By: Marcus Severns

Drop That Heavy Load

You gotta unwind
Your shoe laces,
And let a load off your chest
By letting go of the tension
With a large breath;
Let it go.

The weight of the world is on
Your shoulders –
The sky pushes down
And the Earth pulls you down –
But if you embrace it
After a long day

It can be a comfort.

Sink,
Into your comfort zone
Under covers

So,
So warm

Then drift off
To a land of imaginative
Bliss.

###

Family Picture

The Pacific ocean rolls in.
It splashes against Oregon’s coastal rocks.
Mist rises into the air.

The sun sits on the horizon
Like an orange eye
Gazing back.

As I wander the shore
Sand fleas hop in all directions
To escape feet that plod
Through puddles of a perfect sky
Reflected.

At home, on the ranch
My family sits in their clustered homes.
They resent me because I was born,
So I can’t go inside:
I sleep in the wood shed
With the sheep dogs.

They curl next to me, warm.
There is a coolness in the air.
Hot tears glide down my cheeks,
But the dogs lick them away.

A fine rain begins to fall.

This is home. It’s beautiful
But forsaking.

###

Ahead

The more and moire
And before
We fell
Accorded, affronted and offended.

We tried to chase a dream,
But you went a meter
And got winded –

I’m out of breath,
In pain,
But gave up on giving up

Since I’ve gotten so close
To catching the skirt

of Lady Love
To tell her

She doesn’t have a second chance
Because she’s still on the first.

Our luck isn’t running out
Since
We’re going in circles

In this coalesced
Daydream.

###

Marcus Severns has published in several magazines and journals including Everyday Poems, The Curry County Reporter, and MadnessMuse Press. However his most notable accomplishment from writing was winning 1st place in a regional writing competition for Southeast TN EMC. He currently resides in east Tennessee.