A Colorful Ride

On a plane,

My colored pencils in tow,

Above the blue water,

So little I know.

Walkman is playing,

My headset on tight,

Green and brown land,

Bright yellow for light.

In my journal I sketch,

Filling in space,

I have hours to kill,

All the time to embrace

My decision to leave,

It’s not what it seems.

I was stuck on my path

Both directions extreme.

Excited for school here

With my sister and dad,

Making up for good times

What could have been had.

Months later the scene

Was not as expected,

My father was toxic

And we were affected.

My sister took off,

Moving away.

While I stood still,

Figured I’d stay.

Following rules,

I excelled in school,

But socially, admittedly

I was a fool.

Alone at lunch,

Against the wall,

Walkman on play,

Not standing tall.

I pull out my journal,

Same one from the plane;

I color the madness,

The tears and the pain.

There are happy days too,

Not everything’s blue,

But the colors collide

In a way that is true.

Decisions we make,

All the steps that we take,

We can’t always see

Where we’ll land in life’s wake.

Between oceans of blue

And states far and wide,

I looked back and I grew.

What a colorful ride.