The Poetry Marathon

The night is young and so are we,

Grasping at blanket and sheets that used to bring comfort,

Now simply annoyances blocking my way

To you

We convene under full and new moons

Sisters and brothers alike

Draw the circle and light the fire

Pour a cup of tea and settle in

Breathe in breathe out

And presence ourselves

All five elements appear

Connect heart and soul

And cross the bridge

For we are all one here

A crack of thunder that doesn’t cause fear

And dissipates into a rumble

That comforting sound simply meant you wwre near

And my heart’d begin to tumble

If only I could hear it one more time

That would bring me joy

Taken too early, just in your prime

Oh, how I miss you, boy

Boxed wine and 7-up

That’s the way she likes to fuck

Up her memory of the day

“Wind down” she likes to say

A clever disguise to hide

Behind the truth which is

My mom’s an alcoholic

Dinosaur toys

Not just for boys

Rough and tumble was the way

I played

Hustle and bustle and quick quick quick

Running around is making me sick

I try and I try to stop and rest

And try to put these coping skills to the test

But try as I might it’s just so hard to stop

And

.

.

.

Breathe

A night in

Netflix and chill

But like actually

Not the euphemism

And actually it’s Hulu

But anyway

Cuddle a cat

Smoke some weed

And just

Relax

To the most disruptive girl in class

The one who had to be separated

From her friends to pay attention

And then became sad and shut down

Rather than bright and engaged

I see you finally fulfilling that potential

We spoke about so many times

I know I was never your favorite

And I appreciated the letter you wrote me

Long after you’d graduated and gone and

Just know that

Although I’m not sure what it would mean to you,

you’ve

made

me

proud.

What does it mean to be truly free

Retreating into reverie

Or visiting a favorite memory

Some place far away from here

I find myself under the willow tree

That lived across the street

Laying in the grass, the wind dancing across my face

Staring at the sky as the clouds drift by

Or atop a cliff overlooking the sea

Waves crashing down below me

A place I’ve never actually laid

Though I can feel it so vividly

My mind conjures up his face

The freckles across his cheeks

The shining blue of his eyes

His laugh a familiar sound

I see myself in fields of green

Dipping my hands into a stream

Ambling atop rocks and discovering things

In the Irish countryside

Or sometimes I think what it would be like

To be a neighborhood cat

Roaming free to follow my instincts

With no one to control me

Other times I can be found

Dancing among the notes of my favorite song

The beats swirling around me like a ribbon

Colors moving through me

I want to know what it’s like to live inside a rainbow

Maybe it is happier in there

The colors might be brighter

Filled with a little more hope

And how does it feel to return to “real life”

By comparison a duller place

A bit like falling from grace

Tethered to this physical place

And so I’ll continue to journey

To places I have and haven’t been

For these psychic jaunts are what keep me here

It’s called balance, my dear

A decaying piano left in the desert

Gathering playa and dust

You take a seat and start to play

The hammer strikes the chalky strings

The air fills with hazy clouds, muffled notes

A familiar and haunting tune

And though the sounds are flat and off

Make my eye twitch and skin crawl

Still I am mesmerized by this image of you

Playing as fervently and passionately as

An evocative concerto

And only just for me