The Poetry Marathon

My pillow caresses my head

Whispering, “It’s time to come to bed.”

I nod sleepily and nozzle in

Creating a cocoon in my blanket

I’m preparing to fall asleep

But there’s a brightness penetrating my eyelids

I peek out of one eye

I’ve forgotten the darn light!

Screw it. It can wait until morning.

I throw my blanket over my head

And let the sleep carry me off

To a place I can drift on the waves of my subconscious.

Wonder

Read

Imagine

Think

Explore.

Munch, munch, munch!

The Bookworm chews through a book

Gulp, gulp, gulp!

The Bookworm slurps up the knowledge

Nom, nom, nom!

The Bookworm finishes another.

A pile of crumbs left in the wake

It’s off to the library to re-fill their plate.

Sleep sneaks up from behind

my closed eyelids

my soft snoring startling myself awake

I can’t sleep yet!

My tasks are incomplete

But sleep doesn’t care

It tries to dig it’s claws into me

Drags me down to dreamland

My body is crashing.

Bonfires and camping

Road trips, sweet drinks, and first dates

We all crave summer.

I slept under the stars

And travelled with strangers

I finished a 10K race

I’ve lived dangerous.

I loved reckless

Had my heart broken

Picked up the pieces

And just kept on moving.

I’ve trusted the wrong person

Learned from my lessons

Sang in front of an audience

I still leave myself open.

I know pain and suffering

Is just part of being human

I refuse to breakdown

I refuse to relinguish my power.

I’m resilient.

I’m strong.

I’m wiser.

I’m surviving.

I’m being torn between two roads:

One I’ve worked towards my entire life

The other, a road unknown

One has a goal that aligns with mine

The other could also lead me to prosper

My role in life has changed

I no longer feel I can be selfish

But must sacrifice for everyone else

I no longer feel my life is as important

I feel lost with no direction

A compass unsure which way is North

I want to trust my feet

And where they go

But too afraid they’ll lead me astray

I no longer trust my own judgment

For my vision doesn’t seem to be in focus

I’ve always known where I wanted to go

Now I’m scared I may accomplish it

I’m stalling to give myself more time

As if it’ll mean that I don’t have to decide

Everyone’s depending on me

The pressure is so high

I have to make a decision.

I round the corner

Onto my final lap

I was behind

But now I’m gaining

Sprinting, pushing

As hard as I can

I’ve never been a quitter

So I won’t give up

I’m gonna cross the finish line,

Victorious.

I spend all my time

Focusing on them that I

Don’t see her anymore.

The morning I heard

I was at work

Doubtful at first od the source

Confident it was just a rumor

My heart plummeted

When the truth spoke up

I tried to run, to leave, to flee

But my legs failed

And I fell to my knees

A horrible cry escaping from me

Tears blinded all I could see

I haven’t been the same

Since that day

I miss you more and more

With the passing time

They say it gets easier

Learning to live without them

But I’m still waiting

For my heart to stop aching

For the familiar scenes to stop replaying

For people to stop expecting

That nothing’s changed

The day you died

You took the person I was

And left someone in my place

Expected them to clean up the mess that we made.

It’s been almost 4 years

And my life is quite different

The world didn’t stop

I had to keep on living

But for just a moment

The world stopped spinning

It left me held, suspended

Ever since, I feel upside down

This isn’t the dream we shared

It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way

Survivor’s guilt is all that accompanies me

It’s the worst part of death

That I hate

How you just get stuck

Fantasizing

What it’d be like

If they were still living

Preventing yourself from moving on

I’m still just hanging here on a moment

Praying I’ll see you again

And you’ll hold me close

Just like you used to

And finally,

Everything will feel alright again.