The Poetry Marathon

When it feels like your own age is

insufficient, where does that leave you in the

grand scheme of things?

Do you try to pander to the adolescents or try &

blend in with the tedium?

There must be a middle ground somewhere;

you just have to make sure it’s stable enough to stand on.

Keep on flowing no matter how they try to stop;

they are irrelevant

insignificant

in the grand scheme of things.

So let it flood & we’ll be behind you

ever step of the way

They hid in the sand back in 2016 &, look, I get it.

We didn’t have the best choices but that does not mean

your voice has dissipated. It must be heard lest we spiral into anarchy.

That’s why this time around, you need to come out in full force, get your head

out the beach & let the world know what you want the future to look like.

Square one was always the runt of the litter

but then again we all have to start somewhere.

The longer we traverse, the more we become wont to

it all; every last bump & crack in the long-neglected pavement,

the shrubbery on all sides that generously provides shade on those

sweltering dog days.

It’s all a bit much but there’s no such thing as being too prepared.

In the middle is mostly hinterlands, not much to see apart from a few

tumbleweeds & the siren song of the long-abandoned wolves pawing their

way through the desert. But it’s only a temporary setback on the long road out

of misery. In the blink of an eye, you’ll arrive at the terminus, sprawling as far as the

eye can see. That’s when you’ll realize the road was the answer all along.

That’s what we said to ourselves on that day.

We would not let the universe get so close to the

brink if we could help it. & we have

thus far

whether that keeps, though, remains to be seen.

In & out

as unintentional as anything else in this godforsaken existence.

Back & forth

lest you drown in your own insecurities & shortcomings.

Up & down as you take it all in stride & keep holding on

Side to side while everything around you starts crumbling

Diagonally as you struggle to cope with what existence has become

Left to right until you can’t anymore.

We often think about it.

The wind at your back, the world

at your heels & you can’t honestly look me in the eyes & tell me you’ve never wondered what a cloud feels like.

But at the end of the day,

returning to the ground,

you realize all you ever wanted

was right beside

you all

along.

Heavy is the head that gets berated from all sides.

It seems as if no matter what he does, there’s always

someone left unsatisfied. But it of no matter to him because

he never stops trying to do what’s right

regardless of the circumstances. You may not appreciate him

but someday when your kids are safer than they were yesterday

or when the criminal gets the punishment he deserves, you’ll realize

exactly what you had as gratitude manifests in full force.

You got passed over for a promotion;

your trip itinerary didn’t go as planned;

she wants to be with someone else;

they gave the role to someone far less qualified.

well, guess what?

too bad.

Life’s not fair

& the sooner you realize that,

the better off you’ll be.

I never stray too far from the straight & narrow;

it all seems so gray now anyway yet the obligation

still feels necessary.