night – The Yellow Brick Ave

Daybreak

sleep alone

The ceiling vent pumping cold air into the room

groans and rattles and disturbs.

There is so much space in here,

more than can be used

by one person.

It’s almost as if

humans weren’t made

to sleep alone.

The pillows have gone flat so quickly,

so why were they so expensive?

A philodendron propagates

in a mug of water.

Hopefully, that new leaf

will unfurl soon.

The alarm clock is wrong;

its time changed when the power went out

for just a second this afternoon.

Who knows when it will be changed back.

Photo by Carlos Caamal from Pexels

Nightlight

a mostly empty room

Glow in the dark shooting stars

stuck to the ceiling

provide more comfort than any nightlight.

The closet is too dark and too far away

to be certain of its contents.

There is a soft and fluffy rug covering the hardwood floor

that will be a great sensation

to toes as they touch down in the morning.

Curtains hang and block out all of the dark outside.

The mirror reflects only the blankness

of the opposite wall.

A stereo sits on a dresser

in a corner of the room.

Its silence is louder than anything else,

even the ticking.

The clock on the wall must be an hour behind.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Swirl

She

does naught but stare
at the airy autumnal distance

Her mouth is
painted crimson,
its corners turned down,

not in a frown–
no, in a scowl
of disdain

as the smoke
eddies before her.
She

does naught but stare
at the airy autumnal distance,
the sky of inky black,

and the pinprick stars–
their light not inspiring
but empty.

A scream builds in her lungs,
calling out for something,
for someone,

but all she exhales is a sigh,
standing still, alone,
remembering,

remembering.

Photo by 2 Bro’s Media on Unsplash

This week’s resource is this article from GQ (warning: there is some cursing and mentions of drug use in this piece) written about Michael Render, a rapper from Atlanta. Most know him as Killer Mike, one half of Run The Jewels (again, warning: the song I linked to includes cursing, other explicit language, and violence, and the music video portrays violence including that perpetrated by a police officer). I don’t agree with all of his political views–that’s true about the subjects of many of the resources that I share on this blog–, but the things he does to assist black Americans and educate everyone about race-related issues are inspiring.