shades of gator green

i go to the swamp each week to tell the gators that i’m okay.

they smile at me and say,

"ya can’t hide ya secrets from the deep green."

the gnats snack on my sun-tinted branches and they whisper in my ear,

"you’ve got a lot of love left in ya."

i lie with the marsh and i let her soft wake teach me about my mistakes.

she tells me i really am doin' okay,

just know i’ve still gotta

make

my

way.

reminds me of the moonflower my momma growin' out back by all 'er plants

sent me a pic and said,

"she's still got a long way to go, but she's blossoming."

the air of swampland always smells faintly of bug spray and a summer storm that loves billie holiday

i take off my shoes and let the dirt cover my feet.

i let the bugs and gators eat

and i take my heart on a retreat

to the only place that doesn’t make me think of a love that made me

incomplete.

so to the swampland,

i go

just to learn what else there is to know

and to turn my blue to green

and watch the Earth love me so.

smilin' at creatures as they pretend to know all the words i speak

won't call me crazy and won't tell me who i outta be

they just let me count my buckeye's amongst the dragonflies

i go to the swamp each week always tryin' to find a better me

and when i leave

i let the gators eat all i wish could be

and in return they let me take back all i already am

sayin', "life ain't no program, take what ya' can and leave what ya can't."

i hop on i-10 and i realize, each time,

i am doing all i can.

runnin' from no man's land

i'll tell dat strawberry moon,

"gimmie 3 or so more months, and i'll stop dancin' with the dead man"

and me and dat moonflower,

well,

we'll be back to bring dem gators some whiskey sours

and i won't be a livin' walkin' on eggshells

i go to the swamp each week

knowin' one day

i'll make all my ends meet

without no hell makin' me stomp my feet

without no dread in my big 'ole Posey head

i'll just be

happy.