A Broken Hearted Orange
The orange on the counter is no longer an orange,
It can no longer be used for its nutritious value,
For all I see is a sunset peeling atop the skyscrapers in the city.
It can no longer smell like fresh citrus,
For the sound of sweet jazz music fills the room.
The orange can no longer be just an orange,
Because of you—
The world looks different through the eyes that you filled with tears,
This world has changed,
Everything means something else,
And I can never look the other way.
A broken heart finds new reasons for ordinary things,
In order to keep peace with the reasons you used to leave.
So the orange on the counter can no longer be just an orange,
It has to be the sunset,
Or a sailboat,
Or a lamppost on the street,
Because of you this orange I hold in my hand,
I hold lightly afraid of bruising the light bulb for the lamppost,
I dare not rip the peel to break the sail of my boat,
And it shall not rot because the sunset must be so sweet.
Because of you this orange is not an orange, but all the reasons you left
For me to find in objects across the world,
My life is filled with dark hallways of my brain’s grey matter,
Flowing out onto the streets
Attaching to any connection it meets.
And today, this orange was swallowed whole by the memory of you
Between Raindrops
The rain falls to the ground like bombs,
Bursting in puddles all around me.
The air is warm, but I feel cold.
People pass by, looking off into the distance.
They walk side by side, yet miles apart.
No one says a word, fearing the response.
Unsure of the thoughts in our heads,
We walk away, saying no words at all.
Yet, always wishing, wanting, to say something.
The rain falls to the ground,
Making the only noise between us.
Delaware
One day,
Years ago,
On a beach in Delaware
I arose to the sun rising
Barely slept the night before
Anxiously waiting to see the dolphins
Gliding through the water
In the mist of the sunrise
My eyes widen
As my little feet moved over the sand
I barely noticed the seashells below
Focused on the skyline
As I moved closer
I almost thought they weren’t going to come out
And my wonder was weltering
Minute
By minute
But without realizing
The sun was still low in the sky
And then
I saw it
One fin
And then another
And I could feel my soul
Calmed with the ebb and flow
Of the ocean
And in that moment
I knew my soul was reaching out
To those majestic animals
Wondering how much I would love
To swim away
So effortlessly
Like they did every morning
Here
On this beach
In Delaware
And even though I was so young
And so naïve
I knew it
I could feel how much
I would soon want to leave this body
And swim away
Too