Chest heavy; throat dry,
Scratchy sweater at the neck,
Rubbing against an unclosed wound,
That runs from head to heart.
All these feelings, invoked by a road.
Two numbers, when separated mean little.
When together, paint a picture,
Seen a thousand times in the mind.
Venturing here is rare
Extra miles driven around
To avoid four wheels to this road.
But when forced down the paved path,
The car fills with a different air,
The whole body sinks back.
Glimpses of early mornings
And full trunks,
And a rush to be seen.
This, a version of oneself,
now unrecognizable in the rear view.
This road.
Holds a certain pain
That even escape,
And closed doors,
And time will not resolve.
The deposit there was costly
In all ways one can pay.
This road all but consumed us,
Until it was decided,
The road could never carry one home.
This road is found in many places.
The kinship is in the knowing
That while on these roads
We find others traveling with us,
To safety,
To kindness,
To life.
Places
Hamsterwheel
Hello hamster.
This is a wheel.
It spins and spins and spins.
You will feel like you are working hard
But in the end you will be where you started.
And tomorrow, when you wake
You will do it again.
Hello kids.
This is an active shooter drill,
But let’s pretend it’s a game.
Be quiet and hide
To echo how the politicians
React to our lives.
Let’s pretend the person
Is the problem.
Shhhhhhh.
Do not move.
Do not breathe.
Do not hope.
Hello world.
We are America.
You love our media
And our music.
And our freedom?
And so do we.
But we love
Really love
Love love love
Love
One more time, love.
Our guns.
More then our kids.
More then our neighbors.
More then anything.
And for tomorrow?
We are back on the wheel
To do it all again.
Hello hamster
While you were spinning.
The kids were hiding.
Some were found.
Found.
It all looks and sounds the same, again.
More names and families on the list.
The wheel that keeps on spinning
Has spun us up again.
This wheel is terrible.
Unending.
Relentless.
Devastating.
Preventable?
No!
Yes.
No? Not today. Or tomorrow.
We are busy.
Banning everything
but the obvious.
This wheel is insanity.
