Prompt 20 Hour 16
Love landed
squarely so
In my lap
my heart did grow
as tall as sunflower
as wide as the sea
There was no containing
You plus me.
C. Churchill
Zing
Why did it come so easily to mind,
the decision to change my life?
Just a spark, a passing notion one
lazy summer day. That zing set me on a
new adventure.
In theory it’s exciting, not scary at all.
A new purpose, bringing with it
determination and a throng of new friends.
One week before classes begin.
I’m going to be a college student,
finally, only five years late.
The impending change is suddenly daunting.
How will life continue? When will it all
become too much? Can I do this?
Assignments daily, deadlines constant,
I’ve used my education to propel
me into a dreamer once again.
I look forward to graduating, to becoming
a writer, a teacher, a professional,
but more than that I find joy
in using my mind again.
I memorize, I read, I criticize and heed
the criticism offered to me. I dive
headfirst into a world of literature and science
that my thoughts have long since abandoned.
I “feel smart” for the first time since
graduating high school.
I’m using my mind in a whole new way
and reaching for my brand new dreams
all at the same time.
It feels amazing to have my life so in focus,
yet so precarious.
This is living.
My Odyssey
My life has been an odyssey
A balance of good and bad
I have seen so many things
Such adventures I have had.
Not too long ago, at my older age
I decided to return to school.
Everyone was so much younger
At times I felt like an old fool.
Surprisingly, as the time went on
My confidence in myself grew.
I began to see me doing things
I never thought I knew!
I learned to be a leader
Organized (oh my!)
I became someone people looked up to
Even if at times I questioned why.
I found within myself it seemed
A wealth of knowledge I’d never pondered
When I began my soujourn to
The chance to let my talents wander.
No Where To Go
Tears blur the lights shining on the street.
Perhaps the rain gutters will catch the overflow.
Each breath is matched with a step, the further I get, the easier it will become.
Keys jingle, leashes clatter, a symphony of people coming home from their day job.
Meanwhile, I’m running away.
Untied shoes will not stop me.
Nothing in hand, I walk.
Walking.
Walking.
Gone.
One Step-Hour 16
You take a single step
Followed by another
Moving as slowly or as quickly as you want
You make plans
Buy things
With your destination in mind
One foot in front of the other
You can change your world
The whole world
You can make things happen
Make dreams come true
And yes it comes to an end
Eventually
You have a new appreciation of where you came from
You see your world in a new light.
Then you do it again
One foot in front of the other
You carry what needs to be carried
You leave old baggage at the doorstep
You choose a new knapsack
You carry a new burden of your choice
You don’t have to take any steps
You can put the new shiny knapsack down
But why wouldn’t you want
To change the world?
With just a single step?
Dear Mallika age 21
Hey lovely dressed in black
I want you to know that you look beautiful
I know its been a tough day today
But never let anything outshine you
I know you dont have friends right now
And maybe you wont even have
I want you to learn to be with yourself
And be happy doing that
I know its a tough phase right now
As the person you thought to be yours is acting weird
Let me tell you honey, You deserve much more than him
And you will have him at the right time
I know life is a roller coaster right now
But you will find the light at the end of the tunnel
Till then love yourself a little more
And think about others a little less
The Explanation
Before the world began
There was math.
One plus one was always two,
And I loved it that way.
So, I decided to paint.
I threw color at the canvas
And warped the silken threads.
This, of course, was all in my head.
And then I saw you.
Right there in the middle of a blob of blue,
Was you, Love.
I was amazed that such an accidental
Splash of color could create
A being of light,
Like me.
I am that I am,
And I have always been.
I think, I feel, I see, I desire, I cry, I laugh.
Most of the time I laugh.
All of the time, I love.
Some of the time I wonder
Why my Loves, my beautiful Loves,
Love me in the sky when I am here
Among them, wandering aimlessly,
Laughing at their petty feuds,
And knowing, all the while,
That I am.
City Stars
Stars fade into streetlamps as we head home,
Each with a particular nimbus of light.
You can’t get the same quality of night sky
Out in the city with its pollution.
Only a few stars are brave enough
To shine on through the smog and neon glare –
Orion with his sword and belt,
The Great Dipper scooping water,
And every so often a North Star pointing home.
What you lose in stars you gain in people,
The average human crust and grind.
As long as the stars are still out there,
I’m not sure I mind.
16. The Messenger XVI
Do you see that guy with the blue jacket?
Yes, why?
Nevermind
What do you carry in your truck?
It’s a huge one you got these days
Can you shut the F… up?
For a minute
You only puke BS and craps
You don’t take the usual one
And you go around the blue tunnel
It’s longer but safer
Much safer
Mr Jordan, I hope
You’re not too tall
For our Space Suit
In your blue jeans
You’re walking
You do not hurt a fly
And yet we blame you
All the time, to be as
free and the tongue well hanged
Isn’t it, Btch?
What? Shocked, she falls into syncope
To Hear Nature’s Ancient Psalm (Hour 15)
The whole of the world is a swelling daydream,
a gradual infection festering in
self-sought hypocrisy. Bleeding shadows
from behind your eyes, tasting rain-like teardrop
stones caught in your throat. Your voice a silent
cascade of sunset colors, dreaming of the wild
afternoon where trees shimmer in the heat,
a purple sweating craze wiped from your brow.
Do you hear the fox’s gagged voice,
choking ancient words amid the tall grass?
Shades striping, umber eyelids drawn,
whispering in a demonic tongue
a savage song just beneath the canopy.
Can you feel the hungry insects? Chiming in eternal
patience, abundance triumphing over minuscule lifespans,
giving purpose to all that is discarded, hordes chanting,
heralding the incoming dark, giving voice to the trees,
crying with the worms to taste the wasteless.
A seething undertow is coiling
through branching veins, ascending inside
climbing trees, and spilling over objecting
stones of forking tributaries.
Shrinking dusk, crawling beneath growing shadows,
a fading wound in the skin of night, a watching moon,
pale enchanted majesty, swooning divine reverie
in the waters of my being.
Forgotten lore, gives heed to a lost connection,
now buried beneath concrete security,
plastic convenience, and electronic vanity.
Medicinal relic, an incubating thirst,
old magic calling for blood.