Missing you, Madison

Although the ocean

never sleeps,

the town of Newport does,

and now,

in the early morning hours,

it’s barely awake.

The driver drops me off

at a café.

Inside I order hot tea

and a donut, and take a seat

with a view.

Two older ladies

sit across the room,

drinking and talking,

one of them tall and skinny

with a neck like a giraffe,

the other so chubby,

she has three chins

and no neck at all.

What a pair.

It makes me think

of Madison,

and my chest responds

with a dull ache.

We’re as different

as country music and hip-hop.

She’s cute and sweet

with wavy blond hair.

I’m rough around the edges

with red dye bleeding

through my naturally brown hair.

She likes the rainbow colors.

I like the scary colors.

She sings in musicals,

I play in a rock band.

She has other girl friends,

I have other boy friends.

Except for Madison.

Because the things that matter to us,

that’s what we have in common.

We like hanging downtown,

eating sushi, talking books,

politics, and school drama,

loving it when we see eye-to-eye

and loving it even more when we don’t.

Art makes us smile,

and on summer days when

there’s nothing else to do,

we are Monet and Picasso,

the street our canvas

and chalk our paintbrush

of choice.

She’s a one-in-a-million friend,

and I’m lucky she’s mine.

How can I live without her?

I thought about asking

her to come with me today.

I thought, maybe I

could make her promise

to keep a smile on that

adorable face of hers

no matter what.

But the more I thought about it,

the more I decided I’d be asking

the impossible.

Like asking a soldier

to not feel any fear

before heading into battle.

I’ve already slipped once,

and I’m the one

who has the most to gain

in keeping my own promise.

It’s better this way.

A little lonelier.

But better.

Morning waves

After I’ve emptied

my tea cup, I head

to the beach.

The white caps slide across

the sparkly blue dance floor.

They whisper to me,

Join us—dance!

I close my eyes,

take a deep breath of the sea air,

and spin around and around,

the sand cold yet soothing

underneath my bare feet.

When I stop,

the world is spinning,

and I gasp at how

familiar it is.

Everything spinning out of control.

When my balance is back,

I run, faster and faster,

jumping over seaweed

strewn out on the sand

like strands

of a mermaid’s hair.

I run past an old man

on a morning walk,

waking up to the smell

of salty air instead of

fresh brewed coffee.

Into the water I walk,

my pants rolled

up to my knees.

I stand still

and let the cold waves

splash over my feet.

It feels good.

Something finally feels

good.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14