Caressing Waters!

I sit dangling my feet off the dock, watching the ships pass by heading away from the bay. I wave to a sailor, watching him slowly drift away, still seeing the rainbow sail almost invisible in front of the fiery sunset. The rays of bright orange ribbon against the deep blue sea are why I sit here, every night in the cool brisk air. Watching the sailors return to their well loved sea, the one thing that will never change for them, the tranquility of sailing in the waters, never knowing what the sea will bring tomorrow.

I stretch my leg out, feeling the water caress my feet with its silky touch. I sink down further, barely hanging on to the dock, feeling the cool waters splash on to my thighs, soaking my khaki shorts. I let go, falling into the waters. I bring my legs up to the surface letting my body drift to where I am floating on my back. I close my eyes, the cool water runs through my clothes, a wave stirs my body. I feel the rush of water across my stomach. My hair looks like brown smoke in the swirling liquid. I can see a lighthouse a little ways away with its lights swerving it reminds me of a carnival ride, bright and friendly, inviting people towards it.

The orange ribbon has disappeared leaving pitch black, no comfort of color, like someone poured tar on my little dock. I hit a rock, pulling myself up, feeling the cool sea air on my drenched body. My clothes cling to my smooth skin. I stay there, gazing at the midnight waters not seeing were the sea ends and the sky begins, resting my head on the smooth, grey rock watching the waters twist and turn. I feel the first drops on my now dry cheek as the rain starts. A slow drip-drop sound creating a nice lullaby lulling me to sleep.

I wake, startled by the now hectic waters, drenched in the tears of the dark rain clouds above me. I dive in to the fierce blackness. The sea is punching me, as the thrashing waters pull my head down. I struggle to breath, the once calming waters attack my fragile lungs until there’s no air left in my body. I float to the surface my eyes glazed over looking like foggy glass. The waters engulfed my heart. My one true comforting friend turned on me sending my life crashing to an end. I see my body floating lifeless in the sea as my soul lifts out of the dampened corpse drifting off, up to the emerging sunrise.

I Have a Dream!

I have a dream that one day-hopefully soon-we will treat each other with respect no matter what age, social class, or education we are from. The rich business executive who has millions in his bank account and the single mom who works two jobs, barely with enough to feed her family, should be accepted and given just as much compassion and respect as anyone else. Every person has a purpose and should not be discouraged by what they don’t have. They should be encouraged by who they are and what they can be. No one should be disrespected because of their belongings or their personal beliefs or their age. Why are the high school dropout and the valedictorian treated differently in today’s society? We all have our gifts and personalities, nothing is different. If you just look at the person standing in front of you, not at what he’s wearing or what diploma he has on his wall, but at his expression of gratitude for simply being treated as an equal.

* April Showers *

The first drops fall with a plop onto the cold pavement, starting the torrential downpour. The gutters start to fill with street sludge gathered from years of cars traveling to their destinations on the old black top. Running, it splashes on my jeans and I enjoy the sense of protection the dark rain clouds give, like their surrounding my town with a gray cover from all the stress and harm in the world. As I watch everyone else bustling for cover in their cracker box houses, I take full advantage of what these sporadic April showers give me—the freedom to fill my lungs with the fresh rain scent while I run for all I am worth on the soaked concrete. I feel the water drip from my hair. I lean my head back, opening my mouth wide, letting the cool liquid flow down my throat. As I fling my arms out, I spin slowly; giving my body to the storm, letting the thunder claps take my heart to its own beat, and the rain drench my skin. While the lightning slowly disrupts my vision so all I see is zigzags of electric flashes for minutes, I remember reality. I trudge home waiting in anticipation for the next April shower.

Random Jeans

a thread
hanging on by a prayer at the edge of the intricate swirled pattern
on the side of the worn pocket
torn at the edge from the constant habit of making the corner into a thumb rest. going down,
passing the thighs to the knees,
soft and lighter than the rest
showing the familiarity she has with this pair of well-loved pants.
one side has a small hole-
I wonder, was it from rough housing with her brother
or tripping on a log in the park.
for I will never know
because I am just a by-stander
admiring the companionship that she has but won’t know for quite some time,
until she is going through her belongings many years later and wonders
why she kept them.
until she examines them closer
and sees the love and memories I see now.
for I know, because I had a pair of those as well.

First Snow

Cold on my shoulders, it falls slowly on me, covering everything with crispy layers, sugar coating the surrounding grass. With the exhilarating effect of the first flakes drifting to the ground, I feel cold through the holes of my Crocks. I shiver, my breath looking like something is on fire in my throat. I fall in to the wet cover spreading my arms wide over and over as my legs follow in the same motion. Drowning in white, feeling my thoughts veer, as the freezing blanket pulls my once warm body deeper, lying there for what seems like a millennium as the below freezing temperatures take all the heat from my body, so all that’s left is a corpse laid in an angels half spread wings.