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Jan. 8 - "as if I were stepping into traffic."
by Jason WardellSome of the time
I am hit immediately
and I collapse amid horns,
crawling back on broken limbs.
Some of the time
a friend grabs me by the arm:
“Are you crazy? This is only going to end
badly. Stay here.” All the while she beckons from the
other side, the cars seem to have stopped, I venture one foot into
the road and the traffic becomes an undifferentiated mass of wind and steel.
Some of the time
I will see her moving toward
the middle, edging between cars, recognizing
patterns they take as I run haphazard into traffic to meet
her, carefully and hurriedly and urgently and fearfully and breathlessly, I
take her hand and she takes mine and we rest one moment at this dangerous
middle
ground where we have risked and gained, lost and forgotten, smashed every
bone in our bodies and rebuilt from nothing to do it all
again, and we are still doomed, probably, and
we make our way to whichever
side suits us best.
We can see the sidewalk, it is not as far as it seemed a moment ago, when we
were still in flight to meet, and we are cheered and encouraged by
our friends, their faces alit with elation now yelling
for us to get out of the damn road, so we do.
I don’t suppose this happens more than
some of the time.
My bones are healed and strong
now, my reflexes sharper and
I can hear her calling, calling.
Soon I will hear the horns.
Soon I will have no choice. 01/08/2010 Posted on 01/08/2010
Copyright © 2024 Jason Wardell
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Olivia Martin on 01/08/10 at 03:11 PM Absolutely brilliant piece, Jason! I found myself gasping in between descriptions, holding my breath to see what the next stanza would bring. This piece evokes wonderful emotion though carefully crafted imagery and simple language -- thank you very much for sharing, this was amazing. |
| Posted by Olivia Martin on 01/08/10 at 03:11 PM Absolutely brilliant piece, Jason! I found myself gasping in between descriptions, holding my breath to see what the next stanza would bring. This piece evokes wonderful emotion though carefully crafted imagery and simple language -- thank you very much for sharing, this was amazing. |
| Posted by Gabriel Ricard on 01/08/10 at 08:38 PM Knocking me on my ass, as per usual. Wonderful work. |
| Posted by Allison Smith on 01/09/10 at 04:01 AM This is odd to me, I actually was run over on Jan 8th!! |
Posted by Ava Blu on 01/09/10 at 07:29 PM
Ok, a big WOW for ^Allison's comment; how odd and terrible for her (though she seems fine since she was on pathetic the same night, I do hope).
As for your poem. It kinda pisses me off a bit....this talent you possess that surpasses the majority of people here. Every damn time I see $#%@ in the top ten or read some stupid f*cking poem about "oh no, my tiny shitty poem got a low rating" or when members kiss other member's asses and make them think they have even an ounce of something beyond ordinary when they're merely stealing an idea from something they've read. And sure, we all borrow and steal at some point, but we don't all try to pass it off as brilliance. We give credit where the credit is due.
I've gone off track. That's what brilliant poems do! They spin you out of control. Let's sit back and see if anyone else on this little site will ever get it, too. |
| Posted by Ava Blu on 01/09/10 at 07:30 PM crap. I mess up the comments. oops.
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| Posted by Michael Smith on 01/11/10 at 12:57 AM For heaven's sake, Ava, how did you pull that off? =P
Jason, this poem is not only a great analogy to the confusion inherent to relationships,
(particularly ones just starting up) but it is also written very well.
A great lesson to be learned (and continually remembered) within these words. Thanks.
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| Posted by Therese Elaine on 01/15/10 at 06:57 PM You know, this piece has evoked some of the strongest images in my head -and it really makes me invest in it -that is so rare in writing -you have a real gift...and I thank you for sharing it! |
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