I am

I am made of water,

some connective tissue,

some bits of bone to

hold my flesh as a canvas

between beams, art abstract,

meaning up for interpretation,

observed,

desired,

abhorred,

vastly ignored,

flesh wrapped 'round viscera

viscerally reacting to

joy,

sorrow,

affection,

rejection,

life in general, as it were,

nerves and neurons that still

remember the first time the

ground knocked the wind out

of me, drop-kicked by gravity,

children’s laughter, then concern,

‘hey, are you dying?’

Probably.

Onwards rumbling towards

a sun setting over my horizon,

inching closer a league at a time,

there are no breaks,

don’t enjoy the scenery,

find a meaning before it’s

too late, give a damn about what

others think, let expectations

steer the wheel,

mark the road signs,

blurt from the GPS,

‘get a husband’

‘have some children’

‘get a job that boasts six figures’

eyes shifting on occasion,

out the rearview,

in the side mirrors,

watching the unbeaten paths

branch every which way,

destinations wild,

dreams unbroken,

wondering if someday I’ll

deviate from what others have so

stringently mitigated, even though

the gravel might get me a little

gritty, and I’d be more likely to lose

a tire,

face their ire,

before my bones crack

and my tissues rot

and I’m all run dry,

I’d like to try

to go another way.