Ryan Hardgrove- Two Poems

The butterfly

trying to avoid as much

as possible

can become wearisome

the drink can help

the drugs can too

or sex or love

or various artistic endeavors

or competitive hobbies

or anything that helps one forget

but these distractions

only provide a temporary reprieve

from the stranglehold

that is life before death

and the obligations always remain

waiting patiently for the comedown

and while they wait

they mature into something more

they undergo a metamorphosis

the caterpillar becomes the butterfly

and the butterfly

is much harder to ignore

 

Rocky shoals

clipping off toenails

before my desk

as the typer glows blue

near midnight

my mind meanders

comfortably as I move

from one damp shower toe

to the next

but the unflinching and patient blink

of the cursor on the screen

steals any comfort

provided by my

routine grooming ritual

the reeling pulse

of the lighthouse

warns the sailor

of rocky shoals

dead skin crescent moons

litter the desktop

and I wish

I had more toes to clip

but I don’t

so the typing starts

but not for long

as I begin to fade out

and other voices

call out to me

while floating

near the nod

voices from the cellar

or below

in the dark

but the voices keep the words coming

so I don’t have time

to worry about madness

not with all these voices

which don’t really tell me anything

they don’t have any answers either

and some comfort returns

as I hear my own voice

telling others

that everything is okay