They draw a line around my leg
It is not a line in the sand
The sand is where they think I go
To collect the shells
The shells which sit pretty underneath my skin
If they touched and licked they would not taste salt
Not salt from the beach
Salt from inside
Tears
Not vanilla
Bitter
Like plane fumes
It is a hyper real day
A day where the sky is blue
The line scrubbed off
Billy the liar waves hi over the top of the car
I wonder why he does
I said no
Once
Twice
But I still smile
Wave back
There are worse people than Billy the liar
The good people
The ones who cannot look you in the eye
They make you invisible
Put a thick black line around you
And rub out the middle
We are very different
We do not want to touch you
Or feel your touch
I laugh
I don’t want to touch me either
The hand
The sink
The water
It’s not really mine
Pull up a seat
Rest a hand
It won’t be real to you in a while either
The butterfly wings sing
Cabbage moths fluttering around
A crisply dropped pharmacy bag
Is that mine or yours
A little tonic
A little moment
When the wings fan our faces like a cool seaside breeze
Pull up a seat
Rest a hand
We can share
It won’t be real to you in a while either.
"When the wings fan our faces like a cool seaside breeze" - this poem was so full of images, unreal truly. Thanks for writing and sharing such a beautiful piece !!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Green Speck..
ReplyDeleteAgain you have created a beautiful piece of art. Takes me to places I have not been, maybe I do not want to go...people I'm not sure of, but beautiful all the same, maybe a little frightening?
ReplyDeleteOur differences are what make us beautiful. What a terrible world if we were all to look the same. Inside us all there is both beauty and sadness, we are not human unless we appreciate one and feel the other with love. Who knows what is real in this world? Shells, Billy the liar and moths wings; our world would be poorer without them. Your writing, Jae, always makes me love the world more.
ReplyDeleteSo much to think about here...the realness of self, the realness of others, and the touch of one hand on another. Sometimes we just have to take a risk...to touch one another however we can. And to believe WE are real.
ReplyDelete"Put a thick black line around you and rub out the middle"... what perfect words to paint this reality of distances we create in our minds and hearts. I think this is one of your very best ever, I could so well relate! I will be rereading often. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a place best seen from afar..thank you for seeing beauty there Annell..
ReplyDeleteThank you OldEgg..for some reason my little brain pictured Kermit singing 'It's not easy being green'..it's not easy but it's worth it.. ;)
Thank you Mary..for seeing and offering a virtual hand..
Thank you so much Josie.. :)
Haunting and heartfelt poem! People can often make us feel invisible, make us doubt ourselves and question our reality.
ReplyDeleteHaunting but beautiful!
Beatious :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly daydreamerdreams..
ReplyDeleteBeautimus comment..thanks Ben :)
such hypersensitive observations, fixating on the miniature not the bigger picture as if your world has shrunk to the shells under your skin. Amazing writing.
ReplyDeleteI like the shells under your skin. I like all of this. The lines, the world you create. I don't really know what it's about but it makes me fell something which is most important. The images are beautiful. I also like the cabbage moths, it's so precise. I'll be re-reading this.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a caterpillar on leaves on trees kind of person! Thank you Dandelion Girl..
ReplyDeleteThank you Queen of the tambourine..
Like Josie, I responded most keenly to the thick black line, the judgement. I understand the sensation of the "good people" failing eye contact, failing acceptance. I understood much, here. You conveyed it so clearly.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kim..understanding is a mutual process I am sure..if you are willing to look at the messy middle bits..thank you for your understanding...
ReplyDeleteThis is so strong and poignant. I have been there on the invisible side. This poem describes that aspect so well. I am always moved by your writing.
ReplyDelete,,,yes, it will be real,,,no, you will not be rubbed out (erased) from the middle,,,yes,there is no "line in the sand- that was at the Alamo),,,yes,,,real,,, SO: the "Yes's" have it.. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Ellecee..
ReplyDeleteThank you Glenn..tsk about the Alamo..wish you were here to help me decide what beans to buy..so to speak..shopping would be much quicker ;)