The Poetry Marathon

It’s faster than you can hear

and louder than you can run.

Block out all distractions, concentrate fully and

you just might be able to detect it.

It comes and goes on a whim whenever it

wants.

not that you asked for it.

not that it cares.

but it makes its own way in the world

figuring out its purpose and learning

what it means to truly exist.

It doesn’t play by anyone’s rules or

even the laws of physics, for that matter

but if you understand what it’s all about, you’ll

realize what makes it the most beautiful thing in the world.

I’m done

I just thought you should know that.

with all your crap

all the drama, tension,

animosity, pointless screaming.

I’m done.

Because it bears repeating.

So you can take all your dogma, judgement,

scrutiny, self-righteousness, etc. and shove it

well, I don’t really care where

just as long as

it’s not here.

Because

I’m done.

Plummeting down with no way to stop.

Then she opens up and it all comes into focus.

Deceleration sets in and

the world seems so small.

The sky comes up to greet you

and you salute it in return

waiting for the ground to welcome you back into

its essence

as the grass crumbles beneath your feet

and your fear along with it.

It could be flight

or lifting heavy things with all your might

but whether you can teleport or disappear,

it should be used to save people far and near

because you owe it to you and me

and with higher power comes higher responsibility

You still go back sometimes to visit your grave,

think about all you took and gave.

It’s surreal seeing your own name on a headstone

leaving in the dust the only existence you’ve ever known

but now your new one has just begun

giving you one last moment in the sun.

You still don’t know why you’ve been subjected to this strife

but you’re ready to discover what it means to truly live life.

The darkness descends on the unsuspecting

populace just waiting to make its move.

Suddenly, it gets you when you least suspect it

and no amount of running can quell it.

But when the petrichor sets in and the clouds

retreat to fight another day,

the everglow emerges from its slumber

and lights up the world.

Because that’s all it knows

and we always soak it in wherever and whenever it glows.

It comes and goes in its magnificent beauty,

a respite from the vicissitudes of work.

We wander and seek a way to fill the time,

maybe play a sport while you’re still in your prime

But whatever you do, make sure it’s the best so

the rest of the week doesn’t feel like a pest

Welcome back to the world you once knew

so much for us to say and do.

I’ll catch you up on my story

and you’ll tell me about you.

Let me into the bubble of your life.

How’s your sister? Your folks? Your wife?

Anything you need, just say the word

because there’s nothing you can speak that won’t be heard.

So we’ll laugh, play, sing every song we know.

Just like the old days, all systems go.

And when all is said and done, we’ll immortalize our endeavor

to ensure it lives on forever and ever

It’s full of tribulations you never see coming

but it’s nothing you can’t handle.

from the moment you come into existence, you see it.

the oppressors in school, the constant struggle to pass tests

or even muster.

sometimes, even just making it home in one piece can be a challenge.

but you grow, evolve, adapt to the point where nothing fazes you.

before long, you’ve become solid a rock,

ready to take on the world and whatever it throws at you

and then it all gets taken away as the well-nigh impossible

task of obtaining steady work comes into play.

from there, it’s all about planning for the future.

iras, 401ks, it’s all there to confuse the hell out of you.

but you make it, maybe find the right girl and make an

honest woman out of her.

she provides you beautiful offspring and you’d sooner tap

dance in a mine field before you let anything happen to them. before

long, their cuteness evolves into a screaming match but you

always reconcile in the end, knowing they only scare because they care .

eventually, they start their own families and the nest is just you & her

enjoying the golden years at some facility in boca. you sit there, soak

in the true reality of existence and remember, at the end of the day, it was

all worth it.

because it had to be.

Make of it what you will.

But for me, it’s anywhere that’s green.

She and I residing in domestic bliss

sitting on the porch watching Angel and SJ frolic through the yard

having the time of their lives

while we bask in the glory of existence.

The picnics we’d embark on and the

people we’d assist would keep us high as

we rectify the universe one soul at a time.

You can only go as far as you’ll permit yourself.

And as the sun tucks itself away in its hiding spot,

we’d gather around the set watching reruns of green acres

appreciating the way we were.

enjoying the life we were meant to live

and knowing that nothing can stop us now.