in this Place,
Will I be or not be
one who makes a small difference?
Will I trust even small acts of love
will deliver us?
Will I choose to be kind?
Will I show love and grace?
Will I seek truth and justice?
Will I leave a wee trace?
Will I follow the way
of the sages now past
and of Good people I know
who stand tall and speak out?
No — there is no foreseeing
what the future will hold;
But I choose to stoke embers
of hope in my soul
for the Life that is Freeing
for the Life that’s eternal
for the Earth, our maternal, dear home;
for humanity’s spark
for Light conquering the dark,
for Divinity’s Known and Unknown.
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Somedays I think maybe
I can’t make a difference.
Somedays I think maybe
There isn’t much hope.
But I’ll do the good do’s,
What I can — just my part —
And I won’t do the don’t’s and the do-nots.
And when fears try to stop me,
And doubt quells my heart,
And I struggle with why, how, or whether —
Then I’ll look for a friend
And I’ll look for a hand
and I’ll whisper: “let’s do it together”.
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© Jane Tawel, 2026
Jane Tawel 