The Poetry Marathon

Caramel coat
Shining against the sun
Sometimes even the moon
Always ready to go
Wildly sprinting
Ears blowing in the wind
trailing behind
Small, yet strong
Small, yet protective
My comforter
Gentle, loving, and kind
Pure
A bright star in my day
A forgive me present
A love me present
An apology present
An irreplaceable present
A missed present

Hider of secrets
Betraying myself only
to those that know my heart
My heart is the key to my face

Yet to the eye of the
beholder
My face is the only
way to see me
A mask
I wear one 95%
of my days
It’s what they want
It reflects what others
want to see
Happiness, beauty

My face, my face
Truly reflects
what’s within me:
Strength
Pain
Joy
Conflict
Determination
Ambition
Love
Passion
Beauty

My face is a gate
Furtive
Playful
Intelligent
Open the gate
and you’ll win
But until then
I’ll give them what
they want
What they’re comfortable with
I’ll don a mask
only taking it off
to let the most
Exclusive in

I’m stuck
I’m in a whirlwind of emotions
Weighing pros and cons
One person
Two hearts
Each beating differently
Equally as strong?
Or one stronger than the other?
One heart too full
about to burst
The other heart just full
It always has exactly enough

I’m stuck
I feel like I’m moving alone
It’s useless
I’m told I have to give one up
I’m the donor
Someone else needs a heart
Can I let go?
How do I survive without both?

I have to give one up
while it’s still strong
One will eventually grow weaker
and fail
I can only survive with one
I must choose
I must save myself

We need justice
Not sympathy
We need change
Not hate disguised as criticism to tear us down
We need change
Not just for one community
one minority
one country
We need truth
Denial is ugly
It causes pain
Inflicts more destruction
We need action
Not the majority’s permission
We need unity
Love and care for one another
We need community
Providing paths for our children

I’m stuck in a storm
Unmovable
No place to go
Sheets of rain drench me
Impossible to see the road
I have to press on
Thunder roars
Rattling my insides
A lion, a predator
Driving me away
Lightening snaps
Lighting up the sky
Immobilized
I want to retreat
The storm is a straight jacket
Held in nature’s prison
I accept defeat

I loved her
I should’ve told her
But I thought she deserved better
More than me
I thought I was giving her a chance
I could see it in her eyes
I could feel it in her spirit
The love as well as the pain
The pain I created
I yearned to make the pain go away
I could’ve made the pain go away
She took mine away
I should’ve told her I loved her
Without her my life hasn’t been the same
Now it’s too late
Contemplating irrevocable mistakes

Chasing me
Its claws extending
I look back and shudder
Its flesh is shedding
I must get away
This creature
This place
I look back again
All I see is her
Reaching out for me
I stop
What is this place?
There’s a scream
I stare at her
She whispers ‘run’
But I’m stuck in place
There’s another scream
My skin crawls
I stare at my hands
Something moves under my skin
She screams ‘run!’
I turn and sprint away
I run and run
But I know I can’t escape
I feel I can’t escape
I abruptly stop
I see my reflection
I look up and I’m there again
I see the creature
Its claws extending
Yet no longer chasing me
Its flesh is shedding
I shudder
I close my eyes and open them
The creature I’m running from is me

We sit on the dock
and wait
For something to pull the line
We’ve been at it all day
Growing anxious
We shift restlessly
in our seats
Waiting, always waiting
Hours drag on
and finally there’s a bite
Excitement fills us
We reel it in
But even this feels too slow
The line comes above water
We stare at each other
At the end of the line
is a broken bottle of hope