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Jul 22
poem
Love to write

Feather fallout

In the morning I watch the mountains fade into the cream of the sunrise and count the seconds before the fog lifts. Suddenly, as if by accident, my eyes reflect in the curve of the earth as it tilts, slightly off balance, teetering on the edge of elegance, or destruction, or that feeling I get right before I open my mouth. 

I spilled coffee over the concrete floor at work and stood there, brown stars on the pale cuff of my shorts and so much hope I didn't know whether to get a mop or a match. I wanted to take my shoes off, to splash through the puddle as if it were rain. 

When we are young we are determined to grow up singular: one goal, one plan, one happiness, one lift-off, one chance at an impact. Today, I am multiplying. I roll down the car windows in a thunderstorm, I draw constellations on my clothes, I carve wings into a door in the public restroom, I tell myself that dusk marks the start of the night of the rest of my life.

There are only so many times you can convince yourself that you are happy before you steal down the stairs in the damp wake of the moon to light a candle in the driveway. Maybe I'm afraid I won't be who I imagine. Maybe I'm a little in love with the idea of losing everything. Maybe freedom is nothing more than the feeling we assign to acting upon dreams we believed would burn out.
  • Love to write's blog
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Posted: 07.22.21
About the Author: Love to write
Life is not a paragraph.
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Discussion

Comments

  1. ShanRippWriting
    Jul 23, 2021

    This is simply delightful. The imagery packed into this piece is out of this world. The line that really got me was " Maybe I'm afraid I won't be who I imagine." It's such an interesting concept that I find myself thinking about often. I also love the mixture of concrete and abstract language.

    Shannon Ripp

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  1. Love to write
    Jul 23, 2021

    Thank you so much! I've also been thinking a lot about that concept- it's something that almost always comes up when change is happening.

    Life is not a paragraph.

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  1. charvermont
    Jul 26, 2021

    this is so good. I especially love the part that goes "When we are young we are determined to grow up singular ... Today, I am multiplying." there's something about that line that's super understandable

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  1. Love to write
    Jul 26, 2021

    Thank you!!

    Life is not a paragraph.

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Contact: Susan Reid, Executive Director: [email protected]; (802) 324-9538