Not a diamond in the ruff
Just another brick in the wall
A needle in a haystack
Overlooked and unfound
Not born to stand out but made to fit in
All in white, we move in accord
Sleep in tandem, eat as one, work in unison
Our very own Anthem, we tread forth
Mason houses line the exemplary streets
Nothing out of place the whole eye can see
No different than those vermillion residences
We swallow our independent inclinations
Not a diamond in the ruff
Just another brick in the wall
Hello to those of you who are here. It’s been a busy few months but I’ve tried to post every Friday. I’ve just finished school am so excited to be able to simply write more. To get back to growing with words. School takes up so much time but it’s all been worth it and now I can concentrate on writing. I’m thinking of free writing every now and then, just putting down whatever is on my mind or in my heart in those moments. I’m also considering getting back to writing short stories and flash fiction as I dive into improving upon my craft. There will be lots of experiments ahead here. I look forward to reading more posts of yours as well. Have a beautiful day and be kind to yourself.
-Shanks
You are the fork and I am the spoon
I am the caterpillar, you’re the cocoon
You are the lyrics and I am the tune
I am the sand and you are the dune
You are the sun and I am the moon
I am the land and you’re the monsoon
You are the needle and I’m the balloon;
I am the air and now I’m renewed
One
Three familiar faces gather, plus a less familiar one
Six months away for school but back to stay
Four food orders eaten, one long game to play
It started in the booths and ended in the bed
Of a truck that despite some rust was painted red
The wind of the end of May sleepily passing
As midnight rolled by around them without notice
Sitting diagonally, not exchanging many words
Two sets of eyes chanced various meetings
Quickly locking, noting, fleeting, no dare of believing
Neither were aware of what lied ahead; so instead
They sat, cards in hand, secrets in head, in the truck bed
Two
They sat, hearts in hand, pieces scraping skin, in the sedan
The journey behind them had been blustery but beautiful
While the stretch ahead would be choppy as ever
The ship they had built, filled with endearment and hope,
Propelled by mutual encouragement, their kind of “perfect”
Held an irreparable tear they failingly tried to patch up
Like swimming in quicksand, the tear stood its ground
A distressing week lead up to the inevitable truth:
it was time to jump ship, swim to the shore of friendship
Three
Gathered again around a table were the faces of four
Ever familiar by now, each with the other closer than before
The two sets of eyes still glanced at one another
Less equally, frequently, and with a new sense of meeting
At the shore of friendship they’d managed to remain
Made it out of the ocean though only one unscathed
The other was a different story, still wandering out to the buoy
Lost in what once was, longing for that ship to roam the sea
For the hull to be renewed, sails pulled up high
Needing to look up and see the other missing set of eyes
Four
The other looked up, across, then all around
But the missing set of eyes was nowhere to be found
The other slowly realized the road in front was as clear
As the material that made up the body of the hourglass
That held the numbered grains of love that had passed
The missing set of eyes was gone and would not return
No rhyme or reason stated; cut off all communication
Here today gone tomorrow, so the idiom fairly stated
“If you love them, let them go” is easier said than done
Yet a life without the other set of eyes had just begun
Five
In a four-door of a different color, the other sat
Mind anew, goals in view, and heart in tact
Venturing home to another threshold and bed
A life without the other set of eyes well in motion
And though at times, the mind would descend
Into the rearview mirror of the past
Seeing the missing set of eyes, the face
That held such a big place in the other’s heart
But in this time apart, it had become apparent
Grateful for the increased strength, love, and lessons
It was without question now a lucid discovery
The other had been too incoherent to see
How different the two sets of eyes would grow to be
These letters are dancing across the page,
and as you read them
I wonder if you’re taking them in
Breathing them into your lungs
digesting them into your bloodstream
or if they’ll simply disappear as you exhale
They were formed in the innermost part of my core
Rose from the dust of my bones
and slithered through my veins
Where my blood ebbs and flows, to and fro
Heart to brain, head to toe
Pen was lifted as words were shifted
The hemispheres of my thinking organ
Carefully crafting the right words
To see you. To feel you. To reach you.
Are a walking
breathing
loving
thinking
nurturing
worrying
sleeping
dreaming
crying
creating
falling
standing
reaching
smiling
working
living form of art.
And don’t you ever forget it.
I long to paint the sky. For colors to blend and bleed and slip around the sunset. To wash over the warmth of the wind as it weaves in waves of wonder. For what is the color of beauty? What hues do you see when it’s brushed across the horizon? Which tones are muted and hints are highlighted? To each their own beauty.
Those trees out at the park
You know the ones
They saw the full-faced smiles
Quietly stolen kisses
Bathed in moonlight and darkness
Though we were nothing but luminous
With you I saw the whole woodlands
And we picked out the perfect trunk
Limbs against limbs
Faces finding fingertips
Souls meeting in between
Like deserts finally finding rain
