By: Kendall Queen
On your living room floor alone again,
the sunlight carries specks of dust;
the flow of time
made visual.
Last night I found you in a dream I had;
you walked up next to me as if
you’d been there all along.
You said;
our fleeting indestructibility
could be the end of us all.
You said;
here there are no Gods or kings,
only man.
And, I wondered if you knew that I was dreaming.
Musky voices carry over from the bar down the street
but,
The air is clean, so I leave the door open
to let it in.
The sun is still shining and,
it feels like spring
and if I squint hard enough
the buildings outside can be blurred
into prosaic cherry blossoms
bubbling up into the skyline.
I like to invoke feelings of nostalgia by incorporating natural descriptors infused with real life experiences. I grew up day dreaming and writing by the creek in Virginia, and I wasn’t able to fully develop my poetic voice until I lived in the mountains of West Virginia. I find a subtle sadness to the changing of the seasons, but also, I respect them as they often cause changes within us. Through my references to nature, I try to convey these emotions within my writing for my readers to find. I hope you enjoy.
“While writing Where I Am, I actually was sitting on the living room floor of my then boyfriend's apartment. I had the back door open and was suffering from the lack of seasonal change in Florida during Spring. It was too hot outside and was almost offensive. I found myself remembering a dream I had where a friend who had since passed found me. I had a moment to myself, where it looked like it could have been cold outside, the wind blowing a slight chill while the sun created some warmth, and I imagined myself back in the cherry blossoms in the mountains. “