Chapter 1 [untitled story]

The starless night sky looms overhead,
black as the raven’s feathers
floating with the breeze.
A pale lighted crescent
takes its place in the sky,
as the sun turns its attention
to the other side of the world.

Summer nights inviting me
to launch my attack,
more like an escape.
Grass compresses as I lay my foot down
running, sprinting to end line.
Miles of countryside fences
guide me like one of those tom-toms

What am I running from?
Well that question is unanswered
or at least I don’t know how to answer it.
It could be a multiple of things.
That have added up like tally marks
of a prisoner counting down the days,
those lonely nights in a cold, damp cell.
Awaiting the opening of metal bars,
to the welcoming sunshine of the real world

Sucking in wind,
I was never one of those athletic stars.
Sports weren’t my thing,
therefore running wasn’t going to last long.
About to collapse from fatigue,
I figured it was best to return home.
Oh, how I dreaded that word,
It was like the cacophonous sound of finger nails
scraping endlessly down a chalk board.

That word didn’t exist in my mind,
it was as distant as Australia to the US.
Could someone define home for me:
–noun, a house, apartment, or other shelter
that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household;
the place in which one's domestic affections are centered
Nothing of that definition pertains to me,
I didn’t have a place to be defined as that.
Sure I had a house, a place to physically live,
but it sure wasn’t a place of protection
except from the rain.

The walk to my not very homely home
was lonely and chilly.
The branches of trees
reached out like tendrils, trying so very hard
to touch the high risen moon.
I laughed at their failed attempt,
but I also pitted them.
All they do day in and day out,
is stand tall, taking on whatever unexpected weather
is thrown their way.
People walk by them without any acknowledgment
even though they create oxygen for us to breathe.
Poor trees, I know how you feel,
excluding the fact I take up the needed oxygen.
I’m sorry.