“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” – Joan Didion
The chill in the air
welcomes in the new season
prior to the official date,
bundling under blankets, I drift
between sleep and the day,
slow mornings remind me of
end of Septembers by the lake
staring up at the sky
spotting shooting stars
and talking about
the meaning of life
while the warmth of
the fire dwindles away.
Dreams from the night before
linger in the background
for the remainder of the day.
We pray for what we cannot control
to have a positive outcome.
Sending wishes out into the universe
to be on our side, for everything
bad to turn out alright.
Luck teaches us lessons, we don't
always know we've been dealt
a bad hand when we're drowning
in the consequences of years
filled with poor decisions.
Leading with your heart
lends poorly to logistics.
Learning lessons only flourish
once you grow out of cycles
then proactively choose
to make different choices.
Adults tell you as a kid
time moves faster for them.
Which you don't believe
because time moves at a
glacially slow pace.
Days feel like weeks,
weeks feel like months,
and so on and so forth.
Shifting into new decades
do you begin to comprehend
what you were told as a kid.
My thoughts float above my being,
I drift through days,
watch the moon rise,
listening to the waves,
drifting through the dreams
I will surely forget in the morning.
Over the bridge, there's a river
reflecting the trees
on a cold summer day
laughs linger through
the quiet of nature
reminders of seasons
as the heat finally breaks
the possibilities of
what could be await
in the mirrored water
only if you choose to see.
The season blooms as the leaves
continue to vibrate through
the late afternoon.
My skin warms in the salt air,
the streets filled with people
who don't understand a one-way.
Children cry, adults yell,
seagulls try to steal food.
I continue to wander beneath
the cloudless skies
just trying my best
to get by.
I miss your smile these days.
I trace my steps through the summer season
searching through memories I thought I lost
only to reappear in instances where smells
remind me of my childhood.
I avoid driving by your house
in the winter, I hate seeing someone
who isn't you celebrating in the house
I called home in the warmer months.
Christmas lights glistening don't feel right
when the grass isn't green, all the times
my feet got dirty running barefoot up
your long driveway.
In the days of summer, time slips into
the vast puddle of shallow memories.
I sit in search of honesty, making sense
of what I will never fully understand.
Patiently, I listen and take in information
that's not mine, assessing the gravity of
situations I only can lend empathy to.
The air is hot after the sun sets
summer evenings pull me in.
Nightlife, for once, is fun.
Joys in conversations,
magic in poetry,
and unexpected shocks,
reminders of loved ones.
The sliver of the moon
towards the east
lights the drive home,
daylight lingers softy,
peace is welcomed.
Summer has settled in the air
along the shore I watch the boats
go by on the coast
'tis the season for observation
I watch closely as the haze
comes then fades in the distance
of the day.
Kelly Severseike 