There is
something
to the idea
of riding the wind
instead of stubbornly
trying to change its direction.
I walk to the ocean's edge
find a seashell in the sand
I toss it back to the water.
It doesn’t belong to me anyway.
Tag: poet
In the next room
In one room
my grandmother begs for peace.
She cries for her mother,
screams in confusion and pain.
In the kitchen, he cooks dinner alone.
Smelts, fresh bread, salad, a beer.
I watch my grandfather as he moves
quiet and purposeful.
He fries the fish as he holds back tears.
He hears his wife cry out in pain.
His own is angry, frustrated.
He tells me,
“this was not supposed to happen.
This is not how I imagined the end.”
He sits at the kitchen table
the Steelers’ game plays in front of him
He does not notice me watching
as he drizzles hot sauce on his meal.
He turns, sensing me behind him,
tells me to grab a plate.
I do, knowing this is an important offering.
He fixes me dinner,
too many smelts than I can stomach,
salad, and bread.
I begin to eat silently next to him
This is his language of love.
He gets up suddenly
grabs a glass from the cupboard
pours half of his beer in the glass.
He hands it to me.
I drink. I take him in.
I say nothing. Because I know
he needs this. He needs me
to be silent with him, to eat
the food he has made
to accept what love
he has left to give.
To do something
anything.
She calls me tresora
I help care for my Nanna.
My father and uncle hold her
as my mother and I clean her.
She sits and cries,
“You should not see this, Marisa.”
“I’m happy to be here Nanna. I need to be.”
“I want to kiss you.”
I lean in, place
my forehead against her lips.
We sit like this for a moment.
The quiet is treasure,
just as she’s called me her’s
all my life.
And just like that,
the moment flees.
The chaos begins again.
Love in its many forms.
Suffering, too.
April 1st
You share you haven’t
written
in two months.
I’m startled at the idea
that you’ve not reflected
or inspired
a note
a poem
or paragraph
while I’ve written about you
most days.
I’ve written about you
since the night
I thought
you were something other
than who you turned
out to be.
I’ll look to the south
You are
your favorite authors
your beloved
literary characters.
I dive to understand
your mind
and come up
breathless and more confused.
I seek refuge among
the clues you’ve given me
in memories a decade old.
I review the
drunken truths you let
slip that evening.
I only get you
when your guard is down,
broken in with substances
meant to numb you.
I just hope I find you
before you meet the same fate
as the characters you look to
to fill your lonely heart.
washed away
I open the drawer
where I keep the lingerie
I wore that night.
I look to
the bottoms you took off
to enter
without foreplay or affection.
Without protection.
I asked you to wear a condom.
I stand alone in my bedroom.
I hold the shorts to my nose
the satin smells like your cologne.
I'm reminded of the blind hope
the unfulfilling physical touch.
I feel mixed sadness
as I place
the satin shorts
in the washing machine,
reverently.
I wore them to feel
sexy,
desirable.
Like an object,
you take,
you play,
and return me
once you’ve finished.
I shut the lid
turn away from the wreckage,
wishing desperately to redo
the night you came inside
looking for a way out.
Basket case
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,”
her mind instructs.
“But it’s such a nice basket!”
the heart pleads.
