Alignment

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I have been sprinting.

The proverbial shirt on my back is

Drenched. The very real lungs in my body

Are waiting to exhale. I want this. I know it.

I do not feel guilty anymore. I just practice

Waiting on nothing long enough to see my self leave.

There will be no apologies. This is all that I carry. This

Weight. This apple seed. This godsend. This

Holy multiplier. God calls me many things.

Tells me to believe. Tells me not to get

Too wrapped up but I am surrounded

By horizons that can't let go of me

Shining. And why should I stop now?

Who is making the rules in this country?

Who has broken the rules in this country

And survived?


Copyright © 2025 by Jewel Rodgers. Reprinted by permission of the poet.