A Message to Myself

You’re losing yourself
again.

Breathe.

You are alone in a nightclub.
Not alone. By yourself
in the middle of a crowd.
Music—
Huns at the gate clamoring
and hammering and pressing
into your ears harder
than your hands.

Breathe.

Your heart should be timid—
a child knocking at the bottom
of the door—
a tiny Dracula hand clinging
to mom’s leg and an octave below a whisper:
“trick or treat.”

Breathe.

You are an island, cut loose
without an anchor.

A vessel, really.

But vessels can float
even when waves slap—
the jump and volley of open palm
against synthetic leather.

Breathe.

You are a harbor—
arms encircle me, the ropes and moorings.
The soft smell of pine and vanilla
and ocean.
But the ocean is your eyes
and I can’t be the dam anymore.

Breathe.

You’re losing yourself
again.

JKolasch

Leave a Reply

Subscribe now and never miss a new post from Jacob again.

Choose whether you want to receive updates on everything or just specific categories, like new poetry or new issues of Subtext.

Continue Reading

%d