{"id":67605,"date":"2020-06-27T17:32:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T21:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/?p=67605"},"modified":"2020-06-27T17:32:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-27T21:32:00","slug":"after-midnight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/after-midnight\/","title":{"rendered":"After Midnight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\".<\/p>\n

I slip into the star boat.<\/p>\n

oats dip gently<\/p>\n

across the glimmering lake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I lie back,<\/p>\n

cradle my head.<\/p>\n

quiet now, the oars<\/p>\n

secured.<\/p>\n

the stars sing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

heavenly patterns synchronize<\/p>\n

While earth is topsy turvy,<\/p>\n

Infected, and greedy.<\/p>\n

Hello, Stars, I am listening.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Water reflected\u00a0 stars jiggle.<\/p>\n

Something below heaves upward.<\/p>\n

I f!y skyward<\/p>\n

And slam down in icy water.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sputter, spit, cough<\/p>\n

Spit, curse<\/p>\n

what was that?<\/p>\n

Nessie ‘s sister?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Treading water, I see<\/p>\n

The yellow rim of my row boat.<\/p>\n

Arms flailing like a novice,<\/p>\n

I grab it , my hands strong.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hear mom’s voice, you can’t upright it<\/p>\n

with strength. With a deep inhale,<\/p>\n

I dive under,\u00a0 tread water,<\/p>\n

my hands searching<\/p>\n

for the airpocket.<\/p>\n

I pant, remember<\/p>\n

To slow down.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Slow, deep breaths, steady now.<\/p>\n

I heave the boat up, titled<\/p>\n

With all I’ve got.<\/p>\n

It splashes upright.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No towel. my heart races.<\/p>\n

Shivering, I feel for a stashed jacket.<\/p>\n

I hear a roar.<\/p>\n

A motor boat pulls along side, idles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Need some help, little lady?<\/p>\n

I’m about to snap NOI<\/p>\n

When I see the oars<\/p>\n

are gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

looking for these, maybe?I<\/p>\n

He slides the oars over.<\/p>\n

I’m pissed and pleased.<\/p>\n

he’s gone in a puff of fuel.I<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I look to the stars.<\/p>\n

Be calm, they\u00a0 say,<\/p>\n

be<\/p>\n

Calm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

. I slip into the star boat. oats dip gently across the glimmering lake.   I lie back, cradle my head. quiet now, the oars secured. the stars sing.   heavenly patterns synchronize While earth is topsy turvy, Infected, and greedy. Hello, Stars, I am…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1159,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-half-marathon-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68917,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67605\/revisions\/68917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}