#lisajarnot

The excerpt from The Time We Killed by Jennifer Reeves

*Inspired by Lisa Jarnot's Sea Lyrics. Written for Foundations of Creative Writing class at CCC. 

*I am I am I have I have been a long time.

I.

I am vacuuming popcorn kernels from the carpet in the kitchen, I am waiting for the sun to set so I can watch the day die, I am a seal balancing his ball on his nose for other’s amusement, I am the gathering paintings of Jesus at Goodwill to be used for decoration, I am skipping down Clark Street, I am waiting for a bird to fly into my window, I am a Taurus who wants so badly to be a Gemini, I am catching a plane to Milan.

  II.

I am consumed by the sounds of sirens in the street, I am waiting for a bus and it’s late, I am dancing in my sister’s jazz shoes, I am wishing she will praise me, I am kissing the wings of every cicada in North America, I am the gluten free menu at the restaurant at the corner of Congress and Dearborn, I am giving directions to a homeless man, I am the smallest woman in the world living in a skyscraper, I am the undiscovered Waldo in my own storybook.

  III.

Today I am the Mona Lisa smoking a joint in the parking lot where there are always empty spaces between the white lines, where the neighbors always complain about the smell of confused teenagers, where the streetlights are always brighter than the full moon, where the dirty pigeons gather like a disorganized Alcoholics Anonymous group, where I once saw a drug deal,  where I felt out of place because I don’t do drugs and the joint is fake, where we painted our nails the color of mother’s apron, where you can see the highway but can’t get to the street that leads you to Indiana.

  IV.