ADD NAMES
UWC-USA
Weather
the summer glow slipped through my fingertips
and into the leaves of the aspens.
the next time i’ll see green
will be on the precipice of a new summer
a better one
one that doesn’t seize my guts and fill them with tears
and one that doesn’t squeeze me until I burst into sharp flames.
fall hits hard and fall hurts hard
but right now i’ve still got the summer sun
filling me up and holding me to the sky
so that when I lick the air
it tastes like curiosity.
i can feel a novelty coming to me
in the shapes of sunshine and snow
hot and cold
turn a new page and
dissolve the old.
Rising
i am still trying to formulate the words
to give uwc the credit it deserves
for transforming me.
it was something about the way
the canyon cradled me,
the grand canyon,
sebastian canyon,
that made me love the
way my feet hit the ground
and my voice cracks the air
and my arms hold the trees.
and it was something about the way
the wind pushed me,
off the precipice of safety and
into the whirlpools of freedom,
that made me crave
the way it tastes when i fall into the dirt,
which is soft like sand
until it gets between my teeth.
arriving at uwc felt like
being thrown to the back of a race.
but eventually i learned that this place
disempowered me so i could learn the ropes-
so that when it was my turn, i would rise.
and i am.
rising.
The Grand Canyon
i wish i was in the grand canyon,
falling asleep next to new friends,
finding myself in the way stars light up my dreams
and the way the canyonside whispers symphonies
in my ears while i trace its edges with my feet.
it felt good to feel
and the colors of the canyonside gave me a palette to work with.
the rose gold of my dirt made me angry
and the soft royal blue of my sky gave me clarity.
the canyon reminded me what was important, who was important.
but while i want to give full credit to the canyon,
it wasn’t the work of the canyon.
it was my canyon and my dirt and my sky
that gave me resilience and a home.
the summer glow slipped through my fingertips
and into the leaves of the aspens.
the next time i’ll see green
will be on the precipice of a new summer
a better one
one that doesn’t seize my guts and fill them with tears
and one that doesn’t squeeze me until I burst into sharp flames.
fall hits hard and fall hurts hard
but right now i’ve still got the summer sun
filling me up and holding me to the sky
so that when I lick the air
it tastes like curiosity.
i can feel a novelty coming to me
in the shapes of sunshine and snow
hot and cold
turn a new page and
dissolve the old.
Rising
i am still trying to formulate the words
to give uwc the credit it deserves
for transforming me.
it was something about the way
the canyon cradled me,
the grand canyon,
sebastian canyon,
that made me love the
way my feet hit the ground
and my voice cracks the air
and my arms hold the trees.
and it was something about the way
the wind pushed me,
off the precipice of safety and
into the whirlpools of freedom,
that made me crave
the way it tastes when i fall into the dirt,
which is soft like sand
until it gets between my teeth.
arriving at uwc felt like
being thrown to the back of a race.
but eventually i learned that this place
disempowered me so i could learn the ropes-
so that when it was my turn, i would rise.
and i am.
rising.
The Grand Canyon
i wish i was in the grand canyon,
falling asleep next to new friends,
finding myself in the way stars light up my dreams
and the way the canyonside whispers symphonies
in my ears while i trace its edges with my feet.
it felt good to feel
and the colors of the canyonside gave me a palette to work with.
the rose gold of my dirt made me angry
and the soft royal blue of my sky gave me clarity.
the canyon reminded me what was important, who was important.
but while i want to give full credit to the canyon,
it wasn’t the work of the canyon.
it was my canyon and my dirt and my sky
that gave me resilience and a home.
