Stop and breathe. There are birds in the trees. (Can you hear them?) And beyond the trees and birds there are cars drifting by, people driving by the guidance of headlights. There are lungs in your chest which expand and contract, and the breath as it leaves your nose, can you hear it?
Highway
The car broke down. We stood at the trunk, waiting with hazards blinking. The cars flew past the breakdown lane like a bees, we forgot that there were other people in the cars and they forgot that we were there. We waited for hours or for minutes or what felt like hours, time didn’t matter. … Read more
For Estefani Lora, Third Grade, Who Made Me A Card by Aracelis Girmay
for Estefani Lora, PS 132, Washington Heights * Elephant on an orange line, underneath a yellow circle meaning sun. 6 green, vertical lines, with color all from the top meaning flowers. * The first time I peel back the 5 squares of Scotch tape, unfold the crooked-crease fold of art class paper, I am in … Read more
“And you’ve made the world. And it’s immense and like a word ripening in silence. And as your will reaches for its meaning, tenderly your eyes let it go…” -Rilke “Entrance”
“the word is love.”
“i want to hear people yelling back at me. i find myself saying things more and more each night (i tour all the time) that might incite a fucking reaction—-wake up some indignance on either side of the spectrum—-be insulted by me or against the world that sewed your fucking mouth shut. tell me to … Read more
You are my family. Whatever it is you need to do to be to be yourself and realize yourself as a person, I am happy with that. I love you.
We can paint the walls with laughter and everything will be all right. Right now is right now. Please don’t worry about before or after. A boy walking home from elementary school once said “I’ve got big plans,” and I said to him, “Only today, only today.” Seize the footpaths for those palegolden mornings. Fill … Read more
morning
There is gold in the trees, can you see it? Even in those moments where your lungs groan to acknowledge their wakefulness. There is gold in the trees, the intersection of lines is waiting to be mined by your eyes. Only the fronts are gold, only the hour of sleeping breath in the room beside … Read more
