Opposition

Prepare
     for opposition.

Expect
      antagonizing remarks
      adamant disapproval
      severe hostility
         at something you may or
                                  may never
                                     have meant,
                                         or even said.

Big or small,
  harsh or constructive,
              criticism will come.

No one
   is liked
          by everyone.

It will be difficult.
You won’t like it.

You may not agree
   with how your words are taken
                  or
   with the replies you receive.

You might feel defensive
                  or angry.
   But you will need
                     to
                     slow
                     down,
                     get used to it,
                     even accept it – for now.

Take the time to
             rest
             pause
                  first
                     before responding –
                              if at all.

Your part
   is important,
      but realize
              there is something much larger at work
                          than just you.
You are not
   insignificant.
      But it is not
               all
            up to you.

Trust
   that you are here
                  for a reason
      even if you are uncomfortable
           or don’t feel equipped
                  to do this.

It is never easy
      to speak
      or accept
               truth,
                  even when it is spoken
                             in love.

But truth and love
   in their original form
           were never meant to be separate.
                             They are one.

And the truth
            needs
            to be told.
                    By you.

Prosaic

Lately I have been
   running on fumes
   grasping at straws
   on an emotional rollercoaster
   in survival mode
      and
   not firing on all cylinders.

Maybe I’m just wiped.
Maybe I bit off
   more than I could chew.

As luck would have it,
   I find myself
      in a world where everything is a cliche
                        and anything goes
                            as far as the eye can see
           because I have no brainpower left
              to think of anything interesting
                                          original or
                                          non-prosaic.

I’m all bent out of shape
   at the end of my rope and
      I need to abandon ship
                  change my tune
                       and
                  just call it a day
            before history
                     repeats
                     itself.

What it boils down to
   is it’s back to square one
                 to the drawing board.
It’s time to cross out all the lines
        and start from scratch.

But I still refuse
   to do it all by the book.

Antonyms

We are
        opposite
        flipped
        upside-
             down
        backward.
We are
        antonyms.

We interact
   frequently,
      but it’s often hard
                to identify with each other
                    or even have
                       a basic conversation.

Could we figure out a way
   to relate
      and find
           the magnet part
               of our r
                      e
                    v
                  e
                r
              s
            e selves
      that actually connect
         so we can
            fully appreciate each other?

Ribbit

On a night
   like tonight
      I would be
            lying back on the roof
                 in the cool breeze
            staring at the stars
                      or
            hiking up the hill alone
                 in the mostly dark
            hearing the frogs ribbit by the water and
                       the owls hoot in the rustling trees,
            listening closely
                 for other calming night sounds,
            doing everything I could
               not to think about snakes –
                     which I can’t not
                        think about
                             now.

I wouldn’t be
   sitting inside
      behind closed windows
   hiding
      from the dense
                  suffocating heat,
   trying to
             think
                  beyond the thick haze.

I would already be
   thinking lucidly
               crisply
               smoothly
      without having
               to try.

Miss

I’ve been described as
   self-aware,
      which to some extent
                is accurate
                (I think).
Yet I catch myself
    off-guard
         a lot.

I see things.
I see     through    things.
But I also
           miss things.

I think
   I just try
      to be aware
              because
   I have to –
              because I notice
                        that so much
                                        sneaks by.

Rigged

Gravity
   likes to tease me
             poke at me
             play games
                  with me.

I pick objects  up
       then
       solidly
   set them     down.

Without provocation
     from my general lack of
            coordination,
        gravity ignores the laws
                        of inertia,
                  shoves me       aside
                  inserts itself
                       into my space and
                  knocks
                           everything
                                          over.

Can a law of nature
          laugh?
     Because I think I can hear it.

Spots

It’s hard to be creative
     in the blinding sun.
I can’t see the words
                   pictures
                   letters
                   thoughts
                       through the
                             bright intensity.

I try to look away
     and only
               spots
                     are left.

I have no idea
     what I was looking at
                  or trying to see
              because thanks to the desert sun,
                          I can’t see
                                   anything
                                   at
                                   all.

Step

There is a deep connection
             beneath
                 the disconnect,
     yet we hardly even know
          who they are.
We can’t be a part
  of their days
            weeks
         or years, really.

Everything
     is lost
          from this far
       and overcoming              the distance
                  seems
                     impossible.

We step in
      step out
   as our lives blur by
          and we miss
             out on theirs
                    entirely.

Should(n’t)

I don’t always know
   where the line is –
       when I should shut up
               so I don’t
                   cause any additional trouble or
                   hurt someone unnecessarily
                           and
        when I should speak up
                so I don’t
                   suddenly blow up later.

There are many times
   I am thankful
      that I didn’t say
      what I wanted to say
         at the time
      I wanted to say it.
                But.
There are also many times
   I never meant
      to get so mad
         about something
            that shouldn’t
               be such a big deal,
            and wouldn’t
               have been,
                      if
                  I had just spoken up
                     earlier.

How do I know the difference
         between
         the
         two
     in the moment?
Before it’s
   too late
        to say something
          or
   too late
        to take it back?

Fool

I’m not sure
     how my words actually came across.

I never asked.

It seems too late
               now.

I just keep wondering
     if I made a fool
          of myself,
     if I brave-ishly put myself out there
          but everyone
               still just thinks
                         I’m an idiot.

I don’t need the recognition.
                    (I don’t think.)

I can take the truth.
                    (I think.)

But the silence
           penetrates
           resounds
           tells me how much of a failure
                I really am.

I’d rather
     just be told the truth and
             know it
                instead of having to
             infer it.