the sickness has claimed me
the plague has overtaken my body
aches and pains
raw and runny nose
bedridden and exhausted
this night may be my last

I wish I could be lithe
agile and graceful
limber and sure-footed
not a single trip or tumble
but instead I'm clumsy
awkward and uncoordinated
with butter fingers
and two left feet
I trip and tumble
drop things and fumble
I wish I could be lithe
but instead the universe
made me clumsy

I am icarus, and you the sun.
I yearn for you, while you beg me to run.
Your touch burns, and I know I shall soon fall
You tell me it’s silly, and to heed father’s call

I am Orpheus, and you Eurydice
Once more, my downfall is the feelings in me
I longed to see, to feel, to embrace
But you faded the moment I turned my face

I am Pyramus, and you Thisbe.
Doomed to love, a mere wall in our way.
Taught to hate, thick blood turning green
Now apart, deep gashes agleam

You are Daphne, and I Apollo
From West to East, you’re all I follow
But now you’ve left, my love has no target
Now you’ve left, and I rue the day we met

I was sitting by a pond
gazing into the water
when I heard uncertain footsteps
Fear tentatively sat down beside me
" what are you doing in college?
it's so far away.
you need to be at home with your parents.
it's familiar and comfortable."
he says to me
"sometimes being comfortable means you
stop growing and experiencing things."
I replied
"but aren't you scared?
you should be."
"of course I'm scared.
but fear is part of life and you get to choose
whether you're going to let it
limit you."
Fear nods his head
finally understanding
he gets up and walks away
I bask in the cool breeze
and soak in the sun
breathing in the crisp air
as my heart rate slows
and peace settles over me

noxious animals are colorfully bright
the vibrance and patterns a warning
a warning to not get too close
that they're a danger
it's protection for them
I douse myself in all the colors of the rainbow
warning the wrong people to stay away
and the right people, the people like me
will stay
it's a warning for some
and an invitation for others

I may seem stoic in this new situation
and for a while I was fine
then it hit me like a truck
my heart was the only casualty
tears threatened to spill
but I kept them at bay
I'm an adult
but I'll always miss my parents
I just want to hug them goodnight
but 2 and a half hours of driving separate us
I may seem stoic in this new situation
but on the inside my heart aches for them
stoicism is just a mask for the internal havoc of emotions

the water is pulling me in
pulling me under
churning around me
as my lungs fill with the salty ocean spray
I hear the name of the maelstrom
loneliness
loneliness is drowning me
deep into its depths
this maelstrom of loneliness is killing me
will it ever end?
will I ever swim to shore
and escape it's wrath?
maybe hope is in the horizon