It’s 4:30 A.M. on a Tuesday
It doesn’t get much worse than this
In beds in little rooms in buildings in the middle
of these lives which are completely meaningless
…………..Counting Crows, Perfect Blue Buildings
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
…………………………………..Henry David Thoreau
..
We watched Monday’s sun slide into the ocean
like a sliver of fruit slurped into all that salt,
and you asked me what I wanted. Like it was a
real question; like I could just come out and say
all the things that had been stuck against my
tired tongue for two years. Like the tears hadn’t
said anything at all. Like I didn’t feel small and
strange in my own skin, beginning to change
into someone else, someone who no longer knew
her own name. That sun’s gonna come right back
up again soon, and I still have no answer for you,
no words to say what my heart knows to be true,
no way to punch through this eraser dust and
silence. I’ve got truths, I just don’t know how
to reach them, how to teach them they might
matter, how to smatter them against this coal
black scrim and hold them to themselves, make
them stay. Meanwhile, the sky’s already changing.
..
Another one for Poetic Asides November Chapbook Challenge, day 7.
Whimsygizmo's Blog 
You are kicking butt today. That title is fantastic. The whole poem is stellar.
“watch Monday’s sun slide into the ocean
like a sliver of fruit slurped into all that salt”
That sounds delicious and reminds me of the mango daiquiris I had with a friend in Texas this summer.
“and you asked me what I wanted.” … This transition was a punch in the stomach. Not at all what I was expecting, but it’s what drove the poem and drew out this excellence.
Hey, next you should try one called “Manga Sky.” 🙂
hold them to themselves, make them stay.
Meanwhile, the sky’s already changing.
Come to think of it. Any shifts or delay in making a decision will mean one gets left off when others decide to change and move on!
Hank
geez. the sun sliding. then the river of emotions tucked between the first and final lines. sigh. too good.
There are no words to encompass desire. (K)
Might be one of your best.