inside

inside/outside (5)

when i was young i lived in
little windows

i stood on chairs
and reached and touched ceilings

pulsing on the everglow
with all things within and between
i curse the moment that left me here alone
but excuse the ones i carried in

measuring waves with fingers
watching through portholes at the blank eyes
of leviathans
waiting for next year

what to say to the sky under such dark moods?

i drift off in my palm, cracked in a nook and
separated from my home,
but home is a world
where the walls survive a night of sleep

i’m nervous, even in my dreams where i am
invincible and free,
even in my mind where
i am accepting and courageous

you can see outside, then just past that is the
reflection of the room behind you, and past
that is the reality of the boardwalk and the ocean.

it takes you a minute but you work your
way diligently through the layers, remembering
how you got there, so you’ll be able to get back.

staring up,
a rift of consequences and decisions