Northern Corner - Eden

Northern Corner
by Eden of @the.autisticats

I listen to the wind, blowing, causing the motion
Of torn plastic bags in a Target parking lot
Leaves of the weeds growing at the base of a tree stump
The American flags and abandoned banners of protesters in Ferguson
And the wrapper of the Snickers bar at midnight in Washington D.C.
The light of a passing Cadillac reveals black graffiti on blood red brick
Tires on asphalt allow for the scene to be obscured
By trees and a telephone booth
There I sit, waiting for a quarter to call home

Here on earth in a northern corner
In a room full of people who grew up on the same music that I did
I am not alone but I am lonely
Friction wasn’t enough to stop the move
Billboards have made me sick to my stomach
Nail beds bitten raw
I don’t belong here, and here doesn’t belong to me

Less than a year ago, Titanium made me cry
So did 6th period English class, and so did the number 58
But the dead dog didn’t
Because the second time I almost broke, I hardened instead
So now when the pressure in my head is too much
I press down even harder
And when the television set calmly articulates explosions 
I scream and shred pieces of lined notebook paper
And set mint leaves on fire

I go to bed, but not to sleep
Blankets cover me, conceal me
Swaddle my pain and give it warm milk
An alligator and a bear offer their sympathies
But my thoughts dwell elsewhere

Mind racing in circles only about the death of a mother
On Sunday, May 8th, tears fall more than they did in two years’ time
Because I loved her without ever knowing her
And she wasn’t even mine
Shards of sea glass and a camera and a cane
Being sliced open by the inspiration for Shakespeare’s tragedies
Visions of the flowers at her grave one week later
Street lamp illuminates the wilted roses in yellow glow
Petals tumble away on bits of sandstone
They cannot bear the pain of residing where a life once was
They die too, and their fragrance gives way to the stillness of the night