Mountain

You did that and my insides were outsides for awhile, but I recovered.
Now I've got the rainbowy hope again.

You're gone and I guess it's OK because we see the same moon.
I'm all feathers and shivers and armor and future.

I'm standing tall, striding proudly towards this victory, whilst my strange little heart lays in the dew-licked grass and whistles about you and me.

I suck at the juiciest mango and my eyes flutter and I recall my head resting snuggly against the mountain of your shoulder and my hair a river cascading down your valleys.

I love you.

I can march onwards, beating my drum and forging my dreams, but one day I'll meet you where the sun caresses the waves and we can dance.

En Route to Future

Here I am, smack dab in the middle of the Eiffel tower, of my lifespan.
A footballer on the edge of a gymnast's springboard,
Squinty, crinkled eyelids, soaring through the air at a target made of sand approximately 5,000 miles away.

Hey you, I am running to...not away.

Barreling down this narrow runway strip, chest up, towards the heavens,
taking off towards the change I can make in the dreams and the lives of the children of tomorrow.

Looking back is, adding chains around my neck.
Praying for your return, bricks onto my chest.

Galloping through the dawns first mist, flaming mane in the wind, over jumps and threats I fly.
No earthly creature can spook me, slow me, stop me now that I've begun.

Guppies in the School

I don't drift into slumber because I relish the wonders of sleep;

I merely yearn for the fullest sunup and efficient moments of daylight

I might sermonize, and alternately coddle, my guppies in the school;

But when I surface, new skills will replace these weary gills.

Marching my feet against this new path, the packed earth trembles.

Swallowing down stale fear-crumbs, my gut prepares for the unknown.

Time's Little Secret (written 3 years ago-it's now become pertinent)

Anticipation is a slowly filling balloon,
Minimal helium intake,
Rising, swelling ever so slowly.

What if this balloon never seemed to fill completely?
Watching, you pray for more.
Hoping, begging it to stretch just enough.

So, I sit patiently on the floor in the dark.
Fat tears line my lids as I wait.
Can I attain what I am seeking?

This balloon struggles, it seems, to stay depleted.
I coach it through, almost pleading; “fill, fill!”
But alas, months pass and it continues this unhurried process.

My hopes erode, a perfect castle of sand washed down by the sea.
What if it never fills? Should I wait, forever?
I fear I am being foolish.

The future holds all Time’s secrets.
I dance around the question nervously,
When do I give up?

Today I stepped out of the darkness.
I've been hiding, with an ignorant smile across my face, for a year.

This time last year I was ready to jump into the sun, but instead I sank into shadow.

Time has been pushing with steel hands on my spine, urging, demanding me to move forward.
I've resisted with every tool, every atom, every seductive smile I could muster.
I won.
I successfully made no progress.

So now I build an arsenal.
I'll drill out all the old and construct a model of the self I want to be.

The Lioness has been sleeping.
I'm going to feed her all the dreams and wisdom I can gather.
Then I shall set her loose on the world.

The Couch

A couch.
A symbol the world recognizes,
And criticizes, easily.
Legs crossed carefully,
I let it pull me into its core.

As I open my heavy mouth to speak,
Each offering tumbles away without grace,
Or hesitation.

Dark roast becomes cold on the adjacent table,
Neighboring the Kleenex.

Most times I avoid using gaze,
She knows.
I know.
It is how I do.

I open the red door with white teeth,
The door that conceals spinning treasures,
A hard job to decode?
Maybe.

She reminds me of her past advice,
I remind her of my past.

The carpet needs to be cleaned.
Is that a cobweb in the corner?

This couch and I go way back.
It relishes the taste of my salty sadness.

I am reviewing the situation.
Checking off each item on my to-do list.
Did I mention,
The aggression?
Or when I forgot the guidance she bequeathed?

We both check the illuminated digital clock.
Eyes meet at once.
Embarrassed.

I sign the check and pat my old friend fondly.
Until next week.

By Your Side

I would like to stand by your side
as the worlds collide,
As the sky slowly falls,
my heart entwined, falls too.
I would dance in your solid embrace,
while heavenly ash clings to my face.
I wouldn't mind if the world fell apart,
if only I had you to keep hold of my heart.

The Flight

Imagine the flight of one dusty flake,
From the blue azure atmosphere,
It’s perilous journey,
Among trillions and trillions,
Cold and wet,
In descent.

The time it takes to become,
To mature,
The time it takes to descend,
And dazzle a trillion eyes,
In splendid,
Unique,
Elegance,

Is consequential,
When one imagines,
The final leg of the trip:
Its soft, swift, gauzy landing,
Onto a woolen hat,
The pink tip-of-tongue,
Or into a misshapen snowball.

A journey.
Is this the end?
Does the little powdered crystal,
Have a chance?
Life for this luxurious flake is not,
In the distance traveled,
From cloud to earth,
Or either palm to target.