The Poetry Marathon

Never say never I always say.

Nothing about 2020

One was ok. The year was

Rough and extremely rude.

Lost family too

on both sides

sad but true

who knew

why?

Love me tender. Love me strong. You inspire me to smile from day one.

I know that we get along.  Your heart is fierce just like mine.

You talk the talk and walk the line. I think you are super fine.

You make my heart go “baa-duumpmt a duumpmt doo”.

You are smart, funny, kind, and true and that’s what I like about you.

They call me ash.

Actually, I gave myself that name.

Who knew the significance?

I gave up more than I knew.

In the name of “love”.

I…wish.

It was in the name of “change”.

I choose not to blame.

What was taken from me?

I took back for myself.

My freedom.

My mind,

My heart.

My body.

All mine.

I am not ash, I am anew.

A better version of myself.

I’m getting through.

Giving & trusting so.

Wiser, I would say.

A little bit more each day.

Rooted in the dark resides the strongest call.

Rooted in the night 95 percent of life is created.

Rooted in our hearts is a respect for nature that goes untapped.

Rooted in our minds is a pull to the natural world that surpasses our fascination with technology.

Rooted in our actions is the need to connect, barefoot, and blindly to a path to of liberation.

Normal has been obliterated.

Utterly destroyed.

It was a false blanket of protection.

We had an insurrection at the U.S. state capital  in 2021.

The Michigan governor was nearly kidnapped and held for ransom in 2020.

This is not a Hollywood movie or tabloid rant.

This is mainstream news.

Just like a Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist was killed for possible dissenting views in 2018.

Or how about Alexei Navalny, an opposition leader, who was poisoned in 2020.

Normal is not new. Not ever will be. Not for America, or the world.

Unrest still ravages the Tigray region in Ethiopia…

And we still await the return of the Benin bronzes to Nigeria.

Just as the Parthenon (Elgin) Sculptures are up for repatriation we can see one silver lining in that the greek godess Persephone, was returned home to Libya.

The path was filled with gravel.

The road was dimly lit.

He knew not the way.

Yet, still he proceeded.

He was on a mission.

Too grand to abandon.

No one knew.

His mind was made up.

He would meet many on the way.

Yet, this was not his solitary desire.

He choose a dangerous path for some.

He needed a reason to fulfill a goal.

One that was not known to man.

Or woman for that matter.

Perhaps a child might understand.

He had a plan.

Nothing, no one would or could stop him.

The “investigation of the behavior of migratory birds and carrier pigeons may someday lead to the understanding of some physical process which is not yet known,” Einstein commented on the behavior of bees, not mentioning butterflies specifically.

How beautiful is it to still have mystery in our natural world.

Unlike birds we do not travel lightly.

We both have animal magnetism and sensory perceptions that baffle the mind and drive our internal magnetic compass.

We collect more than shells, stones, and glass on our travels when near the sea.

Do we leave behind any mystery?

A legacy?

What is there left for us to see, to be?

You want to see the seven wonders of the world: The Great Wall of China, Chichén Itzá, Petra, Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer, the Colosseum, and the Taj Mahal.

I want to see the seven natural wonders of the world:The Northern Lights, the Grand Canyon, Paricutin, Mount Everest, Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, Victoria Falls, and the Great Barrier Reef.

You can’t out do me.  Why not team up and experience them mutually?

I have no qualms about following and learning from the masters up until a certain point, and then I must break free!

Forge my destiny.

Find my own path, create my own map.

Construct my own time capsule.

Create my own traditions.

Design my own list…

Where will your first destination be?

Who are we really?

Is it human nature to conquer and control?

Do we seek to be subjugated to submission?

Is there power in domination?

Will world domination still be our excuse?

What is the race card?

Are we pitted by socioeconomic status?

Who determines class?

Can it really be reduced to a battle of the sexes?

Is there power in prestige?

Why do I have put you down to make myself feel whole?

Is insecurity the basis for all prejudice?

Where do countries begin and relationships end?

How can we heal the hurt?

Where is our humanity?

A conversational dilemma that plagues the few and affects the many.

“They can only be surmounted by men and women side by side.”

Poetry

Are you elusive?

Short innocent and sweet.

Rough harsh and real.

Poetry

Are you elusive?

A gateway to my heart.

An entry into the subconscious labyrinth of my mind.

Poetry

Are you elusive?

A moment of brilliance.

A glimpse of heaven.

A taste of bliss.

Poetry you are my muse.

My temporal forehead kiss.

My sweet retreat.

Sometimes offbeat, yet always elusive.

This is where I live and breathe.

This is the realm in which I exist.

This is a sacred space.

The spaces in-between.

The anticipation of the first meeting.

The moment before you hit the stage.

Right before the paintbrush marks the canvas.

I am the cool breeze that brushes your cheek.

I am the branches that rustle as you pass by.

I am the rain drop that feeds the grass.

I am slow patient, harsh, and rough.

I am all that you wish for and sometimes all that you do not.

I am  waiting to be explored.

Treat me kindly for in the unseen lies the greatest gift.