Life Itself

There was a jungle full of roots and thorns and swamps and danger. A forest of destruction and emotional deforestation. I slowly navigated it. Sometimes going in circles. Sometimes moving forward. I marveled each time a root caught my foot. What was it that kept it growing over years and years buried deep inside a dark, quiet place? I caught my breath when fear gnawed its way inside and pushed me to turn and run. But I never turned and I never stopped. The urge to cross over, to transcend, to transform, always pulled me like the earth's gravity. And then I saw the sunlight catch the dew and I knew it was over. What do you do when all the questions are answered, when you walk through all the ugly underbelly and face all the angriest demons? Does self awareness become the cover up? Do you finally turn in any direction? Does realization make you different?

That moment. The little indecision, the fearless declaration, the long wait, the crashing, the rising. I have read poetry that makes me wish it was written for me. Heard words that woo and swish me off my feet. I have felt eyes as they quickly duck another way. Heard endless gushed stories that seem like I belong in them. When you know and deny, when you perceive and pretend, when you understand and ignore. It is the catastrophe of almost touching, the devastation of roughly feeling, the trauma of nearly believing. There is that. And then, sometimes, unexpectedly, there may be intensity, and comfort, and calm, and dependability, and assurance, and passion. Sometimes, tragedies give way to an everyday romance.

The damages are all still fresh. Not like fresh flowers and fragrance, or freshly brewed coffee. The cracks are blunted. Like the scent of a pressed flower, the aroma of a receipt from a coffee date many decades ago. The wounds have healed but the salt still burns. Not like a lost limb or deafened ears. The burns are scars. Like an itch on a phantom limb, a scream in a vacuum. The rage has calmed but the soul still simmers. Not like the death of a loved one or being cheated on. The memories are faded. Like the ache of watching love get Alzheimers, their eyes catching light because of someone else. The desperation has dissipated but the urge still tingles. Not like the gasp for more oxygen or reading every last word for a favorable interpretation. The emotions are stunted. Like learning to breathe under water, comprehending the words never meant to be yours. The sound is still hollow, the darkness is still dull.