(inspired by All The Words I Kept Inside by P. J. Gudka)
So many of my metaphors attempt to describe the ocean of sadness in me,
as if to a neighboring world with no water.
I am Earth; you are Mars; I have clouds full of rain
and you have…none.
But can you please understand
what it’s like
to lose yourself in a river, or
smell the petrichor ground after a downpour?
(no, no I’m not really sure you can…)
But it occurs to me,
I could instead address my letters to another Earth-like world
in a faraway solar system
covered in as many seas and storms as me.
And I could ask
how you get back up after a tsunami.
I could ask
how you cope with a season of no sunlight, just slogging rain.
I could ask
what it feels like when the water freezes to something numb.
And have you ever
figured out a schedule for the tides
so you know when it’s safe to swim in the water
and when you’ll have time to sprint across beaches?
And do you ever
see jungles bloom out of the fog?
I don’t know
if the species on my planet
resemble anything like yours,
but if they do,
I hope
whenever winter thaws,
beautiful flowers
fill meadows with gold
for you too.
Jordyn Saelor 