Grief, Part Two

How do you reconcile grief? Perhaps you start by visiting the beach,  Feeling parched yet hoping to be invigorated by the ebbs and flows, Counting on gruelling workouts and the linear progression of external Events to draw life trajectories instead of conscious thought. You might even imprint on a friend along the way — The …

Grief

Sometimes I fantasise about death. On good days, it’s planned for when I’m seventy, and my knees are giving out. Out the door of a plane, and head first into the ocean, becoming fish food to keep the cycle of life churning. On bad days, it strays to the bottle of pills hiding in my …

The Scent of Existence

What does a life lived non-linearly smell like to someone  Who twirls to the rhythm of cherries blossoming before maples shed their attire? Perhaps she catches head notes of failures, heart notes of chaos,  And — on a good day — soul notes of grit as she holds my hand, While I’m blinded by the …

Wilted

In a mosaic of greyscale, some are like bonsai,  Bending under careful thought and meticulous codependence. Many are like redwoods, guardians of forest rodents  And adventurous campers alike. Others need neither more sun nor less hydration  Than a blooming orchid, But on occasion, a wild butterflyweed emerges  From the soil, thriving in a soup of …

Cedar Point

There was a time when the only thing that could keep you up all night was the excitement the night before a school trip. Or the infinite possibilities of a Nokia XPress Music hiding under the pillow. There was a time when everyday anxieties stemmed from sneaking peeks at age-inappropriate library books when the adults weren’t …

Half Circle

Once sun-kissed toddlers locked in glass towers, Half-successful at fitting into social hours Failing at singing the tune of the world, Bouncing away from one another  Until half a circle later.  Not unlike binary stars,  Spinning under cosmic sway,  Pulled by the gravity of impulse decisions  And deliberate display, Azure skies and analog watches, Cyan …

Snowglobe

Sneaking about vacant campus haunts,  Barely contained text messages under pillows,  Gleeful long drives and silent pitstops while Playing hooky in the shoes of a teenager, An entire decade bursting through your pores; A fervent fear of missing out congealed with heartbreak, Morphing into workweek exhaustions, martini therapies,  Crooked backs in uncomfortable chairs and nippy …

Cinnamon, Clove, and Magnolias

When whispers from the inherited gramophone  Sing sweeter than the cacophony of drinks in shakers, When the week’s exhaustion seeks respite  In servings of boxed wine instead of tailored martinis, When ancient TV reruns nudge your heart to Leap higher than a cue ball over felt, When the crinkled linen inside your elbows no longer  …

Time

Whispers under patchwork quilts,  Linked arms under twirling pink umbrellas, Fresh coffees set down beside keyboards at dusk, Blankets wrapped over tense shoulders. On some days they seem a distant timeline, On others just beyond the next threshold. Another season, another ‘morrow,  Seldom a triumph cataloged in a photo album, Often a fizzle souring into …

The Best

Far from a box of chocolates, Life resembles a Jenga tower  Of carefully crafted experiences Designed by a revolving door of opponents Sliding, pecking, shimmying, tugging, Some presenting challenging moves, Others merely provoking in nature, Before that inevitable destabilising affair That leaves you questioning your  Beliefs, your steadfast loyalty, your Basic instincts; and yet, there’s …