Answers

There are always answers 

We don’t always receive them 

Sometimes we refuse to ask 

because we already know

and cannot bear the knowing 

Other times the answer stands before us 

plain, unblinking—

and we turn away 

The answer for now

is not the answer for tomorrow 

But today still demands its truth 

We cannot step into better tomorrows

while denying the ground beneath our feet 

Answers are not always light 

Sometimes they arrive 

as storm

as shadow 

as the ache 

before the healing 

Few answers are final 

Sorrow, pain, grief—

they are part of the truth we seek 

Deny them 

and we remain suspended

between what was

and what could be 

Answers are stepping stones 

Refusing one

does not erase it 

Accept it 

Build from it 

Only then

can the answer change 

And from the stones of tomorrow 

we may find a different question 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

August 30, 2026