south

photos of my young great-grandfather look like Adam
sometimes life goes full circle
my great-grandmother tells me cream is better for you than milk
and that she won't drink coffee but will 'sip it, to make sure you're on the right track'
conviction is a funny thing

i see pain draped like ancient drapes across people's faces
i want to reach out and let the sunshine break through

burying myself under poloroids from the generations before me
in the expressions
in the shoes
in the stories they tell that are typed in my blood
hibernating until the moments when i need to hear something
and it's right there

what sets me apart? staring up at the lives of women with ravishing values and red lipstick

mediocrity never crossed their minds