Welcome to the third Pre-weekend Poem! (the sixty-sixth poem on this blog). I’ve started Pre-weekend Poetry because I would have been booking into May at one a week and that’s not fair on the authors and really, one poem a week isn’t enough. So, tonight’s piece is by poet and short story author William Bortz.
Swing Away, My Innocence
It’s 4am so I’ll swing,
I’ll tilt my head back as my legs stretch me to the sky.
And when I begin to drop, my head will follow.
Every time I begin to lift off again I’ll open my eyes,
And hope you’ll be standing there watching my descent.
But you aren’t, and my thoughts are spent.
My innocence comes fleeting back, I don’t feel so small anymore,
But I don’t really feel like a someone.
I hit the peak and feel a fresh raindrop explode as it hits my tongue.
Just because we’re quiet doesn’t mean there’s something wrong,
And even if there is, it doesn’t mean you’re right,
It just means we’re strong.
The sky is so beautiful,
And sometimes it doesn’t mean a thing to me.
Stars are stars, and if I swing hard enough I could be one.
But I descend, as do my hopes once more.
The taste of rain, it’s dangerously close to the taste of innocence.
And as I rise, I strive.
And as I descend, I begin again.
I open my eyes, and I don’t see you.
The taste of waterfalls, it’s daringly close to the taste of life.
But I can close them again, and I can hope.
And I can be okay with the taste of life,
Because I know it’ll quiet down,
And taste like innocence again.
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I asked William what prompted this piece and he said…
We all have those nights when nostalgia takes over and we kind of get lost in it. Well for this particular poem it was that accompanied by the end of a relationship that meant very dear to me. I was lost in old memories of my childhood and ended up at the park in my small town at about four in the morning. I walked towards to swing set and just couldn’t resist the urge. I recall swinging and feeling young again, feeling impervious to all those things in my life that stole me from my childhood innocence and threw me into the harsh world of compassion. I remember swinging into the sky and trying to stay in that moment, but I kept getting pulled back to reality. The only thing that was able to bring me back to that innocence was the relationship I had with this girl that I adored. She had the power to bridge the gap between my innocence and the compassion I had come to despise. The moment was fleeting, but I tried to hold on to it for as long as I could. But with all things perfect, you realize that they never were.
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William Bortz is a young poet and author from the Midwest.Thank you, William.
William has published two books, ‘These Ties’ and the recently published ‘Petrichor”.
William thrives on the manipulation of words and the power they possess to recollect, sustain, and bury.
William’s childhood wasn’t one filled with normality, but he uses it to carve his future and chase his dreams.
- Blog: http://afreshnewview.blogspot.com/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BNwillbortz
- Author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWilliamBortz?ref=hl
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