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i bought a suit jacket
and an overcoat,
pants, socks and
leather shoes.
the shoes were
portuguese, not
italian, but they
did the job.
i had big plans,
plans i entertained.
i sat there
on the bed in the
hotel.
i sat there
and sat there
and thought about
everything.
all the flights
were cancelled,
hurricane force winds
they said,
so it seemed everyone
was looking for
a hotel.
i guess i
was lucky.
it never really
got dark;
the light just paled
slightly this time
of year.
i thought of
the countryside;
it was treeless
and windswept.
i thought of my
newly purchased
portuguese leather
shoes and how
far I could walk
in them.
all the flights
were cancelled,
hurricane force winds,
so they said.
the daylight
faded slightly and turned
to that milky, off-white
color that
was considered night.
i finally
went to sleep
and left the following
morning when the
winds died down.
on the end of the
bed i left
my new attire;
i neatly
folded my suit
jacket and overcoat,
my pants and new socks.
i left the leather portuguese
shoes, too.
they weren’t italian,
but they got
the job done.

Published by Jeremiah Ray

Jeremiah Ray is an interdisciplinary artist and writer living and working in the coastal Maine region. He has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His visual artwork is much like his life insofar as it is a constant journey of exploration and discovery. In his formative years, Jeremiah traveled extensively, exploring languages and cultures to fulfill a need for both adventure and as instruments of further understanding himself. Jeremiah completed his MFA in studio art with one intention - to teach. He desired to assist others in finding and honing their unique, personal language. He has always believed that art transcends verbal communication. Discovering one's voice in an individual medium and utilizing it to articulate nonverbally is the greatest obstacle and the most potent ability. In 2016 Jeremiah was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer. This drastically shifted his perspective on art, visual and written, and solidified his firm belief that they are indeed a universal language. Straddled with the emotional burden of a cancer diagnosis, Jeremiah became increasingly aware that he often lacked the adequate vocabulary to understand and share his experiences fully. As such, during the most trying time in his life, he set the task of answering two core questions. First, what is vulnerability? And secondly, how do I communicate this with others? Still in recovery, Jeremiah has retained these as primary questions when beginning a project, understanding that vulnerability is intrinsic to being human and transcends language and culture.

Published