by Lorena Parker Matejowsky

It's #tbt! Enjoy this great one from SWWIM Every Day's archives!

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I am saying the road to happiness is through hell
I am saying this road hurts my heels

You arrived at the wrong time
You arrived when he wasn’t home

I can see how a forest falls down
I can see a sinkhole from its source

I am trying to make a map out of muck
I am trying not to walk on the water

There is a trail that tastes like ghost orchids
There is a swamp sitting here with my son

I am talking about taking slow wet steps
I am talking about birds that stand still

I do this so I can show you the scrub jay
I do this like he will die any day.

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Lorena Parker Matejowsky lives in Central Florida but spent her first 30 years in Texas. She writes poems, essays, and comics about growing up as a teenager in Texas in the 1980s, working in corporate America, staring at birds to stay sane in Florida, and leaving religion late in life. She received an MFA in Creative Writing from University of Central Florida. Her work has been included in Best New Poets Anthology 2018 and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Reach out on Instagram @loriepm or lorenaparker.com.

by Lorena Parker Matejowsky

I am saying the road to happiness is through hell

I am saying this road hurts my heels

You arrived at the wrong time

You arrived when he wasn’t home

I can see how a forest falls down

I can see a sinkhole from its source

I am trying to make a map out of muck

I am trying not to walk on the water

There is a trail that tastes like ghost orchids

There is a swamp sitting here with my son

I am talking about taking slow wet steps

I am talking about birds that stand still

I do this so I can show you the scrub jay

I do this like he will die any day.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Lorena Parker Matejowsky is a resident of Central Florida but spent her first thirty years in Texas. Her poetry was selected for the 2018 AWP Intro Journal Prize and Best New Poets 2018 anthology. She's sorry about Florida and Texas, y'all.