The Poetry Marathon

Plastic floating back and forth,

against ocean waves pushing it away from the plant and animal life it has sworn to protect,

it crashes against the beach,

crushing sand castles left by young children playing in the sun,

litter of the ocean,

must have come from across the way,

where rafts of yellow manufactured plastic are life giving opportunities,

rafts that struggle against the waves and weight of some people’s world,

floating back and forth,

powerful ocean waves determine its direction,

clashing with the ocean tides,

it struggles to find a balance,

shreds of yellow plastic float to shore,

clothing of children existing no more,

an overlooked reminder of man-made injustice.

*Flyer*

Missing
(Two 17 year old girls)
Tiffany
Tiffany is a honor roll student with her whole life in front of her. She is the captain of the cheerleading team and president of the student body government. She was last seen with Charlie, a  juvenile delinquent with a record of prior robberies. Both girls were last seen driving away from Tiffany’s house on their way to a movie.

*Reality*

Liberated
(Two 17 year old girls) 
I am Tiffany, a 17 year old lesbian honor roll student. Captain of the cheerleading squad to their disgust, bullied by my peers, I am president of a student body government composed of closed minded men who believe “God Hates Fags,” I am leaving, parents threaten me with gay therapy daily, I cannot go back there, searching, I found Charlie, she’s perfect, misunderstood by her parents and the law, stealing as a means of survival, staying true to our characters has been hard, our integrity already determined by adults around us.

We are leaving. Goodbye.

The moon reflected off the lake,

My girlfriend and my first time alone together under the night sky,

No politics, just peaceful,

We parked next to a live oak and sat in her jeep,

The Southern air– humid,

Light fog rolled in shielding us,

A canopy of comfort sheltering us,

I rested my head on her breastbone,

Bum, bum, bum,

Her heartbeat was glorious,

Deep breaths to pace my own heartbeat,

I could lay here forever,

thump, thump, thump,

Her heartbeat picked up speed,

My hand slid to her face and relaxed on her cheek,

“No worries, no one has to know,” I said,

I kissed her lips,

A look away,

Was it panic?

Spare me a look,

Fear crossed my mind,

She turned back to me.

My hometown was poisoned,
Chromium tainted water eating away at our bodies,
the company was quick to cover,
buying off people,
buying out houses,
just to tear them down,
the desert ground overpowered spaces where houses once stood,
people once lived,
community once congregated,
now desolate,
school was closed,
gas station shut down,
the bar remains open but I am not much of a drinker,

people ask me for my permanent address and I respond,
“It is wherever I am.”

they look at me with puzzled faces.

You make the product that warms my heart,

deliciousness,

oh, how you wake my mornings,

the aroma you produce, as beautiful as each drip of energy,

you have me in a trance,

please– fuel my body,

I click start and my mouth waters,

2-4 cups of water turned yummy,

I will wait for you.

We take a walk down to the rivers edge,
trailing the wooden planks that host our feet above the water,
dried pine needles evoke the smell of winter,
you hold my hand,
nothing but dried brush and a chilled air greet us,
we make our way down the trail reaching a dead end,
we sit down on the platform and allow the silence to swallow us,
I dare not let go of your hand,
partially because it brings me warmth,
mostly because it is the first time I hold it without fear,
we stare at each other for hours,
I never leave that place.

I sat on a bench under a naked tree,
Dried leaves clinging to the branches,
Others fallen to a place they’d rather be,
I sat in the center watching,
 
Dried leaves clinging to the branches,
Shade in stick figure fragments upon the ground,
I sat in the center watching,
A breeze filtering through my hair,
 
Shade in stick figured fragments upon the ground,
I re-traveled my life through moments of sadness,
A breeze filtering through my hair,
Were these moments worth remembering?
 
I re-traveled my life through moments of sadness,
Loss that preceded the brinks of madness,
Were these moments worth remembering?
Day dreaming broken by a rustle,
 
Loss that preceded the brinks of madness,
A hard fought struggle to overcome
Day dreaming broke by a rustle,
A squirrel appeared out of nowhere,
 
A hard fought struggle to overcome,
Scattered dreams still attainable,
A squirrel appeared out of nowhere,
I welcomed her to sit with me on the bench.

Where is it?
The red dot that traces the walls,
there it is!
on the roof taunting me,
out of reach,
I will jump on the book case to see if I can get a closer look at the source of its existence,
It trembles a little,
bouncing up and down,
I jump at it,
closing my fur covered hands around it,
I open my white covered hands and it is gone,
It was here a second before,
how will I find it,
there it is!
crawling across the floor,
pacing up towards the couch,
I got this,
jumping onto the couch– I grab the dot,
It is–
MINE!
hands open,
unobtainable,
I forfeit this round and lay down on my bed,
chin rested on my hands,
I try to clear my mind,
red dot, red dot, red dot,
taunting whispers,
tickled whiskers,
All I see is red dots,
cover my head in the blankets,
succumbing to the torture of red dots.

Days like these offer no time for resting. Sun beams lighting up skies of wonder and opening doors for pleasant pondering.  A towel laid out on a warm sandy beach is the vision of where I see myself. I open my eyes. The dark sky trickles into my pupils. Reddened with fallen tears, one for each second on anguish. I won’t let him win. I wake my only child and race to the door with a duffel bag of belongings. Searching for belonging. For a community that would open my mind to a self-esteem not rooted in his abuse. Naturally, I pause for a second as a reach the door. I glance at the home I have so strategically structured.

My nature shifts and changes,
Dawning a new day,
Closed doors opening windows.

I plug you in and vamp up the heat,

oh, how you exhaust my memory storage,

taking up space with images and stories,

poetry and prose,

newsfeed and selfies,

*Alert: storage almost full*

your security breaches airing my dirty laundry to the world,

hello world,

let’s connect,

here is a nude image of me… “when was that even taken?”

at least my credit card information is safe,

*Alert: Someone is trying to access your gmail account in Japan*

I wish that was me in Japan, better change my password,

“Hm… What did I change it to?”

To remember I hummed a jingle and It went something like this–

If you want to get that password,

Find the perfect KISS

*Alert: 3 failed login attempts will lock your account*

We have a love/hate relationship,

Powering down.