Legs tangled together, clammy skin on skin, and the sun
rising behind pointed rooftops, painting the sky
an aquarelle of budding peonies and candied orange peel.
Bruised lips taste of chocolate and blueberries, and the
white wine from last night. My arms feel heavy and
my soul is featherlight, soaring into the sunshine.
The morning air is crisp in a way that announces
summer heat for the coming day, and a discarded blouse
moves with the breeze. Life is eminent yet strangely
far away from this corner of the earth that we have
burrowed ourselves into, hidden from the universe.
The city hums with life and wisdom and love, and we
have watched it burst into song and whisper quietly
but it has never seemed as beautiful as now.
Fingers link together like souls have, and lips brush
in a greeting, in recognition, and then smile.

This morning I awoke
the rain was screaming
across her windowpane
and I grieved.
She warned me once
with all of her November
in the summer
she would never love me
the way I need.
Where will you go
with all of your spare change
funny names
for the way you felt?
Will you find someone
to stand still with?
Will you keep bits of me
tucked into your sleeve?
A girl unlike me
unknowing of maps
and crosses in the ground.
I want to be the girl
always gone
the girl turning tables
one foot in Carolina
and the other standing next to you.
But instead
I am the quiet girl with a dream
a pen in pocket
and a penchant for danger
rearranging the way I know the earth.
You're lost on the way
to my house
but you know the way
you know the way.

Blazing down the dirt road,
nothing but sky and and and

renegade on the run
like my loose tailing past no longer matters
like everything I was
am
will be
is lost in the dust burned trail
nothing but sky and and and

it is found again some
forgetful Sunday
when the air smells of
dry salt asphalt
spring mud, river,
racing rapids
bound to lose
nothing but sky and and and

don’t look for me
I’ll be home soon but
don’t look for me
when there's
nothing but sky and and and

me.

I drove across the country.
I've seen landmarks and monuments
laid out before me
in every passing state.
I've seen the Arapaho National Forest
with the Colorado River
running between its canyons.
I've seen the arches of Utah,
and the dinosaur tracks
left behind in the Red Cliffs.
I have traveled
over three thousand miles
from east to west,
and I have not seen it all.
It is often forgotten
how truly massive this country is.
It seems so small
from the comfort
of our little lives
in separate states.
It is far from small.
It is an enormous chunk of land.
It stretches for days on end,
and every part of it
is breathtakingly beautiful.
This country has left its
mark on my heart.
I will never forget
this experience.
I will never forget
what this road has taught me.
I may be going home,
but I am not returning
the same as I was.
I have seen too much.
I have seen more than
I ever could have
in my tiny New York town.
This trip has ignited
a fire within my soul.
I will see what the rest
of this world has to offer.
I will chase the setting sun,
and move until
the stars fall behind me.
I may be going home,
but the flame within my soul
will light my way
to my next adventure.
I've tasted freedom,
I'm never going back.

This place is numbing. This place is overwhelming.
Rumors say that this is the place dreams o to die.
What happened to the streets paved with gold?
I have to get out. I have to get out!
I can recognize every face I pass on the sidewalk,
And I know that every face recognizes me.
I can't live like that. I can't live like that!
If my face is known, my mistakes are remembered.
But I cannot remember their mistakes because I'm dwelling on my own.
I fear if I remain much longer, I will die if their hatred doesn't **** me first.

I've left the desert,
and the blazing heat
for the ocean,
with the salty breeze.
I love them both,
but if I must choose,
then I pick the ocean
because it's closer to you.
I can sit by the water,
and ponder my wonder
for the world I'm in,
while you're over yonder.
I can feel you close
by the salty blue water.
I see your force
in the tiniest sand dollars.
I love the sea
with the crystal blue color,
the freshness of life,
and little baby flounders.
I'll live here forever,
and gaze at the water,
listening to thunder,
as it puts me under.
I'll fall asleep to dreams
where you're in the water,
head above surface,
treading water.
I'll see you from shore,
hear your voice
with the thunder,
but I'm too afraid
of these blackened waters.
I'm afraid if I swim,
and follow the thunder,
you'll let me slip under,
and I'll be lost forever.
I'm not ready to go,
I can't navigate
black waters,
my soul is tied here,
so keep treading water.

I gaze across the dry desert land.
It goes for miles,
nothing,
but long stretches of valleys,
tucked between mountain walls.
It's like being hidden in a dust bowl.
It's so hot,
and the traffic of cars
kicks up the desert dust,
clouding everything in sight,
but it is a place of refuge
for those seeking
a spiritual revelation.
I certainly understand
why these lands are sacred
to the Native Americans,
and to the indigenous
people of Mexico.
I have only spent
a few days here,
but I already feel more at peace,
free from the hussle,
and shackles of our society.  
I have been contemplating
my place in this world,
beneath the heat of the sun,
with the sand between my toes.
I can't help that my mind wanders.
I wonder who walked
these lands thousands of years ago,
that I am now trespassing on
with my pitched up tent,
and campfire.
What was there purpose?
Were they simply settled here,
or were they just walking
in search of something more?
Possibly for a rite of passage?
Traveling across the desert,
to commune with their
Gods and Goddesses.
These are the questions
that float through my mind,
as I meditate in the dry desert.
I wonder if these
thoughts are my own,
or if the spirits of the past
have placed them in my mind,
to rekindle the magic
that used to fill these lands.
A place now,
where the wonder of the desert
has become a mirage.
A place of beauty,
but barren of magic
to those who live with eyes closed.

I followed a thin blue line
between the folds of a map.
I passed by rivers wider than time,
mountains larger than life,
and traveled through valleys
tucked between canyon walls.
I have been from the east coast
of Niagara Falls,
to the west coast
of California's golden shores.
I have seen the Shenandoah River,
explored the Appalachian Trail,
and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
I have gazed at those
white capped mountains,
while the sun slowly set behind them,
setting fire to the sky  
with swirling oranges,
yellows, pinks, and reds.
I have fallen in love
with the open road,
with the freedom
of a full tank of gas,
and no destination.
I found my soul on this road,
but I hope to find a place
to bring this soul home.
I imagine a place,
somewhere along California's shores,
where I can rest my head,
and finally start something more.