The Poetry Marathon

Aladdin brand lunchbox

Popples grace the outside

Thermos full of Lite Brite bulbs

A headless Barbie

A Ken to match

Cassettes of farm stories that are worn

From hours of play and play and play

A sticker book full of Stickybears all in a row

And echoes of Bill Cosby standup

Perhaps a ghillie, a soft shoe we say

A poodle sock, tip stained with blood

And crumbles of cookies long since devoured

By cherished six-year-old me

It has always belonged to you

Birthright, privilege, call it what you will

We are born into this world with something to claim

It echoes in the dark when one calls out your name

So often we are tamed, trained to ignore the draw

Distracted by static, the manic crackle of all

Of the outside world so loud it drowns out

The voice inside that says

That your magic is yours in whatever way it manifests and

It has always belonged to you.

Heavy weight

Heavy feels

Feels channeled

Feels the bar

Bar cold and knurling digs

Bar clutched, safe in hands

Hands now calloused and worn

Hands steady, energy calm

Calm the storm raging inside

Calm the darkness that I hide

Hide with a smile and a wink and shrug

Hide all the times I wish to see blood

Blood on hands while children weep

Blood of the holy as they slaughter the sheep

Sheep in the pen, trusting and new

Sheep in my head bleating their fear

Fear here is tested

Fear here is real

Real as in terror of limits unknown

Real as in terror of what is below
Below the surface waters churn

Below the conscious a fire burns

Burns the embers, soul alight

Burns the demons that haunt the night

Night vast, dark and deep

Night breaks through what I need

Need explosive power now

Need calls forth the demon here

Here is the time and

Here is the place 30

Place the burden of years on my back

Place my feet steady, ready to attack

Attack the doubts and the dread and the like

Attack with speed and conscious mind

Mind your body

Mind your soul

Soul is rough and trodden and fights

Soul cries out as beauty unfolds

Unfolds with understanding anew

Unfolds to reveal the powerful you 40

You who have beaten the odds to be here

You who never knew when to quit

Quit to save yourself the pain

Quit because you’re afraid of making a name

Name they’ll remember and

Name they’ll use to hold you to what they want you to do

Do what feels good and do what feels right

Do what brings your body to light

Light..

Right..

Hit the road

Just keep driving

Sun still sleeping

Bats at play

Destination undecided

And all that is known

Is the need to get away

What can you do when there is no farewell?

The opportunity lost, slipped away with the 

Hustle and bustle and musts

A final box packed and placed on the truck

And then on to the next

But the past not forgot

Within the walls, childhoods lost

Echoes of laughter and tears

A sister and brother playing and fighting

And really aren’t those the same?

A family bled dry, on the brink of ruin

Searching for a way to stay whole

And so on to the next, they say

We need a fresh start

And to a new state we are headed

They hand over the keys and

It happens so fast

An old friend left in the dust

What do you do when you miss it so much?

The warmth of the wood and the light filtering in

Through the living room window

Inviting and familiar and safe

Where you rocked and rolled

To your first earthquake in 1992

And the yard in the back with your peach tree 

Bushes of rosemary and rose

And expanse of grass where there used to be play

Where you’d run wildly screaming and giggling

Or play in a pool set up for the summer

Pick up thorns in your feet along the way

You visit this place in your memories or dreams

And maybe even sometimes drive by

Know in your heart the feelings are real

Frozen in time somewhere and somehow

And perhaps your never said goodbye

Because this home still lives in your heart