Grief smothers It slows minutes to seconds Linear experience is arrested And time becomes one, disconnected moment Followed by another disconnected moment Like a damaged film reel Jumping from one stepping stone to the next Each leap a gaping chasm Light too bright Sound too loud Words have no meaning Colors leeched of their vibrance The body feels both weighted down and untethered Feelings resonate acutely beneath numbness Does life still make sense when it feels senseless? Is it possible to live when one cannot seem to draw breath? Grief feels like drowning Tumultuous and savage Full of ache, helplessness, desperation Roiling and hollow Swinging like a pendulum from feeling too much To nothing at all
Born deep inside of me
A glowing ember begging to ignite
To storm, snap, and snarl
A crimson shadow sharpening its claws
Scarlet eyes stalking opportunity
A monster lurking just below restraint
Whispering dark pleas for release
Begging for me to drop its chains
So its primal fires can erupt
And burn down the world
Howling triumphantly at the joy of destruction
-gws
What a glorious idea
What an inspired place
How great it is to have a place that is full of art so bad that it becomes collectively good
I imagine this is where all prestigious macaroni art dwells
Where macrame goes to retire
I imagine walls covered in construction paper turkeys and Christmas trees made from hand shapes
Cases of scout lanyards
Shelves covered in lopsided ceramics
And so many Bob Ross paint-along landscapes
I imagine pedestals exalting junkyard sculptures inspired by Degas
Portrait galleries more closely resembling the work of Dali and Picasso than might have been intended
What a wonderful concept to celebrate the underwhelming
The failed attempt
The work that only a parent could love (from the back of the closet)
Let the awkward and unwieldy
The uncomfortable and misunderstood
Be transformed into other people's treasure
-gws
Hunger chasm deep Engulfing and undenyable Awareness of heat and heartbeat Pulses pounding a compelling rhythm Skin seeking skin Lips seeking lips All sensation and want Shallow breaths Whispered gasps The spark ignites into a blaze Two souls surrender To flames of pleasure and need
Words take up room in my mouth
Coarse and bitter
Smooth and sweet
Complex and spicy
Allowing me to experience the complex flavors of
Emotion and experience
Desire and dreams
Hunger and horror
Sometimes voracious
Eager to be made manifest
Sometimes savored
Taking time to tumble onto the page
When the words combine just right
They produce seven course meals
Ready for the soul to consume
Every color, flavor, texture
Providing nourishment for the spirit
That only poetry can provide
- gws
Happy NaPoWriMo eve!
Words Wishes and Wisdom 