Tag: "jeremiah ray poetry"

fly straight

Today I learned what geese talk about
when they fly,
when they leave for the winter.
I said,
“No, it can’t be,
They look like they have everything,
They really seem to have it all
all figured out.”
from the ground,
gazing up,
up, up, up,
Their direction looks so certain,
Their flight seems so pure,
as if they live with a real purpose.
But now I think I understand what they say
when they are migrating,
when they are flying away.
They are not talking about the view.
They are not talking about the endless horizon, either.
They do not talk about a life of freedom.
Instead, this is what they say:
“I need to keep moving,
If I stop, I will start to think!”
“Will I be attractive
When I get older?”
“I think I’m lovable,
but maybe I’m not.”
“Am I necessary to this company
Or just kidding myself?”
“I pushed away another beautiful soul
and I made it look like their choice.”
I stood there on the ground,
barefoot,
with grass between my toes,
looking up,
feeling surprised and amazed
as they sang their songs overhead.
How could that happen?
But part of me already knew
and part of me understood
Those golden arrows you see can only fly straight
for just so long.

brambles and thorns

The raspberry tasted of youth.
‘How simple
this is,’
I thought, as I waited for
the coffee to brew.
It is raining today,
a cold rain,
a December rain.
It is only a few weeks away
from the solstice.
The days move so swiftly,
rushing after something I can’t quite see.
As I stood watching the rain
and eating the raspberries
that tasted of youth,
I tried to understand
how time keeps moving;
how this day seems to rush by
toward something I can’t see.
It was never like this
in my youth;
Time used to move gently.
I’d stand amongst the raspberries,
free from care,
just careful not to get pricked by the tiny thorns,
and eat, and eat, and eat.
I began to understand,
pulling myself out of my thoughts
and pouring my coffee,
that the raspberry patch was
my kingdom,
I felt safe there
tucked hidden in the thick brambles and thorns.
the world outside
was full of turmoil;
there was a man out there who was so fierce
that a few scratches
from the inside of my kingdom,
my sanctuary,
paled in comparison
to his anger.

getting older

I once had words that sounded beautiful.
I think I wanted
to make this sound nicer,
to make my thoughts
feel richer and stronger.
But this isn’t something
that really needs it,
even though it often comes to mind.
Now it’s midday
and I feel like taking a nap.
My eyes
are watering because I’m tired,
and my head starts to nod
Part of me says
that I should rest.
But I’m still here
thinking about getting older
about time,
and everything that’s happened since we
last met,
about the gray hairs
you have now
and my own baldness.
I think about wrinkles.
Mine come from life, from
living hard,
from all the trials I’ve faced.
And yours come from living
just living, the kind that feels boring,
growing older without learning much.
You see,
your corner office
has drained you.
The shell was still there
but the life you chose took something from you.
The love you talked about
wasn’t really love,
it didn’t give you what you needed
the way real love would.
The hands that would have
held yours through every hard time
are rough now with age,
and now they’re holding
someone else’s hands.
I’ll rest soon.
These thoughts come to me often,
usually right before I nap,
when my mind and heart
are tired and
start to think about getting older,
about time, and about the life
that I once wanted to share with you.

almost memories

i have not entered the room

where

we devoured each other.

where our

bodies feasted upon each other

with desire,

and hunger.

light enters

and casts shadows

that shift across the floor.

a gentle breeze, soft as breath,

stirs up echoes.

i hear faint sounds

that are almost voices,

almost words,

almost memories.

geese

snow melts

geese fly overhead

their wings

a steady pattern

they call out to each other

as they continue their journey

heading toward a destination

and leaving another place

questions linger

questions fade

the steady pattern of wings

still.

​a small candle sits close by

giving off just enough light

to brighten the room.

it gives off a little warmth

and glows softly in the corner.

i left the curtains open

and decided to leave them that way

outside, everything is perfectly still.

heavy snow hushes

everything around me.

even the snow itself

falls without a sound,

leaving no trace

on this quiet night

the world now

feels monochromatic:

white snow and dark tree branches.

white snow and darkening tree branches

it feels like the world

is turning inward,

gently closing in.

how many times

have i truly been present

like this before,

like i am tonight?

have i ever held

my breath, quiet,

and myself, just waiting

for the sound of daylight

to fade away?

for the sound

of daylight

to drift quietly away like

the faint warmth left behind by a candle.

bare branches

how far do bare branches reach?

i sometimes think about whether they remember where they have been.

they reach out to touch the moon.

it must be a long journey,

farther than the wind could ever carry

our human stories.

when the branches return,

they come back changed.

they never come back the same.

their limbs point out,

reaching for something they cannot name.

they reach out toward the stars

and the scattered bits of light.

they stretch into the darkness,

into old memories.

and when morning comes,

they are changed.

never quite the same.

their bare branches have witnessed something sacred,

they have brushed against the divine.