I really like this one.
How wonderful it would be
to be wrapped in the invisible arms of comfort
to feel the assurance of a world's worth of lies holding me close at night
to be accepted into a chanting group, so full of doubt that a chain of arms touch a row of heaving backs, struggling beneath the weight of pretending so hard, so long, so much
I wish I could reach out a begging hand and imagine I feel the tendrils of warmth from Beyond
I wish I did not block the happiness that others convince themselves of so easily
I wish the love extended to us, the over-thinking, over-calculating, over-done
But I am draped in impenetrable garb of logic, and with the thought and consideration I have gained, I have lost the soft luxury of prayer.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
(Select) things I submitted to the Creative Writing magazine
I think I love you.
Five simple words that leave me flabbergasted.
Why?
Why does it have to be you, of all people?
A man who pays no mind to the emotions around him
A boy who doesn't seem to understand affection.
I think I love you.
Five simple words that leave me terrified.
What if?
sWhat if it doesn't work out, and what we have now is ruined?
A man who listens and talks with me
A boy who soothes and comforts me.
I think I love you.
Five simple words that leave me confused.
How?
How did this happen so quickly, so hard?
A man who acts as if he's interested
A boy who makes it seem like a joke.
I think I love you.
Five simple words that leave me elated.
When?
When did I move on and realize you were so much better for me?
A man with morals and depth and spirit
A boy with genuine concern and drive to protect me.
I think I love you.
Let’s wait and see.
I hear it before I see it
The murmur of protests, the shouts of agreement
thud
thud
thud
of a mass of people united for one cause
they spill across the grounds
shoving signs into the air for the gods to ignore
hundreds of feet trample others lack of compassion
Tell me what Democracy looks like
they want to know
have forgotten
we all have
tourists part for them, sympathetic to the cause,
Maybe.
too nervous to hold ground,
Probably.
too lazy to join in and help,
Yes.
the crowd envelopes me, and I am not afraid
Most tower over me, but room is made for everyone and I am not an exception
their signs block out the oppressive heat of the sun and I am grateful
Everyone is chanting the same thing, but
every voice tells a different story
"I worked hard but still lost my job," a man says
"My children don't have enough to eat," one woman worried
"Where is our future headed?" we all ask,
standing in the streets we were founded upon, where Jefferson laid his plans
Tell me what Democracy looks like
the officials escort us because
they're in the same boat
nurses, teachers, artists
children, adults, elderly
gay, straight, bi
we all make up the 99 percent
the tired, the poor, the huddled masses
yearning to breathe free of the ties
they have placed around our ankles, expecting us to fall
yet we rise
Tell me what Democracy looks like
We are taking the streets that belong to we the people
for the people, by the people
not
for the rich, by the poor
We rally for justice
We rally for change
We rally because we have the right and the opportunity and the numbers
We rally because it's all we can do
because we've reached the ends of our ropes and we're not entirely sure how to change but only that change is needed, and we intend to get it
Tell me what Democracy looks like
This is what Democracy looks like
little black diary
evidential of our differences yet
showing how alike we are
your pain is bone deep
and I weep for my ability to do nothing
to offer no words of comfort nor wisdom
for how is the child supposed to aid the father
in a matter that leaves us all confused?
I cannot stop you from doing a thing
and you cannot comprehend how hard it is nor how long it has taken to be able to admit that
I cannot control what you do.
your life is but a wisp held in your shaking hands
I wish I could protect it
seal it in iron bars and oak doors and hire large men to stand abreast the structure and stare menacingly at any negative ideas or people
I wish I could police your life and keep you safe
wishes that I'm sure you extend to me,
to keep me happy and extroverted and fun
but we can't.
We are far away, and technology remains unreliable
we are our own people who ultimately make our own decisions
so we will walk the fragile thread of trust we've recreated, hand in hand
willing the one not to fall, lest we take the other with us.
Five simple words that leave me flabbergasted.
Why?
Why does it have to be you, of all people?
A man who pays no mind to the emotions around him
A boy who doesn't seem to understand affection.
I think I love you.
Five simple words that leave me terrified.
What if?
sWhat if it doesn't work out, and what we have now is ruined?
A man who listens and talks with me
A boy who soothes and comforts me.
I think I love you.
Five simple words that leave me confused.
How?
How did this happen so quickly, so hard?
A man who acts as if he's interested
A boy who makes it seem like a joke.
I think I love you.
Five simple words that leave me elated.
When?
When did I move on and realize you were so much better for me?
A man with morals and depth and spirit
A boy with genuine concern and drive to protect me.
I think I love you.
Let’s wait and see.
I hear it before I see it
The murmur of protests, the shouts of agreement
thud
thud
thud
of a mass of people united for one cause
they spill across the grounds
shoving signs into the air for the gods to ignore
hundreds of feet trample others lack of compassion
Tell me what Democracy looks like
they want to know
have forgotten
we all have
tourists part for them, sympathetic to the cause,
Maybe.
too nervous to hold ground,
Probably.
too lazy to join in and help,
Yes.
the crowd envelopes me, and I am not afraid
Most tower over me, but room is made for everyone and I am not an exception
their signs block out the oppressive heat of the sun and I am grateful
Everyone is chanting the same thing, but
every voice tells a different story
"I worked hard but still lost my job," a man says
"My children don't have enough to eat," one woman worried
"Where is our future headed?" we all ask,
standing in the streets we were founded upon, where Jefferson laid his plans
Tell me what Democracy looks like
the officials escort us because
they're in the same boat
nurses, teachers, artists
children, adults, elderly
gay, straight, bi
we all make up the 99 percent
the tired, the poor, the huddled masses
yearning to breathe free of the ties
they have placed around our ankles, expecting us to fall
yet we rise
Tell me what Democracy looks like
We are taking the streets that belong to we the people
for the people, by the people
not
for the rich, by the poor
We rally for justice
We rally for change
We rally because we have the right and the opportunity and the numbers
We rally because it's all we can do
because we've reached the ends of our ropes and we're not entirely sure how to change but only that change is needed, and we intend to get it
Tell me what Democracy looks like
This is what Democracy looks like
little black diary
evidential of our differences yet
showing how alike we are
your pain is bone deep
and I weep for my ability to do nothing
to offer no words of comfort nor wisdom
for how is the child supposed to aid the father
in a matter that leaves us all confused?
I cannot stop you from doing a thing
and you cannot comprehend how hard it is nor how long it has taken to be able to admit that
I cannot control what you do.
your life is but a wisp held in your shaking hands
I wish I could protect it
seal it in iron bars and oak doors and hire large men to stand abreast the structure and stare menacingly at any negative ideas or people
I wish I could police your life and keep you safe
wishes that I'm sure you extend to me,
to keep me happy and extroverted and fun
but we can't.
We are far away, and technology remains unreliable
we are our own people who ultimately make our own decisions
so we will walk the fragile thread of trust we've recreated, hand in hand
willing the one not to fall, lest we take the other with us.
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