Asteroid
We live in a time
Where we can travel around the world
Before the world can travel around the sun.
My life is made of footprints
That are unsure of what they’re running from or towards.
I’ve learned to leave things the way they are
And never stay long enough to let the dust settle.
Sometimes I’ll end up in the middle of nowhere
Confronted by a deafening silence
That reminds me
Solitude is where the soul speaks.
Solitude can become a ghost
That creates a chase out of things that are behind you.
A bickering shadow that gets closer depending on which way you turn.
One time, it followed me on stage and shook my voice
Until I dropped the poem.
I watched the shattered pieces scatter into the front row
And realized my loneliness now had an audience.
My passions are telescopes or magnifying glasses,
They can either help me see the lengths I’m willing to go
Or understand the value of things within reach.
This selfish exploration has led me to believe
That one of the greatest phenomena of human kind
Is how one can be surrounded by others, and still feel alone.
I can’t count the number of rivers I’ve run into
That had never even heard of the ocean.
So many limber trees rocking like ticketed passengers
Waiting in line so long they’ve become bystanders to their own journey.
I have also poured hope into the hands of a clock
To scrub away the sorrow,
Only to mistake patience for stillness
Once I smelled the rotting part of me that died
and I couldn’t cast away.
It’s a known fact
That time heals all wounds
But then again I heard that severed limbs don’t grow back
So I chose a new perspective
By looking through all the holes cupid left behind.
It’s funny how our past, present, and future become jealous siblings
And their arguments can last an eternity!
But there is nothing more powerful than now.
Nothing more fulfilling than now.
The shared breath of a life being lived.
The oxygen that offers help without asking for recognition.
The earth that keeps spinning
Even though it knows it’ll always have a dark side.
One of the greatest phenomena of humankind
Is how one can find belonging within solitude,
To feel connected to every shift in the wind,
Things don’t have to be human in order to listen to them.
Every morning should feel like the first time a glacier is kissed by the sun
And each night should be filled with the gratitude of a funeral.
I know how difficult it is
To look someone in the eyes
When you don’t feel connected to your own breath.
I know how lonely it is
To feel out of place
And out of orbit
Like an asteroid
Or an asterisk
Yet somehow
You still gain the momentum to look towards the light
and know
that you are still
In the middle
Of somewhere.