Above the mask, below the forehead, what do you see?
Gripping steel, treading concrete, circumvent chaos in a puddle of mud.
Pass a perfectly preserved bagel on a snowbank, forbidden food.
Above the strange, below the stranger, how can you breathe?
Kicking snow, the path narrows, standing desperate in a line of validation.
Two more stops, you’re still scrolling, hello, goodbye to oblivion.
Above your mattress, below the blankets, what do you think?
We had tacos, was it last year? Life disrupted blurs dates and locations.
Nothing gets crossed out, it’s endless, or procrastinated change.
Above the landlord, below the bedroom, what you’ve been up to?
Clicking, typing, new notification, in an overstimulated age.
One more headline, one last email, let’s just text to pass the time.
Above graduation, under settling, what will you do?
Time keeps ticking, with or without you, turn the corner to expectations.
Behind the scenes, a rolling stone screeches to a halt of emotion.
Above the back wall, below security, where will you sleep?
In a hollowed out frame of forgotten lust begging the question.
Or in familiar bleeding love on a pedestal of self-interest.
Above the mask, below the forehead, what do you see?
In this piece I love the concept of always being over something but also under something. The first and last line it's just literally about spatial orientation. Above nose but below forehead. But throughout the poem there is a win/loss good/bad meaning associated with being above something and below another.
Times of turmoil like wars and pandemics can make it feel like all is lost, but I hope that we can be the optimistic minority to make the best out of it. In fact I believe that maybe if we didn't have such a contemporary struggle maybe people like Jack might complain there wasn't enough going on and that the world was too boring. Haha. I hope to have Jack and