Wishes + Tied Down

So yeah, a "few" months ago I put my acrostic series on hold so that I could get back to my "usual" style of writing... beginning with this.

And now for why I threw a rant tag on this post. My process for writing, and photography too I suppose, is that I come up with a concept, write a poem, take a picture that I think fits that poem, and then I write another poem that directly applies to the picture. So yeah, two poems, one picture (if you get what I am playing off of with that then I am truly, truly sorry).

Anyway, I thought it was a shame not to share all of the results of my "process" on here so I am going to start including the "picture specific" poem after the "concept specific" one. The picture specific poems are usually shorter and less formal so I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal. Enjoy!


Wishes

Wishes are such
Silly things.

We send them into the sky,
Like colorful little balloons,
Hoping that one or two
Will bump into someone "up there"
And they, in turn,
Will answer our
Requests.

We send them up
By the dozen,
By the tens of hundreds of dozens,
Yet we only dare to hope
For one or two
To be answered.
Why is that?

Do we feel the need for
Modesty?
Wishes are selfish.
Regardless of our
Intentions,
Each one is essentially
Just for us.
What does it matter
If we push
The line
Between "very selfish"
And "mostly selfish?"

Do we not feel that
Every wish
Is worth the answer?
Wishes are invaluable.
Beneath that thin layer of rubber
Someone's hopes and dreams
Bounce back and forth
Like hundreds of hungry
Molecules
Eager for release.
Why dream at all
If any one dream
Is less important
Than the last?

Do we feel that
We are not strong enough
To handle
More than one or two?
Wishes are empowering.
They help us maintain
The belief
That there is something special
Out there
Waiting just for us.
Why burden yourself with
Life, at all,
If something so simple
Is too much
To believe?

Wishes are empowering,
Invaluable,
Selfish,
And silly.

I understand all of this,
Yet I just can not seem
To get my wish
Off the ground.

Could you help me with the knot?

Copyright © 2009 Jarred Lee


Tied Down

We were meant
For the sky.

We were meant
To touch the clouds
High above your heads
Without having to worry
About looking down.

Yet you have found the
"Need"
To tie us to the ground,
To your flightless situation.

You have found it
"Necessary"
To tie us to your cruel fate.

You may think it
Amusing
To watch us suffer,
But we were not meant
For this place,
This life,
And we are running out
Of oxygen.

Set us free.

Copyright © 2009 Jarred Lee