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2022 Issue  >  Poetry  >  Liminal Spaces

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Photo by Mikayla Faivre

Liminal Spaces

Cheryl Goeckermann

Like airports 

Liminal spaces are the “in-between” 

Neither here nor there 

Everyone on their way to somewhere else 

​

A necessary place 

Yet a space no one longs for 

If given a magic wand 

All would choose to be somewhere else 

Avoid the “in-between” 

​

Similar to life 

We dislike the “in-between” 

We prefer to stay solidly in the comfort of the

known But like an airport - it is a necessary space 

​

We leave behind the past 

The people and places that no longer quite fit

The separation painful at times 

At other times celebratory 

Often a combination of both

 

And so we enter the “in between” 

The liminal space so necessary in life 

Sometimes aware of where we are

headed But more often not

 

We hang there 

Waiting 

As if in an airport

 

One can fight it  

Complain about the wait, the inefficiency, the discomfort Or one can enjoy the space 

Make it beautiful 

Breathe, rest and relax

 

Soon enough the destination will become more

clear The plane will be boarding 

We will all be “on our way” 

And the liminal space 

The “in between” 

Will be no more

Cheryl Goeckermann is a family medicine physician, who lives and works in Baraboo, WI. She enjoys writing poetry in her free time, and finds it a great way to express her thoughts.

Mikayla Faivre is from North Freedom, Wisconsin, and is majoring in Animal Science. She has always been enamored by storytelling and spends her spare time reading or writing. Mikayla is a recipient of the David Cole Award in Creative Writing. This is her second year as an editor for the Spirit Lake ReviewFind her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikfaivre/

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