All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
Warping Wood
He knows he is the master of his life
and he can control everything
like a contemplating painter at canvas
but his life is in watercolors
and he has been left out in the rain
Wandering comes as easily to him as
a compass that can't find its way north
he cannot find his way
and it has been like this for too long
the connecting trains
connecting flights
always feeling the spark but missing the connection
connecting to people like connecting the dots,
a long line of the races and religions and human beings
he has touched
but he knows a connection is not just feeling someone;
it's not bringing a colleague
a friend
that cute person from across the room
into one's arms.
As soon as there is contact,
people disappear
and all that is left are lonely lumps of flesh
filled like sacks of grain
but with organs.
A connection is looking into eyes as pretty as anything,
like the ocean or a river or trees,
and knowing that two people are no different from each other
that, despite those circumstances
like he's on the football team
and she's writing poetry
and everyone is always "close" but never "CLOSER"
two people
both have ears and fingernails and hearts,
so biologically and chemically similar that differences shouldn't matter
and the life you lead and the divisions you create
make life look like a practical joke.
Just a joke
He sees a girl across the way at the bus station
and every atom in his body is pushing
every neuron cell is firing
every thought he has is screaming to
STAND UP
and
MAKE A DIFFERENCE,
stop playing hide and seek
stop waiting for the metamorphosis of red and green traffic lights.
He looks.
He remains.
He remains still as the world moves around him.
Then by some ethereal miracle like angels were tickling his teeth
he opens his mouth
only to close it a second later.
He is an American
complete with the freedom of speech
but he knows the right to remain silent can be just as powerful
and he watches her walk away.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 0 comments.