Writing

Summer always meant clear skies to me,

With a never-ending supply of sunshine,

And a night that would never arrive,

Where time is paused mid-afternoon,

And I'd bask under its rays lying on lush grass,

My neighbor is doing Duolingo across the street,

He’s in his sixties learning a new language

And I’m just eating leftovers, watching him,

Wondering if he’s practicing French for his husband.
 

Card

after card

after card

it keeps going

the stack endless

the family tree sprawling

stretching

growing

by the second.

I have to write it all down

My ankle hurts

because I stepped funny

at the very beginning

of my very own bat mitzvah party.

I might've twisted it

I don't really know

but I can't sit a certain way

otherwise the pain returns

sarcastic jabs and quippy lines

I hope you know I usually don't mean it

and I know my best is not enough

but that's what being human is all about

I don't have to worry about perfection

I will overcome compulsions

It

was

terrifying.

Nothing more

nothing less

it could only be described as that.

I was shaking, actually

I don't know why I was so scared of doing this