Day: February 24, 2018

Imperfect derelict our course set
Thrusters full power be there on the hour
Landing not too demanding outstanding
Space suits not loose a messy decompression refused

Beetle shaped spaceship destination of our trip
Something strange couldn’t see outside of visual range
We got closer and closer noticed odd structures
Like webbing we’re dreading what would be inhabiting

No one there implied nightmares give us scares
Found the bridge dead crew storage
Chest cavity calamities got the best of three
Broke free from inside but where did they hide?

Beyond the darkness we hear a choral hiss
Then three slithery shapes escape
Insectoid devoid of eyes we must avoid
We were warned malevolent lifeforms

Lost my crew hid from view need rescue
SOS brief texts deadly mess not long to live I guess
Oxygen low nowhere else to go
Hear a hiss cannot dismiss this is it–

Seven movies later
Boy are my eyes tired

My team like yours
Has a designated target
That we have been hired to hit
We are the handlers of the dogs of war

But before the end has begun
How do you like to have fun?
As you wait to turn the keys
What happens when you are at ease?

Water gun fights?
Bakeoffs showcasing culinary delights?
Chit chat over tv shows?
Grown up games where anything goes?

Today is a get-out-and-greet
When the units get to mingle every so often
Maybe today finally we shall meet
To talk what’s it like in our own siloed coffins

But as expected each unit stayed collected
Together as isolated groups
Greetings were exchanged but nothing else in the range
Of possible topics for getting to know each other

Without incident the day came and went
Before returning to our underground nests
And I sadly glanced over my shoulder to you
Our eyes finally met and then we knew

Our future was nothing more than duty
With mild pleasantries and hard protocols said
“Move along nothing else to see–”
As the sirens announcing war finally sounded

You gave me a poem
And I didn’t know what to do with it

I couldn’t eat it
I couldn’t feed it
I couldn’t buy anything with it

When I threw it in the air
It came crashing down
When I finally read it
It did not turn my frown upside down
But made my brain stand on end
As I tried to understand what was written–

I’m sorry this is not my thing
I can’t accept your gift sight unseen
Even if you say it was meant for me
I’ll have to return your poetry

Sometimes we have to believe
In fairy tales
If it means
Bringing magic into
Other people’s lives
At the cost
Of cloaking ourselves
In the spaces left behind
As others come together

My superpower

One mile down
Six more left
It’s going to be
A good hour on the treadmill

When I rolled into the parking garage
Early that winter morning
My 4×4 SUV growling
I saw you and waved–
I might as well have been driving a monster truck
Given the WTF? look on your face
Like a skeptic
You didn’t think
I owned anything with more than two wheels
I wish I had a camera

What I like about writing
Is that
I can bend
Space and time
With a few words
No timelines and lifetimes
Harmed in the process

I want to be your someone
To grow old with
And who knows what you mean
When your feet feel like lead
As you get out of bed
But who can say
“The spring has left my step, too
But I’m not upset because I still have you”
I want to be your someone
Who sways to your favorite song
Whenever it comes on
On whatever device they call a radio nowadays
Who still holds your hand along the beaten path
That leads to the future that remains
Your someone to share the last sunset with
And watch the leftover stars finally grow dark
Facing the end together not apart
Dreaming back to when we found our start–

–Your someone to raise a family with
Agonizing over first names
Holding our breath to the point of being livid
Nine months to wait is insane!
I want to chase our children around our home
When it’s too cold out to play
To bring them ice cream cones
When it’s warm enough outside to stay
I want to see our kids chase their dreams
A degree, a calling, parenthood
Or anything else it would seem
Their future always bright as it should
I want to wonder where all the time has gone
When the youngest has left us behind
All grown up and apparently moved on
As we reminisce over old photos we find–

–I want to be your someone departing only at death
No illusions as we walk down the aisle
Nothing less than an adventure to expect
Giving our best efforts to make together worthwhile
I want to be your someone who held you tightly thereafter
When we decided us would be worth it
Through the tears, anger, and laughter
Despite differences we’d make us fit
I want to be your someone who sees you at your worst
Ugly and afraid and uncertain
But you know I too can hurt
My wizardly heart also hides behind a curtain
Despite the odd beginning of an unlikely pair
Together we dared to defy what was there
An unknown future–

–I want to be someone who you’re happy to see
But I would be happy if you’d just acknowledge me
With more than a hello as we come and go
Passing each other in the hallway
Maybe trading stories about the weekend
Or comments about what you saw me eat
For lunch in the breakroom the other day
If only I was more than someone else to you
I want to be someone who makes you wonder
What it would be like to have me in your life
To discover how I’m unlike all the others
I just want to be someone you’re curious about
Even though there would be no reason to
Not expecting how things would turn out
Only a surprise ending tried and true