Hard Work

Posted on by Reena Saxena

Joy struggles to find a space
between tightly pursed lips
-sneering
clenched teeth
-threatening
a deep, dark pit
-beckoning

it slogs and slams to stretch the distance
between skepticism and acceptance
A cynic smiles
From left to right
And all directions throb with light

Quadrille #239

19 thoughts on “Hard Work”

  8. This piece is arresting in how physically it renders an inner state. Joy isn’t presented as light or ease, but as something embattled—caught between clenched teeth, sneers, and threats. The opening image immediately collapses emotional and bodily tension into one space, making joy feel almost illicit, as though it has to fight for permission to exist.

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