Notable Moments Throughout the Years
In a world where relative concepts such as time and adolescence are stripped of their beauty and thrown into the bin of overused and over-influential marketing tools, it’s vital to groove on the consistencies our communities offer for those brave enough to enjoy them. Patience and presentness are suffocating in deficiency by the masses in a society where the majority favors convenience over connection.
I am privileged enough to love a community that yearns to experience life as slowly as it comes, immersing themselves in the beauties of what life can offer whenever you sit down and grow as the flowers do. However, the disparity in capturing a moment can sometimes lead to losing your presence. After several instances in which this has been taught, I have finally allowed myself to learn my lesson. Rather than observing life, I am actively taking up space in it.
With that being said, here are a few pieces from moments throughout the years that I have completely immersed myself in:
PESCARA
Walking through the park on one of the loveliest of days,
The man playing Blackbird on his acoustic slowly fades behind me.
Spring is rolling in in Italy,
And the growth in me is blooming now more than ever.
I never feel like I belong anywhere until I’m about to leave it.
I felt like an imposter in Texas, and I feel like one here, too.
I’m trying my best to absorb these moments in all of their preciousness: the wonder of Italy’s features,
the vitality of its people.
Eyes full of wisdom,
Voices full of stories from their lively past.
Arms full of hospitable warmth you can’t find anywhere else, not like this.
Arrivederci, Italia. Devo dire troppo presto.
Summer is rolling in in Italy, and I won’t be here to revel in it.
WEST GUM ST.
An assortment of flowers,
An abundance of love.
The fresh ambrosial breeze
And melodies of euphoria
Flow rhythmically through the air.
My heart lies on West Gum St.,
With the porch swing that has aged with us over the years,
And the sweet scent that roams the house,
Caused by an endlessly bustling kitchen.
I long for the affectionate touch
Of a loved one’s hands in my hair
The fresh-cut grass,
The moss-covered rocks,
Where I have capered about in my greenness.
I long to return to West Gum St.
MONICA
Sitting outside of a bar in the center of the city.
Exchanging stories, poems, songs, and a kettle of tea.
Wisps of smoke and laughter cling to the heavy, humid air
This movement is so bittersweet; I can hardly stand it.
It pains me to know that it won’t always be like this,
so I try my best not to think about it.
Instead, I take my thoughts to the park, the bus stop, the market, the beach.
How do you cope with the swift passing of a platonic soulmate?
Your presence presiding in my life just long enough to sift through my fingers,
Decorated with the ring you gave me on the first day we met.
Just long enough to understand how strongly I appreciate a connection like ours.
The bus ride through Pescara taught me things that I didn’t know about myself.
No one has ever nourished my creativity like you do.
We both know that the moon and the sea are the founders of natural rhythm,
And we follow their flow in our exchanges.
The importance of connection seeping through my soul,
My favorite version of myself is the one that you have shown me.
Italy only felt this abundant after I met you.
Before I met you, I was only existing.
You taught me how to exist with passion.
DISMUSBEDEPLACE
Violet-blue ripples that can be seen by the squint of an eye are brought in by the sticky breeze.
Violent but steady waves come rolling in, pounding the defenseless sand beneath it.
I walk along the shoreline, accompanied by little cousins who have allowed the interest of chasing crabs to swallow most of their time here.
Sand-covered knees and salt-dried lips come complimentary with our freshly sun-kissed cheeks.
We follow the ‘noisy waves’ street sign on our walk back to the beach house, utterly infatuated with our days spent here.
Dismusbedeplace.