Skip to main content

Squeeze

I squeezed a post out
forced it
pushed it through the bars, like prison escapee...
It didn't feel right- but then,
good things never do.

Tortured souls have far more to write
far more to explore, more to complain, more to hang on to
diving deep into inspiration, harbor seal searching for nourishment in the ocean
For some reason, anger, depression and struggle
translate more into promising poet
Less trite, more feeling.

How do I phrase something that can't be put to words?
How each time I stare at you, if I allow myself to, I will cry
tears of delight
at how you've changed my life, how you've shown me what it is to really love
a deep inconsolable, unchangeable love.
How do I tell you
without cheesy-cheese fluff stuffing, coming out at the seams
BLECH- Nobody wants to read happy!! This is what my mind shouts
I used to scorn at these types of writing
hated using the word "love"
Oh really? I'd think...
This is all you have? This is the only way to describe how you feel?
Love being the ultimate way to feel without feeling, I thought... A cop-out...
I thought scripted, I thought fakey, I thought if you needed it
You were just lacking in words.
You weren't quite ready, not really there to where you could compete on a professional
wordsmith level.
But now
I find myself
clinging to that, saying it all the time, spitting over my own words
frickin' shitting mad that even I can't come up with something better,
and I think to myself "Really? Is that all you've got?"

How? How do you explain
heart bursting apart with happiness, how do you explain
violent fits of giggles, clammy handed happy holding
How do you cross that line without hearing the other poets snort behind you,
coughing at your lack of talent?

Then I realized
just push it.
Force it.
Who are you trying to impress?
Your own standards are higher
than any that could be imposed upon you...
And really. What are you writing this for?
For acclaim? For fame?
No, no....
For yourself. For HER.
Will she care if it sounds trite, flighty, will she notice
if it's not the A+ sticker poem you meant to write when you set out to be?
She won't scorn you, tell you it never should have been... All she will see
is your blind, silly love, that you were encompassed
engulfed
by her
and she will never be able to say
that she didn't know.

And that? That's what really matters, in the end.
Squeeze.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on Friends....

Sometimes I feel that these *fake* friends I find on the internet understand me more than many who have known me for years. I suppose this might be because you can choose to connect with who you like on the net. It might also be because I have grown and am now a different person than I was when I made friends with the others. It's sad, though, when old friendships die. There are a few in particular I keep hoping will be rekindled, like those coals from last night's bonfire that spark again in the morning when you toss a log on... but that doesn't mean I'm willing to do all the work. Friendships aren't meant to be one-sided. People have been fake. Fake friends have been real. I've connected with those I never thought I might. Life is a true mystery, a whirlwind roller coaster and I am along for the ride. So much for a poem a day. Here's to random thoughts, renewal, love and connection- wherever we find it.

Patience and Perseverance

I feel like there's an anchor crushing my chest. It's so hard to watch you going through this, to sit by your side and see you suffering, and know that there's nothing I can do to help ease this pain. I can do what I am doing, and nothing more. Nothing more significant. I can listen. I can plan. I can help, do more around the house. I can try to be patient. But some days, like today, it gets hard. This illness isn't just affecting you... It's all of us. I pray that once this is over, it's over for good. We can move on, be the happy little family that we are without worry that we might lose you sooner than expected... Some days, like today, I feel crushed by the weight of this responsibility. I have to hear your complaints knowing that we can't yet make a move. I have to be strong, when what I would really like to do is go to the bathroom, sit on the floor, curl in a ball and sob. I have to hear it without getting angry, even though it's trying on me to h...
Ten Sticky Fingers By Jaden Brulotte 8-13-08 Ten sticky fingers reaching up at me dragging red fruit concoction across my white-white shirt but it doesn't matter when you gap-toothed grin at me... To be so young to be so innocent to be so vulnerable so trusting so ambivalent to what happens in the world while you explore, you remember, you soak up experiences like a sponge. you say hi you say bye-bye and today, you said "I love you". To melt my heart with three little words. To me- to be your guardian like those angels they say dangle overhead, they say watching, they say keeping us safe... It's the most important job that I will ever have- to tend to care to love and be there to hold your hand... and yes, even to say "NO" to shelter you from being hurt, to keep you from falling, like those tears that drip from the corners of your eyes when I say it, but someday you will understand... Someday, I will watch ...