SEEDLING
I grew from the neighbor’s stalks,
read a white fabric New Testament
under the Black Walnut tree. I built
civilizations from gravel and guided
ants to new lands like Moses could
convince the sea to part like huddled
pedestrians. Yet I could not guide myself
to a journey outside of a Pharaoh grasp.
A distant family member diagnoses me
when I reveal I have no plans to travel
overseas where my roots were first dug
from the ground and delivered to the West.
She is limiting herself!
I’m sorry, Busia and Dziadek, but even
asking the Costco worker for a pierogi
is an achievement and costs less than
my sanity and a plane ticket. I morph
into a martyr for my future wallet,
saving for college and a place to settle
the roots that are all my own. It’s more
honorable to have financial piety to family
than to admit my seedling-size amygdala
keeps my distance small.
AGORA
— A descendent of the Greek word for marketplace
Without the phobia, it would be a pretty name.
It would sound like adora and I do adore
the way a skyline looks both during industrial day,
a smoky night. Instead, my body fights
violent crimes hypothetically committed.
I’m grateful for an opportunity to wander
the big city all by myself. Yet I am my own
Medusa, stone surrounded by rapids of faces.
WELCOME TO THE CITY
I chose the city
because my body told
me not to. I heard
the stories — the stabbing
nightly news from the
comfort of a country couch.
Tonight, we’re reporting live
from the intersection of
Broad and Everywhere
where a disturbing incident
has left a community shaken
And a desperate reminder for
young women to always walk with
a familiar face and mace in hand.
I am determined to take
my future to a place I fear, so
the first time I drive
into the city by myself,
a man with a sign
approaches my driver’s side
window and knock knock knocks
Over and over and I pray for
green and hit the gas and go
towards campus where it’s
supposed to be much safer
until I read my very first
Campus Crime Alert:
On This Day at this Hour
a victim reported that
an acquaintance was
invited into her room,
devoured her sense
of security. She had
left and has blended back
into the world we live in.
Until we have solid evidence
that this really happened,
we won’t do more than
send this out again.
Here are some reminders:
Be aware in an urban
environment that the way
we are structured is
designed for long term
success of a societal norm.
Alien Buddha Press 