August 12th, 2019
An Unfinished Puzzle
A poem about not fitting in quite right.
A spectrum of light reaching through clouds,
Effulgent light breaking through the sky.
The piece looked like it was from a dream
But it didn’t fit, so I was forced to say goodbye.
An immaculate feather of a beautiful blue jay,
The sign of a soaring prodigy destined to fly.
The piece looked like it was sent from the heavens
But it didn’t fit, so I was forced to say goodbye.
A lone petal of a blooming rose,
The crimson landing pad for a colorful butterfly.
The piece looked like it was sculpted by professionals
But it didn’t fit, so I was forced to say goodbye.
While I took the path less travelled,
I found myself lost in a dark forest without direction.
Though lost in a sea of dispiriting sorrow,
I begin looking for a matching piece; looking for some form of affection.
The beauty I witness invites me to a world that doesn’t fit.
But I can’t continue with a piece that doesn’t click.
If I bend my tabs and blanks for a life that doesn’t match,
I’d end up as a pile of crushed paperboard, like a clock that doesn’t tick.
Am I destined to find the piece that I fit with?
Or must I compromise to connect somewhere, forced to watch my edges crumble.
I take my stride across the unlit path, compiling courage and leaving my footprint trail.
Until that fateful day, I’ll remain a body without a heart; an unfinished puzzle.
October 29th, 2020
Snakes in the Shower
A poem about negative voices.
Turning on the shower
Warm water spilling out onto the floor
A lengthy sigh escapes into the scalding steam.
In rhythmic tapping of drops on my back
My eyes softly close as steam encircles me,
And I sink to the floor underneath the water stream.
Sitting in the shower
With water rolling down my skin
My wet hair drops down like snakes on my head.
First one, then two, then the whole family
My shaky exhale stumbles out into the air
As my cold, dormant heart fills up with dread.
Sighing in the shower
As my snake family begins to speak
All the words that I find I’m afraid of.
First one, then two, the the whole family
Each spitting out scalding insults I try to escape from
As tears stream out like the warm water above.
Crying in the shower
The snakes screaming louder
My thoughts starting to whirl and my mind beginning to swirl
“You’ll never be as good as him”
“Your choices will never get you anywhere”
“The people you trust will betray one once more”
“They wanted a boy, not a girl”
Turning off the shower
Snakes spitting out their last drops of water
I take my towel and rub the tears from my eyes.
As I stand before the mirror
And comb my wet hair
I say goodbye to my snake family of lies.
December 25th, 2020
Nobody Cares
A poem about a particularly irksome phrase I hear often.
Nobody cares
Because you’re someone new
And what you’re passionate about
Is something we haven’t been through
Nobody cares
Because we have no connection
And can’t stand to listen
So we raise this objection
Nobody cares
Is a common reaction
From people I talk with
When I reveal a passion
Well I don’t care
That you can’t stand me to be excited
I don’t think that it’s fair
That my happiness is unrequited
Nobody cares
Is the stupid excuse you deploy
Just because you can’t bear
To listen to what brings me joy
Nobody cares
Because I’ll just go elsewhere
And talk to all the people
That I know still care
May 27th, 2021
Ice Cream on a Cold Night
A poem about things that are bittersweet
There’s an odd beauty
In ice cream on a cold night
Feeling the cold breeze on your neck
As you bask quietly in the moon’s light.
And as you close your eyes
Finding a pleasant warmth in each bite
You let down all your walls
As you dig into your frozen delight.
As you take a brief respite
Sitting on the swings in an empty park
There’s a strange charm
In watching shadows play tricks in the dark.
The feelings of loneliness don’t attack you
Even across from the empty bench,
Looking over to watch the empty swing set
And see faces from the past fill the gaps.
There’s an odd beauty
In reflecting on an old memory
Living in a time that has passed
Like a recurring dream.
And seeing that face next to you
Brings a pain to your heart
But the feeling is numbed
By the cold of your ice cream.
Even as the memories
Reach and cling to you heart
The cold of the night and your frozen treat
Keep the tears from your eyes.
And in your brief respite
Sitting on the swings of a park from times past
You let the past run free
And play in the shadows until the sunrise.
There’s an odd beauty
In ice cream on a cold night
That reminds you that one day
Everything will be alright.