Words With Purpose

bright lights, strobes, bass banging through the floorboards and into your bones hands in the air, smoke clinging to everyone and everything throats red and raw from screaming all the words in unison hips thrusting, legs shaking until –  fists flying, bodies pushing and shoving blood everywhere then back to –  heads banging, bass throbbing screaming together, vibing together bands jumping all of a sudden –  circles forming, yelling escalating, elbows in chests shoulders faces legs then back to –  rocking, swaying, dancing, screaming it isn’t until the next day that the aftermath hits hard

Grassy Illinois plains and fields of wildflowers call to me. I miss the jagged rows of corn and the sweet lullaby the combines sing in the summertime. The whistle of the wind through the trees and land for miles and miles does something for my soul. Deer frolicking through the timber put a smile on my face like no other. Beanstalks in the fields and cattails in the ditches with the toads lurking and croaking make me miss home. The hot summer sun shining down on the gravel roads and glinting off the grass makes me miss who I used to be.

Prickly Pear, Peyote, Parodia.  Harsh pricks from plants that should promise her protection, but instead. Just like the succulents, she has to bare such a strong spine. Significantly small and simultaneously severe, she still stifles her cries. Like the water filling an old cactus, She’s brimming with the floods of broken promises, Always used for what’s on the inside By the ceaseless nomads that steadily come and go, but never stay. Parodia, Peyote, Prickly Pear.

The orange hound barks as His human walks through the door, Circling back and forth, Twitching his tail eagerly, In hopes of his human finally staying home.  The plump pooch sniffs at his human While she grips a round white object. Hoping the bowl is filled with something for him for once, She holds it up away from him. Realizing it is not for him, The pup sinks to the floor like a puddle of neglected fur. The human, at last, reaches down to stroke the dog with one hand, The other occupied with a bulky rectangular object. Just as the big dog began to howl and wiggle with anticipation, His human, once again, got up, leaving him hungry and heartbroken. It was then that he realized the truth – He and his human were opposites; There was more to his human’s life than just him.

This is who you were. You had crazy, unruly red hair, An uncontrollable and contagious laugh, And the brightest blue eyes. Your crazy red hair Always coated with the dingy smell of stale cigarette smoke, Your bright blue eyes filled with joy. The too-big camouflage t-shirts you wore Had the dingy smell of stale cigarette smoke, But you constantly had goofy grin, Even though I hated your too-big camouflage t-shirts. You were invariably optimistic, With your goofy grin and An uncontrollable, contagious laugh. Invariably optimistic, This is who you were.

The young toddler used to see bright yellow plastic Covered in deep dark dents Made by countless trips Down the colossal neon spiral By countless other toddlers. The young toddler used to see glossy blue plastic Covered in small, secret scratches Made by numerous play dates With the big man she called Grandpa –  His Golden hair just long enough for the colorful clasps. The young toddler used to see small scrapes, Streaming red with Gritty grains of sand, Mixing with the salt of her tears, Filling the stinging red cuts on her knees. The young toddler used to see strong calloused hands lifting her up And bandaging her, The man with the Golden locks would always say, “No more slides today, just barrettes. Grandpa’s gotcha now.”