Beach Poem by Robert Macdonald

I make myself carry this weight
That isn’t really there
That builds with every single time
That I try and rest my mind
The spare moments
When I can unwind

To win these day to day
Races against a life of being alone
Of letting go
In a station
Where your tongue drags
Your hair picks up the earth
Your face scabs

To live these day to day prompt invitations
Dismissals
Rehearsals

To get to a room
On time
To practice for the next time
That you see the people
Digging in around you

Images projected
Words used as tools
As bait

And to try to swim
To be swept up in the eddying froth
Feel the current pulling at your flailing arms
Tugging at your thrashing legs
A fear of being pulled apart
Limb by limb

To be spat out
Onto the dry rocky beach
Of academia
Of your father’s day to day
Manly struggle
Have the sun beating down
On a naked pallid complexion
Surrounded by garbage
Surrounded by bones
White amongst the charred
Blackened embers
Rocks and shells