The Poetry Marathon

Do you think ocean animals commit murder?

Do they s(t)eal?

So much unknown

And yet we walk around so confident

So unafraid

The mysteries that lie beneath the surface

Is there a justice system

One that ends in others consuming the guilty

Or have they witnessed too much tragedy

At the hands of humans?

The bodies that we throw in

The ashes

Is the titanic a museum for them

A school trip if you will?

They know things we don’t

Capable of things we aren’t

Working together

Moving as one

Knowing where they stand

We cannot say the same

They murder for survival

Do they grieve their fallen?

In the deepest recesses of the ocean floor

Do they know what death is like

A darkness we are not capable of understanding

The pressure of the water

Viewing us an intrusion

Plotting their revenge

One day we will know their wrath

Fishing hooks in gills

Do they wed?

Understand love

Family court adjourned with a bang of a coral

Choking on plastic and q-tips

They believe their time is up

But it’s us, not them

Our disregard for the water

Broken bottles become sea glass

But we become fish food

Because we never asked the right question

Finn

My family was not religious as I grew up

Nor are they now

But we always celebrated Easter

Kites flying above

Eggs filled with trinkets

Baskets hidden in the dryer, we always forget

Toys with a toothy rabbit

Chicks on the cheap plastic

I don’t even like carrots

On those sunny Easter Sundays

I learned to hate the sunshine

Associated it with bickering

The happiness I felt turned sour

Much like the eggs

Fresh ocean air became suffocating

Distracting myself with bubbles

Brothers putting paper grass in my hair

Driving with the top down

Baskets soon stopped

No celebration

Dyeing eggs with beer

What holiday changes dates every year?

Confusing

Upsetting

Click

Clack

No distractions

Paper, a ding

Return it back

When I was eight I was given a typewriter

Told it was Santa Claus’s

That I was chosen

I typed every word I knew

Even the ones I wasn’t supposed to say

I felt dignified

An eight-year-old Roald Dahl

Writing the next book that would change the world

The ribbon broke a few days later

Nowhere to get it fixed

Twelve years later I yearn for one again

A sense of importance that lies beneath

Taking me back to when typing was a privilege

Not a necessity

You are home

The easiness I find in each kiss

We find a middle ground

An urge to understand each other

You hold me tighter

I can see the glimmer in your eye

Before the words leave your lips

Each day is new and fresh and exciting

A warm plate of eggs and toast

Sparkling water

Cool blue

Emerald green

The way you brush your hair from your face

Kiss my forehead when I pout

My hand feels empty without yours

Two kisses before we leave

One for now, one to keep me coming back for me

I miss you finally has meaning

You teach me new things

Show me things I would’ve never seen

Your giggle

Listening to you ramble

I look at you and see a future

A family

Happiness

Recycled air dances through my respiratory system

Stranger’s shoulders brush against mine

I keep my head forward

Every bump is a sure sign of death

Every announcement is my last

I ask the stewardess for gingerale

My carryon is tucked between my legs

Ready to grab and run

My headphones play no music

I drift off into a sickening slumber

Breathing shallow

My head pounds

I’ve had a full bladder since takeoff

Bathroom is off limits

Mind over matter

The window tells me it’s still daytime

Not for long

Sunset is fleeting

I don’t want to fly in the dark

The abyss

The stars taunt me

And this is only hour one.

“It’s just a stupid plant”

Nustled in moist dirt

Sitting in my hands

Reaching for the sunlight

Whispering oxygen into my nose

A sapling

She will outlive us

Her growth quiet and restrained

Tall she will be

Strong and fruitful

Two lovers sit beneath

Carving their love into her trunk

She will shed her leaves

Slinking them off like a silk robe

Twisting her branches in the wind

Stretching

Throughout the seasons she will live

Though parts of her will die

Looking around her she will find no one like her

A single tree in a park

How sad is that?

Harsh weathers will tempt her

Slip into the darkness

She will persist

Kids no longer climb her in an attempt at flying

They disappear altogether

She is sad

But then something miraculous begins

More like her begin to appear

The world has ended but the Earth has not

She begins to grow even more vast

Her friends rushing to catch up

The sky turns a magical shade of violet

The clouds polka dot the sky

New birds appear

They sing happier tunes

The buzz from my electric toothbrush mocks me

Ten years without the dentist

Seeing the world through yellow-tinted teeth

Peering through the gap between my two front chompers

The chip I created when I was younger and chewing on a butter knife

Clink

Clink

The tongue scraper like sandpaper

Both fascinating and horrific

Tongue-tied mumbling disapproval

White speckled flesh folding together

The lid of my mouthwash looks like a traffic cone

Alerting me to my own self-destruction

“Remember all those cigarettes you smoked in high school?”

I try not to drown as I gargle

30 seconds

If the conditions permit I don’t mind them

But under the truest of light, I see fractures and fragments

Dreams of gummy smiles and corn hues

Wait five minutes before eating, drinking

Two back molars are dying

My smartest teeth tear at the fleshy insides of my cheeks

Icy induced stabbing, in and out, in and out

Climbing into my cavities

It’s dark in here

Floss?

Who?

Rest.

The buzz.

Amongst her sea of long black hair

A tiny white gleam stares me down

With eyes of wild green, she stares with such intensity

For a few minutes, our hearts beat in sync

Then hers starts to growing smaller and smaller

The roof of the bus winks at us over the trees

We were near

“It’s okay, darling”

Her mouth trembles and the words fall from her wrinkled lips

“It’s okay”

I know what she is asking of me

But I won’t

Returning my attention back to the trail

Ignoring her requests

Our destination remains visible among the stunted trees

We’re almost there

Her pace diminishes quickly

Despite her telling me it’s okay

It does not feel so

I envelop her in my arms and push forward

Wild eyes blinking crystal clear tears

More white hairs pop out in surreal time

I tell her “It’s okay”

She fashions a peaceful, toothy grin

Her heartbeat falls out of sync with mine

And then it’s gone

Respect

A place where people are valued

No matter what

No hurt

Open communication

Easy breathing

Trees everywhere you look

Looming gardens

Vines wrapping around each other

The world is singing

Death is nothing to fear

The sight of sunshine does not make me frown

Comfort

We are at ease with ourselves

Open and free

Defensive tendencies are a thing of the past

Orchestras sway as we dance the dance of understanding

Educate me is synonymous with I love you

We understand that our time here is short

We are not the only ones here

We must treat her well

Witches practice openly

Children learn that magic is real

We bake our own bread

Laughter fills the space that grief used to inhabit

Smiles adorn the faces of all we see

Kindness shines bright in their eyes

Art is encouraged

Learning is not a privilege

Differences are celebrated

We make space for the sadness

Tears to water our flowers

Turn them into something beautiful

Just like you will soon

Bloom.

Amazing how a song can feel like a hug

A manufactured memory that brings you sweet tears

Warm fuzzies and a cup of tea

Just the way you like it

Haunting how you can hear it in someone else’s voice

Singing you to sleep

But it can’t be

He left you, remember

These memories you’re supposed to have

The life you’re supposed to live

Exhausting nights when the Sandman doesn’t come

Or when he does he dumps a bucket of sand over your head

You wake

Gasping for air

Choking on the invisible particles

You quiet yourself

The softness in their voices

Something you were supposed to have

Its absence is creeping in

You can’t stop listening

Why is everything I enjoy plagued by my shortcomings

Everything I do brought down a level

Because you weren’t there?

Do I haunt you?

Take my eyes and with it my tears

They don’t look like yours anyways

A distant memory of me on your knee

Every birthday wish that you’ll come back

Insomniac mind in the Moonshadow

Racing with the if’s

Losing every time

The prize a night of rest