Scattered remains dim with age,
remnants of the formal shedding
of the debris
that the polishing
of nakedness brings,
things that once felt
like a promising step towards liberation
that eventually only end up
leaving one feeling empty
and out of place as usual;
this illusion of happiness
in a life defined by others
continues to unravel
as I am becoming love,
letting this spark of youth
be the guide
that leads me back to me.
I love becoming. Whirlwinds,
thunderstorms, songbirds, chipmunks,
cliffs and the rays of the sun
remind me of home,
and I am there and gone.
Kymberly Brown: poet, singer/songwriter, English Teacher for Jersey City Public Schools for twenty-six years, mother of three beautiful daughters. Got her chops at The Living Theatre, The Nuyorican Poets’ Cafe, A Gathering of the Tribes/Stoop, and CHARAS in the Lower East Side, NYC. Published in the American Book Award-winning anthology Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets’ Cafe, two volumes of The National Library of Poetry, and A Gathering of the Tribes, Whirlwind, Big Hammer, and Long Shot magazines. Kymberly also served as program coordinator for Bandwriting Collective, a songwriting program in NYC for musicians under 18 for eight years.
Image: “Draped T-Shirt” by Alex J. Tunney
Pine Hills Review 