The Game We Play

We're all waiting for someone else to find us.

We're playing this game where everyone's always 

passing,

but nobody ever shoots for the goal.

We put so much effort, so much energy into it

but all we are doing is running in place.

It gets us nowhere,

so we wind up stuck

Stuck on the bench.

So many of us are there, stranded in the same place,

And yet still we don't find each other,

still we cannot connect.

Everyone's playing, and so no one is playing. We're benched.

And yet still we're alone.

How is it possible? Is it a rule that logic doesn't apply when emotion is in play?

The Race

For a moment we are frozen.

The room seems to pause, like a DVD sticking;

There is a hushed expectance as our ears reach for the beep we know is coming,

the beep that means it's time.

And then the sound shatters the moment, and my world seems to explode.

For an instant I am suspended in the air, and then I slam into the jarring impact.

The rolling waves have swallowed me;

I find my way to the surface, but even as I do I am thrashing with all my might.

Desperately pushing and pulling at the thick molasses that has replaced the air,

I hear nothing but the gentle murmur that is the sound of underwater,

The high-pitched gasp of my inhale, the muffled roar of my underwater exhale;

And of course, the cracking, splashing din that comes from my fierce, chaotic strokes and kicks.

I am wrestling with the water;
throwing it behind me as I drag myself towards the smooth metal wall in the distance. 
Knowing I cannot stop for anything; knowing every second I must work to try harder,

To throw myself more devotedly into this effort.

I cannot hear the scream of the crowd,

But I know it is there;

I can feel the energy in the air, and I know that all around me 
others are fighting me.

I am vaguely aware of my opponents around me, but I cannot fully analyze if I’m succeeding or failing. 
The world has narrowed to the task of closing this distance, 
closing it as fast 
as I humanly can
and faster.

And my mind is bellowing one word: GO! GO! GO!

My lungs are shrieking, my body is gasping. And my every muscle is focused on pressing on.

And then above me I see the timekeepers watching me, coming closer and closer! I throw myself the last few feet and slam both hands into the wall.

I’m here.

Almost as fast as it started, the swirling chaos fades away. I listen to my breath, loud and deep, cleansing.

As fast as the race began, it is over.

Biology

What would the earth be like
if molecules never embraced?
If decomposers took a holiday?
If gravity let go
and just watched us float away?
If the storm clouds got stronger
and never ever broke?
If the sky ripped,
if the balance tipped...

Untitled and Maybe Unfinished

You're the final blanket on my bed
that makes me go from cold to warm
the extra person joining the crowd
that tips their numbers from flock to swarm
the final raindrop in the sky
that frees them all and starts the storm

the cherry on top
the icing on the cake
the shove that lets the tall wall break

In My Empire

I lay in a technological palace.
Anything I want to know, is at my fingertips.
My shiny backlit servants are at my beck and call.
I, an average girl, can be the Empress
of my digital stronghold.
Maneuvering everything to my vision, my masterful plan.
with a tap of my fingers it is done;
the grass can be pink; the possibilities extend infinitely on a rendered blue-and-white grid.
 
Yet I, the all-powerful queen,
find myself less so
in the foreign world of germs, war, hard work and politics.

Except for the days, of course, that I find myself more so.

Fireworks

Above our heads

Colored stars suddenly splatter across the sky

With a bang like heavy paint smacking canvas.

Eager fireballs rise shakily to join the others

Fanning into great glowing willow trees

branches dropping towards the earth, fizzing and sparkling.

They linger in the air, and for a moment the whole sky is glittering

Like Swarovski crystal.

Golden sparks, crackling, are like bunches of Queen Anne’s lace

Before they spill down towards us: unremarkable, 
quiet earthlings 
huddled far below in the grass

Gazing up with fireworks reflected in our joyful eyes

on Independence Day.

I like where you are

My words, be strong and sweet
When you reach the place where phone calls meet.

I hope that they swing loud and far

Across the world to where you are

My friend, my love, my calling

Words can run without falling

But I cannot run very far

If I ran to you, my lungs would fail
my muscles are too weak, my legs too frail
But words are the athletes I can never be
they push boundaries, break hearts, and hopefully

they’ll do the thing my track skills never could

and make us universally understood.

                                                         

You like where I am

I wish for where you are

but your voice at least is never very far

because cables run underneath the sea

and carry all your words to me.

  

Simple Questions (speak the loudest)

If you won't change the world, then who will?
If you don't sing, who will break the silence?
If you don't start dancing, will we not all stand still?
If you don't start a trend, won't we all wear the same thing forever?
I don't try to be a leader. I simply don't try to be a follower.
Open your eyes! And give us all the courage to do the same.
If you won't change the world... then who will?