I am not one person, but three
Who I am
Who I want to be
and who I want others to see
//
Ideally, I am one
Ideally, I don't hide from the rising sun
But on the horizon of midnight blue, the sun will blaze
And under her relentless gaze
Through the three of me, rays dimly pass
Refracting my truths like marred stained glass.
//
You are not one, but three
She declares each day to me
I roll my eyes
In circles as large as she is wise
I stomp my feet and pout
I KNOW, I throw my arms up to her and shout
//
I know that who I am is not always who I want to be
Like plastic flowers in a sea of daises
I wish to be as steadfast as reindeer moss
That sprouts in even the worst of arctic frost
Though I know impatience and poor temperament well
My wants and desires dance in parallel
//
Sun, I wish to be more like you, I say
Because even on days that are partridge gray
Your rise and fall is the most dependable thing I know
Warming the world behind a thick shadow
And I’ve never seen a love so tender
As the soft golds you cast before saying goodnight in splendor
//
I wish for others to see me the way that I see you
Goodness that shines through and through
Who loves humans and pines and ants the same
Who embraces and warms and mingles without shame
But the sun tells me that even she strays from grace
To burn too bright is a grave mistake
//
I am not one person, but three
Each day is a journey to bridge these seas
I want to take risks as grand as a stag’s leap
To be as creative as a paintbrush that weeps
I yearn to be colorful like a peacock in strut
To be ferocious like a deer in rut
I wish to navigate the world with the intelligence of a Peregrine
To withstand adversity like the eldest evergreen
To be as vulnerable as a grizzly is strong
To bestow kindness that screams you belong
//
I’m not sure there is human hood without contradiction
To honor perfection is an act of fiction
To strive for such is to live a fraction of life’s possibility
So if I must walk beside the two that follow me, I’ll do so with dignity
And when my time comes, I hope there is but one
Who imparts a love as grand as the sun.
It is always a treat to come back to poetry. My thanks to
and for their support of this piece.Tommy’s writing is bursting with beauty. His stories always linger with me in impressionable ways. Check out one of his newer pieces here:
Alex has been exploring a 30-day writing challenge. He publishes once a day and his essays have been such a delight. His writing is as introspective as it is fun to read. Check out one of my favorite of the series here:
this is so beautiful Haley! These lines especially are such a marvel:
"I’m not sure there is human hood without contradiction
To honor perfection is an act of fiction"
I appreciate you creating and sharing this :)
Absolutely marvelous. The three of you write beautifully together.