The Poetry Marathon

The sky is hiding behind
A layer of haze and smog
The city looks different from the hillside
I don’t see myself down there
In my neighborhood

The morning is fatigued
A layer of haze and smog

I live my life on the ground
The city looks different from the hillside

I focus on things so small
I don’t see myself down there

Born into a den,

thrown into a foreign land

Walking through the depths

of the night on the big city streets.

He walked and made enemies

Where ever he went

He learned to walk his own path

He turned foes to friends.

He descended into the abyss

Faced fears, and learned that he can

Live with wound and be reborn

A new man

Novelty. Timidity. Melting. Warmth.

Acceptance.

Closeness. Distance. Saunter. Running.

Secrets.

Ashes. Seedling. Honesty. Bravery.

Maturing.

A deep voice of a dead star rumbles:

to change is evil!

She sucks out the energy of other voices.

Are there voices who will forever

Stay in the safety of the fringes of the gathering?

She is not far from the ground

but cannot feel her roots attached

She bears the most exquisite fruit

but feels like her seeds fall on

parched soil.

Quack quack! – said the polar bear

Where can I find some tuna?

I saved up for the airfare,

but where’s Santa Apolónia?

Inside a box of silence

A part of me, deep under

disorderly seas of forgotten items

The winds of summer blow and

the lights shine the box within

My last thought awaits me in a box

I’ve left in a dark, damp room

What is the meaning of justice?
Do we really want to defeat harm?

I fear choosing what’s right
And I fear that others will choose for me
In the end what I use is empathy

What can I get away with?
How much do I take?

This question puzzles me
But others seem to believe

If I’m alone with this,
What is the meaning of justice?

What can I get away with?
How much can I stay out?
I know no answer but empathy

Whom to do business with, though
Is still a perplexity

I want my way

down the hill

to say more

than the way up

I want to be

closer to someone

I want to

leave something behind

You yearned for refuge

from exposure in your

shelter

You wanted me to govern

the world; A force you

control

You could not accept me

for who I am, because

you wanted me all for

yourself

You left me in the prison

you broke free from