Riding the highway rumble strip
Slowly to feel each rise and drop.
Both windows down,
Warm night air hugs the sound of
Tires straddling the black
Perforated edge of goodbyes,
Stop and go breeze whistles
Between each finger
That dares to test life
Away from the steering wheel.
Radio static turns thoughts
Into black and white confetti,
Into missing puzzle pieces
And the quiet notes of the
Chorus,
Bridge,
Chorus.
I’ll never forget how faithfully
You tucked me in with burlap,
Wrapped ice packs around my toes,
And placed a heavy green glass
Of bubbly mud by my bedside.
You read aloud half a manual
On gears and car parts,
Threatened me with a test,
Then turned on the light
And said,
”Sleep might hit you in the head
With a sledgehammer,
Share the bedbugs
With the monsters in your closet.”
each thought hung outside,
pinched by a clothespin,
waiting limply
to be returned to dark,
cool drawers
where the wind doesn’t
blow through,
showing the sun
what’s been
worn thin.
White noise and whispers,
Like salt to blood pressure,
Send thoughts quickly to the heart.
What was and what ifs
Glaze blue eyes over,
Colors replay on the inside.
Is a memory
A pile of quilt squares,
Bright pieces of earth and sky
In flesh-like cloth,
Soft and familiar?
Or is it
The blanket’s stains and loose threads,
Pockmarked pieces
Fingered and worn,
Torn in places?
Tears flow backward,
Drowning dreams
In salty,
Shark infested waters.
Every wound inside
Burns as the
Warm briny waves
Rush in.
Phantom termites marching,
Put your ear to the floor.
Awful expectations,
You can crunch them,
But there’s more.
You know skinny legs support
This army of mental beasts,
But extermination’s useless,
You’re the fodder
For their feast.
When I thought growing up meant
My own pair of chocolate icing eyes
And Princess Jasmine hair,
When I believed adolescence was simply
A merging of freckles
Into a nice, golden tan,
When career just meant
A fun, dressy
Daytime distraction,
When teenage years
Were like blurry heat waves
In the distance on the road.
Thoughts stretch
Until all color disappears
From their taut putty strings.
Only black and white
Answer bubbles bounce
In the brain,
Red herrings are sent
To the stomach
To flutter.
jacsprat 