I Am...

Part one of a three part poem.

I am the color you see when you press a finger to your cold hand; the color that shows up only for a moment and then disappears completely.

I am the sparks behind your eyelids when you rub your eyes first thing in the morning; the sparks that give you a headache but are so intriguing that you want to see them again.

I am the sound of the leaves that you step on in the fall; cracking and scratching and reminding you of the year that has been wasted on things you can't even remember.

I am the taste of the coffee you drink at six in the morning; bitter, and a rude awakening. I burn your tongue, and you spit me out.

I am the weather that chills your bones; the wind, the frost that bites your hands, and the snow that falls in an unimaginable number of unique shapes and sizes and dusts your jacket.

I am not the moon, I am not the stars.

I am the atmosphere, and the rays of sunlight that hits the field that is overrun with wild flowers, the field you can't help but look at as you pass going seventy-three miles per hour down the highway.

I am a hurricane, and tidal waves. A crashed roller coaster sucked into the ocean.

I tell myself to be a blossom, or a tree that disobeys nature and stays covered in orange leaves through the first two snows, but I cannot be those things because I am the roots of a rose bush and the birds that nest in the branches of an evergreen in a forest so big that no one has ever been able to reach the end.

I am the edge of earth, the drop off of an ocean.

The beginning of space.

The end of the universe.

Author's Note

Please ignore any grammar mistakes! This was written quickly, as I was falling asleep when I had the idea. :)

Reviews

[James O'Rourke]

There is so much beautiful imagery here that I can't even begin to comment on all of them. I can say without a doubt my favorite line is "I am the atmosphere, and the rays of sunlight that hits the field that is overrun with wild flowers, the field you can't help but look at as you pass going seventy-three miles per hour down the highway." This is so vivid and breathtaking.

I also liked the first line. It made me stop a second and say "Hmm...what is that anyway?" It's a perfect start to pull in the reader. Also, the portion where you are Not the moon and Not the stars. That great contrast right in the middle of the piece. It broke it up for a second, almost as if you were giving me a moment to breathe before pressing onward through the onslaught of pictures.

Well written R.C. Hayes. I look forward to the next two pieces that will round out this poem.