The Poetry Marathon

I was 8 blocks from my camp site
Then surrounded by sirens and flashing lights
Another DWB, driving while black violation
Unholstered guns pointed my direction
Flash lights beaming in my eyes
Cause to search my car based on lies

I got burned at my first Burning Man

Pulled out my car so that they could tear it apart
Against a truck with a rapidly beating heart
Belongings spread out across playa sand
Then I found myself with cuffed hands
I had left passengers at willcall
Somethings in their bags lead to my fall
I was placed in the back of a cruiser
Riding across the desert fearing for my future

I got burned at my first Burning Man

For a crime that wasn’t mine taken to jail
Facing 60 years in prison and 555,000 bail
Cleared my life savings to clear my name
Breathed freedom after a month caged
Most of the charges weren’t even real
Now so I can’t sue they are offering a bum deal

I got burned at my first Burning Man

I stood on the ground and looked up at the sky

But tree branches covered my eye

Enveloped by the greying branches the sky whispered, “I am high”.

Spread in majesty

the tree branches clasped in unison

Intent on masking the light of the day forever

Yet, shades of grey emerged undeath the cover

Clasped together

the branches held a conference

To conspire and umbrella the sky

Bent on sending the sky into oblivion

Against all odds, the branches ended up accentuating the beauty of the sky

Night

draws the

curtain of

stars lit by the

lantern of moonshine

and lullaby of the

sailing breeze captures the sleep,

the sparkling streams cascade into

ripples that gurgle against the rocks

as playful fireflies retreat behind trees.

The movies promised it would be pretty
Reds, yellows and oranges would colour the scenery
Leaves would glitter the floor
And crunch satisfyingly under my feet
I don’t know why, but I thought apples would be involved

I didn’t believe them when they told me
The Autumn would be bleak
But it certainly was
Sure, there were reds, yellows and oranges at first
But nothing looked pretty under the heavy grey sky
The leaves did not crunch when they were perpetually soaked wet by rain
The wind so cold it pierced my soul
The sun was nowhere to be found
I found out seasonal depression is a real thing
Considering no one wants to be out and about
To think the weather could suck out so much life from a city

I enjoyed myself though
The novelty of my first Autumn in the North
A gloomy day meant I was experiencing life as a Swede
And more stories to share with my audience
Back home in the tropics.

There isn’t always
a tunnel
for light to come through.

At times it shines
above you
through the trees.

We are so focused
on what’s ahead
forgetting
to look up.

an elliptical — a time capsule

emptying the abyss

leaving a silence of utter stillness.

The space left

a starry sky

lighting up the atmosphere.

when the time capsule reverses

are we going back, forward, or far far away?

perhaps we stay put

only to see, to feel, to touch

our own mirroring of life

Reflection on a ice, glass surface

snug between two almonds.

Mirroring images

Take a breath.

Breathe!

inhaled a crisp chilly clear of a night.

Tasted like freshwater

gave your body  —

full of life.

You can tell when a woman has been through a lot, it’s the weariness of her face.
The erasure of her smile replaced with a blank stare.
She isn’t broken just tired of the lies.
Don’t mistake or assume her demise.

She hasn’t lost hope.
Hope just sits around the corner waiting to hear back from a wait list that never gets shorter but continues to grow day by day.
Using the strength she has to rise from her pillow only to allow her head to fall in that same place night after night.
Worrying if her children can sleep without the lights.

Tears no longer fall from her eyes.
She learned those drops didn’t change the fact that her baby has to eat.
Watching her own dreams  become obsolete.
A numbness washes over her body as she lays submerged in the water.
Cleansing her aching bones and reviving her relentless spirit.

You see her everyday working in the office next to you, sitting in her car in traffic, or standing at the bus stop.

She maybe feeding her children an orange while waiting under a stop sign holding a family in need sign.
She is the prayer, the plea and the redemption.

Her resilience echoes a vibration the universe cannot deny it can only supply and fulfill her desperate needs.

I barely knew you
But I learned–
Oh I learned all about
you
and I learned well

I met you in church
Interesting place to meet
someone you could spend
forever with

I learned your secrets
as you did mine
we learned what made
the other tick

Ssshh don’t tell anyone that
secret-
they’d ostracize us both
I’m afraid
gossip about us
treat us like lepers

I knew you were married
But I considered you a friend
someone I could bounce ideas
off of-

that wouldn’t call me
dumb
silly
childish
or otherwise ridicule me

I don’t know when it changed
I would message you constantly
ask you how your day was
I couldn’t wait to hear back

I don’t know if this is one sided
I don’t know if you feel the same
I know I can’t do anything about it
I can’t even tell you.

There’s a question I have
and you can’t give me the answer
how could you?
You’d have to know the question first

How did I fall in love with you?

This boat moves like magic,
a simple push with the oar
and I am floating through the stars.

Beloved, we are here just now
and time is fleeting.
Let us row together through
the moonlight.

The lullaby suggests we will return
but the fable casts a murkier truth.
The light scatters across the lake,
inviting us into the darkness.