Random Afternoon Reading Series, Part Two: Safe

I was sitting in my living room making a list of my things to do, and I decided instead of adding reading one of my poems on camera to the list, that I would just do it in this moment.

There is a little background talking about where the poem originated from, inside the mind of a person(me, really) that seems to choose the riskier rather than safe option often, evaluating that philosophy and what makes me this way, in case you're interested in that. If not, feel free to just skip to the poetry reading.

I think I am getting better at this. At least, I hope I am :)

---

Safe

To be wild and unpretentious
to be both suspecting and unsuspecting
blue-ish light on our faces
from the moon
perhaps inside us
as well

And a fence that keeps children
from wandering off
that hides them
from the wilderness
and the wilderness
from them -- the dusk sky
its size seems
to sit at odds as barrier
and possibility

and the unknowns the questions
thought up for the first time
of love and grief and death
and how to proceed still knowing
almost nothing
the far, dark spaces
of the universe
or ourselves

Today we keep breathing
as we believe we will
the flowers pressed between pages of
War and Peace
jars full of dusty pennies
waiting to be counted
and spent

or not waiting
at all
or they’re waiting
but not for what we thought

Now here we are
on an empty beach
the dark clouds at a standstill
against the rising waves

Sometime before we realize what fear is
the ocean has lured us in
gasping with life

---

from my first book, You Had Me At Topography:

http://jessicalakritz.com/shop/

p.s. If you want a free copy of the ebook--send me a comment and I can email it to you :)