Ripple of Water
I am a ripple of water
Stretching
Further and further outward
Moving gracefully, slowly
Steadily I wade through
Back in my element
Voyaging into a cozy stream
Mingling with new waters
Leaving behind old ones
Onto the next wet world
A lake sitting by the park
A few geese waddling
Dipping their beaks into water
Quenching their thirst
A kaleidoscope of fishes
Busying themselves with purpose
Navigating the lake with skill
On I go to a connecting line
And arrive at an enticing river
With a psychedelic presence
And a serenely sweet ambiance
It invites me
And I ride its wave joyfully
Basking in its hospitable charm
Holding me
Swinging me
Tossing me
Thisa way
And thatta way
I’m immersed in this cooling relaxation
Almost to the point of no return
I drift deeper
Suspended in water travel
Feeling the freest I ever have
Unlimited bliss
All within my outstretched reach
As I depart
I receive an unforgettable goodbye
As I move on
I squeeze through a dark narrow flow
Discomfort emerges
Immobility strikes
Only for a moment
Thinking what’s next?
Where will I end up now?
As I make my way to the end of the unfamiliar current
I reach my ultimate destination
Where the water is vast
And adorned by the sun
Clouds draping the scenery peacefully
Wide open space
I know you as the sea
I see you as boundless
My spacious playground
With so many acquaintances to make
So many wonders waiting to be discovered
Will I reach your depths?
Will I transform into a tidal wave?
Do as you please with me
I’ll never leave
This breathtaking arena of calmness
Allows me to appreciate nature’s aesthetic simplicity
I’m connected
To a force more powerful than an army of soldiers equipped for war
I’m a ripple of water
Who’s finally found my place
And a sense of belonging
I shall branch out and explore the sea’s expanse
Meet and greet
Speak and seek
I shall undertake to receive the utmost possible
Here I am
And here goes nothing
Destructive Whirlwind
It feels like ice shackling your veins
It looks like a terrorizing storm in the night
It smells like the bowels of a skunk
It sounds like despondent souls burning
It tastes like sour milk blended with rotten eggs
This is the downward spiral
That has engulfed my deteriorated existence
Tears drown my eyes
Snot oozes from my nose
My face sweats out the pain
All I want is someone to hold
My mouth opens and poison is released
Though it departs from me there is more left inside
The poison turns into venom and tells me I cannot hide
So I run
Hoping that I will find warmth
Light
Sweetness
Laughs
And contentment
I want the rhythm of life
My body starts to ache
My mind starts to pulsate rigorously
My heart beats slower and slower
Harder and harder
I don’t know if I’ll make it
I don’t know if I can hold on any longer
I am falling deeper and deeper
Into an abysmal void
Where no one can hear the echoes of my scream
I am dropping off the face of the earth
The wind keeps slapping me in the face
My world is painted black
And so are my brain cells
I am broken
And I’m almost positive that I will never come back
Words of a Man
The words of a man
Can make your knees tremble and shake
Until eventually they start to buckle
And you fall…hard
Finding yourself smashed into a million shattered, un-repairable pieces
You’re in the middle of his palm
With each word he tightens his grip
Each compliment pushes you further and further into this bubble of ecstasy
After weeks fly by
You ask yourself
Who else has heard the same set of words I have from his lips?
No!
How many others are consumed with this hypnotizing spell,
Your mouth gave birth to?
You’re deep in
Now your feelings have surpassed ‘like’
He’s built you up to the point that you envision a future
A whole entire life!
You’re deep in alright
Because he is the only he
The only one your eyes allow you to see
The only smell that makes you weak
Does he really feel the same exact way?
This can’t be one-sided
This has to be real
Because you grow warm inside at the sight of him
You anticipate his touch
And the strength of his arms holding you
The thought of dying in his embrace comforts you
Now it seems he is all you have
No one else
Because they don’t understand
And they never will!
Then his appetite for you shifts
He wants less and less of you
Because of this excuse and that one too
You feel the wedge
You become suspicious of what you have
In the middle of the night
A voice tells you to check his phone
First the call log
Plenty of un-stored numbers
You find a pen and a crumpled piece of paper
And jot all of them down
Next are the text messages
My, my, my!
So much to see
So much that you didn’t want to see
So much that your ears have heard before
Words
The words from this man has infiltrated the minds of others
You start to feel heat melting your heart away
Then your mind flashes back to when you were brand new
You remember how special you were to him…back then
Fast forward now
And everything is up for questioning
EVERYTHING
You wake him up to a livid woman with sorrowful streams of tears
A beam of light that reveals his transgressions
He’s caught off guard
There’s nothing to say
All there is, is an angry woman
Who is left to reevaluate what she thought she had
While trying to differentiate the real parts from the fake ones
It’s over at least that’s what your madness says
You tear up all of his shit
And destroy the place you and him shared
It’s over
At least that what your bruised heart says
You feel manipulated
And betrayed
And foolish
And utterly stupid
You feel like a plastic piece to a game that he maneuvered the entire time
What do you do now?
Where do you turn?
You pick yourself up
And leave
And go to the ones you erased out of your life
And beg for forgiveness
After spilling the gut-wrenching contents of your soul
You go off by yourself and remember all those words
That created this superficial realm of what you thought love was
And vow to never let the words of a man seep into your heart
Zanya Rascoe is a senior at Cuny Hunter College. She will receive her B.A. in English in May. She has been writing since the age of seven and aspires to publish her own volume of poetry and teach secondary English literature. Her hobbies include going to open mics/spoken word events, reading self-help, fiction, historical fiction, biographies and of course poetry, and surrounding herself with family, friends, and, food.
