Blood is Thick (by Alexis-Rueal)

Blood is Thick

Blood is thick
Like honey,
Or your Mom’s Halston perfume,
Or your favorite wool coat.
Dive into it, you will know you are caught

In its permanence.
Sap in your veins, growing you from

The roots up, your heart pumps it
Hot and sickly sweet, the residue of family
Imbuing the shadow you
Cast on the here and now. You
Know with each thrum that you are bound.

But you are much more at home in the water; you
Understand the pulling tide of friendship better
Than the thick lineage caught in your pulse. You

Wade through late night phone calls
And coffee, poker night, pizza–
The oceans of small
Events that make life whole.
Rare is the day, you don’t long to

Swim with those
Who would not spit you out for
All of your faults.
Linger in calm pools of
Laughter, drift onward,
Onward on gentle
Waves of acceptance and
Support.

Better for you to
Accept the thickness of your blood, but
Carry in you the lightness of water.
Know your friends would swallow you back.

 

* * * * *

Alexis-Rueal is a 37 year old Columbus, Ohio poet. Her work has appeared in many online and print journals throughout Ohio, and her first chapbook, Letter to 20, was published in 2013 by Poet’s Haven Press. She was a member of the 2013 Writers’ Block National Poetry Slam team, and recently had her third go around at the Columbus Arts Festival. When she isn’t poeting, she’s running her own online business, enjoying married-life, and keeping the cat and dog out of trouble.