NaPoWriMo 2024 — Day 9

Simple

my language
has become simplistic

I can’t compare
these colors
to anything
other than what
they really are

perhaps I can address
things by their
true names now

maybe I can smell blood
& not faint, or hear a siren
& believe it is a call to
pray, & not a warning
to seek shelter

I believe
I’ve lost a few reasons
to have to hide

I think I can wear
this skin some days
& not be burned,
or sliced by glass shards,
or bolted by angry shocks

I swear I’m myself again

The clouds envelope me,
hold me up, shield me,
nourish me…
silver edges of light
stir hope within

rain invigorates me,
sunshine enlightens
but will still scar my arms
with its memory

I trace the blemished
constellations & I love them

I think I inhaled
an entire spectrum
& I don’t recognize myself

I move like wind
that only tells
a certain tree branch
all its secrets

I speak slightly above
a whisper so only
feathered ones
can hear me

yes, my language
has grown simpler
so I can explain
my dreams better

I’m fine now
just to be awake

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash