In celebration of National Poetry Month, Bent Alaska presents “With so many causes”, a poem by Megan Hellenthal.

With so many causes

by Megan Hellenthal

Knees grinding on loose
gravel, arms flailing,
hands grabbing at any
strip of clothing or
strand of hair.
back exposed
enough to read ‘hope’ across
We struggle against any help
toward our separate destinations,
vying for the right to stagger alone.

She forces away from my shoulders.
Jeans rip as rocks cut in
between us
her determined glare
fixates on the light post
outside
her home

Growing pains,
she smiles

Silk and mud
on that street
thoughts arrive like butterflies
in those rocks in her blood,
next to the grass
stains from last night’s roll down
the hill beyond Regents
laughing with the burning
quixotic stars
rearranged by our tumbling
To break the arresting walls of wheat fields.
to wrestle away from our daydreams
the chance to go into the night
we knew we had to
stumble
on rolling stones.

Photo credit: Behind the Rocks at Night, Moab, Utah, 13 Apr 2007. Photo by Scott Ingram. Used in accordance with Creative Commons license.