Sometimes I look in the mirror
But instead of me, I see you
My vision blurry, so I only see the outline
You have my eyes, my skin, my history
But it’s different for you
What would you make of it?
Do you wear your hair short like mine?
Do you wear dresses?
Do you have a favorite season?
What do you want to be?
Who do you want to be?
I imagine another world
Where you and I would laugh
Where we could have inside jokes
Where you and I could argue
A world where you can see the dragonflies
I would know you
Beyond more than a name
But that’s just in the mirror
And in the dim light
My eyes focus again
I see my own face staring back
And you’re not here
And you are just a feeling I remember
Tag Archives: poetry
21
21 years of natural disaster after natural disaster
21 years of climate change denial
21 years of widespread poverty, food insecurity, and lack of access to basic needs
21 years of billionaires in the richest country in the world
21 years of mass shootings
21 years of “now is not the time”
21 years of endless death and torture caused by our country in the middle east
21 years of “protecting national security”
21 years of being told terrorists are coming to bomb us
21 years of bombing other countries
21 years of gay and trans people being seen as less
21 years of “you’re being too dramatic”
21 years of pervasive racism in every part of our society
21 years of already having the Civil Rights Act, what more do you want?
21 years of pervasive sexism in every part of our society
21 years of not needing the Equal Rights Amendment because women are already equal
21 years of controlling women’s bodies
21 years of “protecting lives” in a country with almost no safety net
21 years of not having the right to healthcare
21 years of “uninsured people are lazy”
21 years of being asked why I’m so jaded
21 years of America.
Release
Roll Eyes.
Bite lip.
Shake head.
Purse lips.
Smile.
Walk away.
Walk to the bathroom stall, first slowly, then faster and faster.
Run as if the bathroom is your savior, your only friend.
Open Stall Door. Slam.
Cry.
Release.
Let the hot tears fight their way out, their fire burning their mark on your face, letting you know they were there.
Letting you know they had been trapped inside of you.
Letting you know they deserved to be felt.
Let the quenched scream escape, declare itself to the world.
Declare that you deserve to be heard.
You deserve to feel.
You deserve.
You.
Skydiving
I said Skydiving
hoping to start them talking
not a one blinked their
hands on steering wheels
and books, the littlest listless
in the backwards seat the leather car
seats ‘why don’t we
put on some’ Beethoven
electric fiddle anything guitar
too spaced sounds sift out
Let me at least be Daedalus
was left behind unuttered
already on our way forward
in space at least.
Rubber Soul (The Many Uses of Rubber Bands)
Make a motor with your Legos
Preserve the freshness of your Eggos
Shoot at strangers, start a riot
Extra fiber in your diet
Attach a cell phone to your ear
Make a marker for your beer
Stretchy leashes for your dogs
Protect your pants leg from bicycle cogs
Revamp your shoes with cheap new laces
Add some pain to your mouthful of braces
Play catch with a bouncy rubber ball
Make a net to catch your fall
Use scissors and glue to make some art
Hold things together when your life falls apart
Keep the Saran wrap on things you cook
Mark your place in your favorite book
Lace them together to make a strong cord
Keep all the things in your truck bed on board
Pass the time in any old place
Keep them around your left wrist just in case!