Find a way to fill those empty bellies with nothing
but a lanyard and a pair
of slacks. With nothing but a bunch of busted
phone numbers and no home
address. Smother that
burnout with a scented candle
and a bubble bath. With a hotline scratched
on the back of a business card
and a breakroom poster: Six Easy Self-Care Tips
for Today’s Social Worker. Educator.
Activist. Six Easy Steps toward Mindfulness.
Six Easy Ways to Manage
Your Breath. Invest in your hobbies. Unplug
from the Internet. Get more
rest. Center yourself. Redirect negativity.
Focus on the positive. Relax.
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Abigail Carl-Klassen has been published in ZYZZYVA, Cimarron Review, Guernica, Aster(ix) and Post Road. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best New Poets 2015. She earned an MFA from the University of Texas El Paso’s Bilingual Creative Writing Program and taught at El Paso Community College and the University of Texas El Paso.
Photo by Ricardo Aguilera.
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