osmosis.

Cleaning out my suitcase

my tightly packed clothing still held the damp smell of home

so before it could be stolen by the thirsty sunbleached high desert air

I held the fabric up to my face

inhaled the water

the history

the struggle

I come from

towering trees and dense tangled ground cover 

encroaching enveloping

sleeping lakes that freeze over in the winter

beckon for entry in the too hot summer

green that softens lulls my eyes wide open

humid air so thick it saturates my bones

deer that consider me before they run on nimble hooves

willows that tower above but weep all the way to the ground

oaks that mock my arms wide open girth

and winters

winters that seem like they will never end

that the sun will never shine again

heavy endless grey

I come from

depression

shame

and a fierce longing

as green as the damn grass is

its gotta be greener over there

or over there

maybe Its greener in the high desert way the hell over there

I come from

rotting wooden houses dank basements too many layers of paint

and ends that didn't meet

I ran from

men w/ baseball bats down the streets of swillburg

I ran thru

the woods of mendon  dodging tree limbs and hopping roots

I ran like

Hungry deer through the streets and into backyards with less and less space to call home

I ran toward anything that looked like love

I ran

it’s the kinda place ya run from

where waiting suitcases hold the promise of sun

it’s the kinda place ya grow fiercely proud of coming from

unpacking dense tangled stories

I went to

wrap my arms around that blue collar city

I went to

weep on the ground

wade through the murky lakes of memory

I’m the first to confess

I come with

baggage

heavy w/ history

humidity

longing

and home.