The Poetry Marathon

I wait for your text.

After hours we don’t do much.

I see you,

You see me,

We don’t talk openly,

Be honest…

I know that I don’t.

 

The soft moonlight hits us as we walk past the old tree stump.

The tree was cut down because it was causing a wreckage with its long heavy branches during stormy days.

The tree was too much of a burden…

 

I feel like I’m that tree.

I feel like if I speak to you I am that tree.

I feel like if I try to get to know you I am that tree.

I feel like if I ask you about your dreams I am that tree.

I feel like if I try to help you I am that tree.

 

I feel like my heavy branches keep pushing you away.

Just like the homes that were broken during the storm.

 

I’m a burden that should be cut down,

Rejected for asking you about your life.

 

I feel like you’re ashamed of yourself.

I feel like you need someone’s help.

I feel like you are a lost soul who just needs some guidance.

I feel like you are an amazing piece of work.

I feel like you are someone who deserves to live more than the aimed amount of years that you told me about.

 

I feel like…

I am fantasizing what we have,

Again.

Used to be comfortable in this world I lived in.

Used love being part of this wondrous world of life

Used to see my various neighbors swim past my home.

Used to love waking up in the morning

Used want to catch food

Used to look forward to the daily swim

 

It’s all gone now…

 

Coral that flourished a few seas away

Turned into a graveyard for calcium carbonate skeletons…

Clear blue ocean that I could see through for miles away without having to squint

Now is a murky green

Much thicker than before

There are these new dark brown or black spots that seem like fun

But they are there to kill each one of us off

 

My home is so gloomy,

I can’t even see my buddy the starfish who is stuck to the large, rough boulder a couple swims away.

 

Live food was all over this neighborhood,

Now there is this brightly colored plankton that I have to eat

It’s this new red, yellow, green…

Too many colors to remember…

It’s a little hard to swallow,

It’s a little hard to taste,

It’s a little hard to digest

But I suppose it’s not too much of a hassle.

 

I miss my old life

I want to rediscover the ocean.

I want to meet new neighbors,

I want to swim with sea turtles,

I want to watch the sea crabs,

I want to learn from the wise Octopus,

I want to recreate my home.

 

If only the humans knew that all the oceans are connected.

If only the humans knew this ocean needs a cleaning,

If only the humans knew this ocean provides more air than all the trees on their precious land,

If only the humans knew this ocean is more than a place to swim,

If only the humans knew this ocean is more than a place to dump,

If only the humans knew this ocean is the reason for their existence,

If only the humans knew…

Understand that this ocean is your home too.

 

Hello, my name is Harmeet and I’m an on and off writer. I want to zone in on my abilities and I think this half marathon is a great start. I started writing stories and poetry since I was about ten years old. During middle school my English teacher had us write a variety of poems and we read them aloud to other students. This really sparked my interest in writing and expressing myself in a positive way. I was also very much like a caterpillar stuck in her cocoon during my early stages of life, so speaking in front of the class was pretty terrifying for me. As I moved through high school both writing and playing the saxophone in the school’s concert band helped me crack parts of that hardened cocoon of mine. Senior year was the most helpful in my writing journey. I had an English teacher who taught us about a variety of authors with the theme of life’s struggles, which was very relevant to the potential struggles we would have in our very near future. It again reignited my love of writing. Finally I hit college, and I took my English courses very seriously. Last year I found a scholarship for writing poetry and I gave it a shot. I posted the video of me speaking my poem “Optimism of the Future” and I really didn’t think much of it, but once my friends and few professors saw it they encouraged me to increase my skills. I will leave the link here if you are interested in watching it. https://youtu.be/g9ELrOeZASs