2022-07-30 #writing/poetry #poem-a-day
- finish
title storming
- learning how to lose
- a losing education
anchorless.
An orange half in an outstretched hand. Names spilled onto sand. Watching an eye metamorphose the moment you smile. Salt sheen on water.
scarless starless weightless. Flying is dangerous, Icarus, do you know where you’re going?
The first thing we learn is how to lose ourselves. The smallest things will do: A dog’s nose. The wind’s sigh. Friends found in shadows & clouds. Every sunbeam winking.
Then, we’re taught grammar. How periods divide. And, semicolons divide, too; describing a life is a run-on sentence. Punctuation is sacred. We’re taught rules: how un- marks an opposite, how -less is born of fear, how de- multiplies in isolation. We keep tradition as our fathers did and their fathers before them.
We forget how small things roll off the tongue. We’re dressed in armor. Interlinking hyphens and commas. Sharpened line breaks and lengthened em dashes. Javelin throwing becomes our sport.
We lose how to lose. We forget how to hurt. We let power slip away with the tides of information.
Until a hefty period. Punctuated clarity rushes through our blood. We learn to pronounce responsibility, carve it into our soul. I am responsible for myself repeated into heart oblivion, an internal detention or a Baldessari piece only we know.
Mind unraveling spool unfolding we think faster than we exist. a million threads departing new shoots sprouting from unbroken earth unopened eyes delighting unsung lullabies ringing in untouched destruction.
drifting on a moonless ocean. my arms flailing for holds, for some purchase, some ground among the flow. denied. unending denial. unmoored unbound unsound sans breathe sans light sans sight.
can i change? can i be water? can i be anchorless too?
unmarked unsatisfied united under unknowing. to be useless to be formless to be weightless. give me breathe and i will wrap myself in wreathes of air. i will bare my skin open my eyes release.
Bathe in unfiltered moonlight and become whole.
anchorless.
The first thing we learn is how to lose ourselves in the smallest things: A dog’s nose, the wind’s sigh, friends found in shadows & clouds, half an orange in an outstretched hand spelling our names in the sand watching an eye metamorphose. salt sheen on water & the wink from every sunbeam.
Then, we’re taught grammar. How periods divide. And, semicolons divide even further; describing a life is a run-on sentence. Punctuating is sacred tradition-keeping. We’re taught rules: how un- marks an opposite, how -less is born of fear, how de- multiplies in isolation.
We forget how small things roll off the tongue. Interlinking hyphens and commas. Mental armor made to protect our feeble minds from temptation.
We lose the ability to lose, to allow ourselves to be hurt. We become powerless.
scarless starless weightless. Flying is dangerous, Icarus, do you know where you’re going?
i miss missing. mind unraveling spool unfolding a million threads departing misty-eyed star trails blinking new shoots sprouting from unbroken earth unopened eyes delighting unsung lullabies ringing in destructive reign.
drifting on a moonless ocean. my arms flailing for holds, for some purchase, some ground among the flow. denied. unending denial. unmoored unbound unsound sans breathe sans light sans sight.
can i change? can i be water? can i be anchorless too?
unmarked unsatisfied united under unknowing. to be useless to be formless to be weightless. give me breathe and i will wrap myself in wreathes of air. i will bare my skin open my eyes release.
Bathe in unfiltered moonlight and become whole.
anchorless.
we used to lose ourselves in the simplest things. A dog’s nose the wind’s sigh friends found in shadows and clouds. An outstretched hand with half an orange.
then we’re taught grammar, how un- marks an opposite how -less is born of fear how de- multiplies in isolation.
how periods divide. And semicolons divide even further; how describing a life is a run-on, and punctuating is an act of preservation.
We forget how small things roll off the tongue. as if our own name were forgettable, as if our facial expressions were strangers we become powerless
scarless starless weightless. Flying is dangerous, Icarus, do you know where you’re going?
i miss missing. mind unraveling spool unfolding a million threads departing. misty-eyed star trails blinking courageously new shoots sprouting from unbroken earth unopened eyes delighting unsung lullabies ringing in destructive reign.
drifting on a moonless ocean. my arms flailing for holds, for some purchase, some ground among the flow. denied. unending denial. unmoored unbound unsound. sans breathe sans light sans sight.
can i change? can i be water? can i be anchorless too?
unmarked unsatisfied united under unknowing. to be useless to be formless to be weightless. give me breathe and i will wrap myself in wreathes of air. i will bare my skin open my eyes release.
Bathe in unfiltered moonlight and become whole.
anchorless unmoored unbound unsound sans lock sans breathe sans light denied designed delight
flying free seeds floating on the breeze a kite with no strings a balloon who grew wings mournful sunlight falling on half a face arms curling around the shadow of a body
as children we learn about grammar, how un- in an opposite how -less is born of fear how de- multiplies in isolation
as children we learn how to lose ourselves in the simplest things, a dog’s nose, the wind’s sigh, and then we forget, as if our own name were forgettable like that of a beautiful soul we met once but stole a home in our mind. we become powerless
scarless starless weightless flying is dangerous Icarus do you know where you’re going?
i miss missing. mind unraveling spool unfolding a million threads departing outward. misty-eyed star trails blinking courageously new shoots sprouting from unbroken earth unopened eyes delighting unsung lullabies ringing in destructive reign.
drifting on a moonless ocean. my arms flailing for holds, for some purchase, some ground among the flow. denied. unending denial
can i change? can i be water? can i be anchorless too? unmarked unsatisfied united under unknowing. to be useless to be formless to be weightless. give me string and i will wrap myself in wreathes of air. i will bare my skin open my eyes release.
Bathe myself in unfiltered moonlight and become whole.
destroy design deny delight
we learn to say yes please and no thank you and we learn how it feels to lose an entire day over a box of legos, a dog’s nose, the sigh of the wind. everyday creation is our muse