August 30, 2014

Reckless. ~ Kelly Russell {Poem}

0 Boost Score Kelly Russell (1,375,390)

411

Let’s never grow up, I say.

I think it’s too late for that, he answers.
Let’s rob a bank, I say. Knock over a liquor store? Swim naked in the Hudson?
The Hudson is filled with pollution. And, your face is way too cute to be criminal, he laughs.

We walk arm in arm. Ten city blocks. Cobblestone streets and skyscrapers that swallow the sky.
I miss the stars, I say. The city makes me feel suffocated.
Let’s get in the car and drive upstate. Let’s do it right now. Come climb a mountain with me? I ask him.
I have to work tomorrow, he answers. We can do that any weekend. Let’s plan something.
But, I want to be impulsive. I know the difference between going someplace and escaping. I want someone who is both as vulnerable and as brave as I am.

Why aren’t you afraid of things? he asks.
I am, I say. I’m afraid of everything.
Fear has always been my greatest motivator.
The world is filled with cowards. I don’t want to be one of them.
I hike up the bottom of my tight black dress. My high heels clatter to the pavement. I take off running barefoot.

Try and catch me, I shout. My voice; a challenge to the glass, and steel and concrete.
Try and catch me, I shout. This may not be possible for anyone.
He watches me for a moment. The moon reflects off my bare back. He knows that I am reckless. He takes off after me.
You are a ridiculous woman, he gasps. Such a beautiful wild thing, he says when he finally settles down beside me.
The city sky is always black. We struggle to catch our breath. My heart is a tight fist. All my dreams are dangerous.