Writing Prompt

I watch you in crowded rooms, my gaze clings to you as you move through the halls. I inhale the essence of your skin when you brush past. Your voice echoes in my mind, a constant whisper in my ear. The more you speak, the more I crave. But just once, I wish you were the one staring at me— The one inhaling my scent as I walk by, desperate for the moment to last. But you’ll never love me—I’m not her.

As we roll through the Icelandic plains, I realize our sojourn is almost over. Mossy rolling hills sidle up against fields of brown grass. Juxtaposing rich life with unceremonious death by fire. It has only been 3 days, and yet, I can feel that I’ve turned a sharp corner. My late 20’s have brought a sense of self that I was worried would never come. A sureness, a blanket of security. I need not worry about maximizing today because the natural flow of the river will take me on my journey. Tomorrow shall come and I will be okay then too. The mad dash to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze and push others to squeeze with me is dissipating slowly. I can build community while following the beat of my own drum. I do not require isolation nor leadership to move forward.

Each day my heart goes stronger The days feel longer Those old manic nights That raced my heart to new heights Now feel all the wronger

I’m awake and I have you to thank My eyes are clear I no longer curse the world or myself Those wasted hours have made life all the sweeter

I take a bite Feel the crunch on my teeth And that tart juice on my tongue There is beauty everywhere Just had to open my eyes and see That it was always me That would lead us home

I’ve endured What once lured No longer sings the same relieving tune

Enrichment now calls There’s so much to explore And feel and touch and breathe I am here

I have at once, finally, arrived.

Blackbird song echos the room ernestly hoping for someone to hear. The sound is sweet, the sound is endearing; A motivation to begin the new day.

Blackbird do you ever get tired? First up at morning, last out at night; You sing to the rain, you work in the sun Do you ever need a break?

Or do you enjoy waking up to your own song? Working hard each day to feed your youth. Does the rain bring you joy? Knowing you’ll have an easier time finding feed.

Blackbird sings for himself each day He listens for his friends to call back to him His song brightens listeners mornings It wakes me up from my slumber.

It’s alarming break disturbing our peace Isn’t taken as a disruption But a fufiling sound of nature Starting my day

There was a time when I had no honest feelings. An entire empty shell of a person occupying space and wasting air.

Now that’s not to say I wasn’t a thoughtful, compassionate human being. Those characteristics stick to bone and adhere to the soul. Substance was there.

No. What I’m saying is that my body wasn’t capable of holding onto emotions I felt I could not keep.

As if trying to catch condensation prior to evaporating; the effort only yielded defeat.

Happiness. Joy. Pride.

Fleeting far between feelings regarded as foreigners in my flesh.

An isolating experience that welcomed the ruminations of all things dreary, but I digress.

An unforeseen catalyst prompted an awakening. A fissure formed between my breasts. Allowing me to reach into the cavity of my chest.

Plucking at my heartstrings. Each tug of tested elasticity surrendered frigidity.

Replacing a once cold carvern with the comfort of warmth radiating from the sheer strength to reach within and palpitate pure unbridled happiness.

A warmth of seemingly foreign comfort after so long of adrenaline-fueled survivability, replaced with the passion to live and live and live.

The time has not yet come It’s too early for us both But, I'm here. I'm absolutely here This is not our time Old emotions have been weighing on us I'm still by your side Time for sharing will come soon Feel my presence with clear eyes There is no doubt Signs in mirror hours Shine as you are right now No need to contact me directly Change how you communicate Many messages to be shared Our bond of love is still there You know me way home Take it

With every change I am born again. I’m never the same As time passes by.

Every day I look in the mirror. And a different person Looks back at me.

When the world wakes up The sun rises The house brightens And the little boy rides his bicycle

10 years later when the world wakes up Bird sing their song Streets lit up The boy rides his bicycle

8 years later when the world wakes up Alarm clocks go off That song they sing The teenager rides his bike to his graduation

20 years later when the world wakes up Pancake smells fill the living room Breakfast and more The man rides his bicycle to work

30 years later when the world wakes up The old man in the hospital Hand in a little boy's And the boy rides the bicycle home

how could i sleep for so long? staring at a field of flowers, when i had been focused on the dirt the path had been laid in front of me i chose to walk with a blindfold had i truly been so ignornant, or did my subconscious pride take the lead. the flower gently placed in my hand as it had been done before i wanted to run how could i accept something so gracious after denying it for so long. i took the flower prying my eyes open to capture every second how could i ever have had them closed?

The darkness turns whiter, No that’s just the brightness of the sun outside, I wake up and my hair looks like a web dome by a spider, Rolling over to get my body back to life

I go to the bathroom, I brush my teeth take a shower and it starts to dawn, That while I’m singing and thinking in the shower, My mind drifts off to a place where I was someone that had no money, No room no clothes no bath no place no friends, So how’d I wake up in my bed

I don’t mind it much, I mean I have everything I’ve ever wanted, A tv some food in the fridge and a place to stay, But I look at my texts it says, “Get to the studio now” then I get a call, “WHERE ARE YOU!” They scream, “I’m coming” is what came out of my mouth, I was so startled I ran to the last address this phone had, And sure enough it was the studio

I guess I have all my dreams now, But I don’t even know the journey, I don’t know the people, I don’t know the place, I don’t even know of my fans who’ve heard me

Goodmorning they say as I walk by, Goodmorning to the guy that just stands at his desk eats a bagel and I lie, Saying “Hey how you been” acting like I know him, I guess this is what I wanted, People to know me, See me, And say goodmorning as I pass by, So I say to the person who called me here “GOODMORNING”

I’m awake I sleep six hours every night But I’m always awake The pain in my chest The shortness of breath from the lungs The pain of nausea in my stomach It keeps me awake Being anxious all the time Confused and stressed over little things It keeps me awake and alive But also in pain So I have to chose Being awake Or being asleep