The Poetry Marathon

T          h        e       r       e

 is              no               way.

  I       can     get    back   there.

   I      am      not     a      shadow.

   I    cannot   cast  myself    so thin.

        A           veil          of          darkness.

     I         am           more       than     that.

      A               whole                    silhouette.

          A                      solid                            form.

             Bones  and  blood   with  a  positive    charge.

         Your    white  walls  cannot   contain   all  of me.

          A     figure   of       darkness        before         me.

         Always  on one foot.      Unsure if you want to stay.

            What     dues    have      you     paid    to   see    me?

               What               do                   I               owe          you?

            You   are   not    the     sun.      I    am     not     the    moon.

             I hang  here  empty-handed.    You think you came prepared.

               There  is  no chance  of rain.     Nothing more to see from where

                   you   are.      Go   on.         Find   a    way.        Meet    me at the top.

Early morning, in the quietness of my mind,

I see your luring light as the yellow lines pull me towards you.

Still relishing in my unvarnished thoughts of you,

pure

honest

The leftover night air begins to lift as I try to wrap this goodness around me.

As I get closer

a waxing storm stirs,

the debris within me comes rushing,

thoughts I haven’t seen in months rattle against me.

Sirens blare, I brace myself, becoming uprooted, my branches now bare,

this torrential storm of emotions pulls me down, tears at my clothes, tangles my hair, gnashes my skin.

You just stand there, shining your yellow eyes on me.

Hello. This will be my first (half) marathon. I am a full-time artist, clay is my favorite medium, I also paint and teach art workshops. When not writing poetry, my favorite thing is to dance, especially contact improv and ecstatic dance. I spend a lot of time in the woods, walking and writing poems in my head. I love music, reading, traveling, and learning!

I grew up in North Western Pennsylvania and moved to Charlottesville, Virginia 15 years ago. It’s a wonderful place to live and raise a family. My children are both off on their own now and I am rerouting, learning all over again what it is that I love to do.