09/08/15
late night wandering words
by Journey Temple
if follicles were any bigger you’d have to see all the sad thoughts in my head
thank you pores
when I say vessel,
you think of the blue ocean
I think of the red rivers
my bones are made of paper mâché,
my ulna, my radius
someone decided my words were too flimsy so they plastered me with their belief system
suddenly stiff from your glue that tries to change my natural form
the face built for me is neither happy nor sad
if I tear it off I am left with … something
far away maybe
find me a home
a warm bath might soften me
shells can only form if the water is not pure
the peeling often hurts
but the new skin is reward for living life in the sun
the only god I pray to
the only thing both pale and bright
it seems to hold my fate
for a day when i do not have to start this way again
when I say vessel,
we stop thinking
we have instead only songs
03/07/18
rereading this i become very emotional. to see myself in this work, i see a scared 16 year old, full body in confusion of the world’s why and how. i was exploring the edge of surrealism without knowing its name. i was uncomfortable in my own body, not sure how to be confident in the space i was taking up, and how i could soften it in order to invite others in. i am okay that a lot of this poem is still my truth, i would not be me without the places i’ve been and the sadness i have felt.
Journey Temple 