"Thankful for Being Grounded"

Brooke Cagle, Upsplash

“Thankful for Being Grounded”

-H.M. Jones-

I am sometimes absent…
in the confines of the stories and lines swamping my wandering mind,
in the numb despair that clings tight and ensnares all positive spheres blooming in my being,
in the guttural, animal anger fed by a broken flight or fight response in the synapses not snapping,
in the ideas too grand, connections unplanned, what it all means, where I belong,
in the disappointment of a world that shines unfairly harsh under a helicopter’s glow.

You are present…
in the minutes that stretch while you patiently wait to capture my drifting gaze,
in the phone calls forgotten during the deep deadline of depression,
in the worry of reaching out when my line’s grown cold,
in the ways you remind me of all that’s gold.
​
I am thankful…
in the moments we treasured each other’s strengths and weakness,
in the midnight joyrides, high-pitched laughter in a crowded car,
in the moonlit secrets of skin pressed too tightly, not tightly enough,
in the way your mother’s breast was food, a pillow, a place to lay my sobbing face
in the passionate back and forth of words chosen carefully, shared pieces of hope and soul.
 
I am so thankful for it all…
so thankful that these moments capture my fleeing being in moments of need
and keep me grounded enough to live in the bliss of every day
with you
and you
and you
and, yes,
this poem is for you.