The Cure for Anything

It’s a two-poem Poetry Tuesday this week.

“Seattle”

We all have a “Seattle,”
That person, who,
When they send a card,
Or we see an email from,
THAT domain,
Or THAT area code,
We transform.

We forget the disappointment,
We forget the bad,
We forget the pain.
None of it matters,
When we see “Seattle”
Pop up in our
Present-day lives.

The transformation begins
With a gasp,
Either physical, mental,
Or psychic.
A small smile forms.
A massive WALL OF FIRE
Starts to roll in from the horizon
As optimism,
And a conscious block of
Every Bad Thing Ever
Stops the negativity cold.

Common sense usually wins out
When pondering “Seattle,”
Not because the bad memories win,
But because we’ve moved on,
And really don’t want double-back.

Yes, everyone has a “Seattle.”
Sometimes,
It’s in Portland.

–Edward Branley

Thank You

The smell of your hair puts my stomach in knots.
I want to lay roses at your feet.
I want to pray at the church of your hands.
I want to thank you for every awful thing you ever did to me.
No one will ever be able to knock the wind out of me again.
Not like that.

Not like you.
– Trista Mateer