Choose a word from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows and make it the title of your poem. Your poem should either use the word directly or capture the essence of its meaning. Include a direct link to the word’s page so readers can explore its definition and origin. Write in any poetic form you wish.
Justing. n. the habit of telling yourself that just one tweak could solve all of your problems—if only you had the right haircut, if only you found the right group of friends, if only you made a little more money, if only he noticed you, if only she loved you back, if only you could find the time, if only you were confident—which leaves you feeling perpetually on the cusp of a better life, hanging around the top of the slide waiting for one little push.
From just, only, simply, merely + jousting, a sport won by positioning the tip of your lance at just the right spot, at just the right second. Pronounced “juhst-ing.”
My Justing
As I sit and ponder life
the justing starts, adding to strife
the “what-I-dids” and “what-did-nots”
the bullseye hits, the missed hot spots
the “should have done that when I could”
to never doing those things you should
the “I remembers” to “I can’t forget”
the “why couldn’t I have done that yet”
the “I’m to old to do that now”
the I’m not done, not time to bow
the leave me be I’m thinking hard
to help me out, deal me one more card
all those things tied into one
hardship, sorrow, joy and fun
all the justings in a row
I’m thinking there’s still time to grow
but then I think its getting late
I should just move on, not perseverate
but what’s one more try, one more attempt
will doing this make me exempt?
I’ll sit and think about this more
For regret and sorrow, I abhor.
©2025 CBialczak
Stine Writing 
hi, Christine 😍
Just wanna let you know that this week’s W3, hosted by our beloved A J Wilson, is now live:
https://skepticskaddish.com/2025/08/20/w3-prompt-173-weave-written-weekly/
Enjoy❣️
Much love,
David
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Thank you
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*hug*
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Great poem, Christine. I can really relate to this.
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Thanks Lesley
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Beautifully written, and very relatable. Quite the wholesome word.
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Thanks Jude
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I love this word- as we are forever second-guessing- one upping and attributing our happiness to that one single thing that remains just out of reach.
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Why do our minds do this to us? For all the things I forget….
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Christine, this captures that restless cycle of self-questioning so well — “all the justings in a row” really rings in my head. It makes me feel the tug between hope and hesitation.~David
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Isn’t that so indicative of life? I know it hit me hard when I read this. The weirdest thing is, this was the first word I clicked on in the dictionary despite it being down the list quite a way.
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🤗
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Excellent Christine!! This is marvelous!!
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Thank you!
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I love this Christine! Very well done! I found this prompt a challenge, and I haven’t written to it yet, and am not sure if I will this week!
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Thats how I felt the past few weeks. This week it really resonated with me, making it easy to get my mind into.
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Amazing writing, Christine! It’s so easy for my mind to spin in circles without getting anywhere at all.
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Thank you for reading and commenting
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