Afraid of the water
but desperate for memory
dying for liquid blue
and sun daze
of historical bliss;
we split the difference and now there’s only
the gathering and it’s aftermath.
The express train is overwhelmed and runs local.
A wise, if inconvenient choice.
Monsters lurk just out of view
but they’re old friends
and I would embrace them
if they dared step into my light.
Man at my right
reads all as I scrawl
but looks away shamed
at being so named.
It matters not.
The monsters are still there.
They want to burn down my simple joy
but only because they’re cold and lonely.
“Come.
Join my fire.
No need for us to be enemies.
We are brothers of the same trauma;
pieces of a collective whole.
Our birthday approaches.
Coalesce. Experience. Rejoice. Weep.
Remember when we were only one little hungry child?
Adulthood comes for us all.
Don’t fight.
Face it with me.
Can’t leave you behind.
We are stronger together.”
Written by Jason Wright
August 10, 2017