ROPES

by JAMES

Strangling
Ropes swing around me, almost strangling me
I was born into a big web surrounding me
Dropped head first into a world built on how tightly can your ropes be strung
It was really confusing
Noises, voices telling me to cast out my ropes to my neighbors
I was unsure of this, so I acted like it
I sent out enough not to be consumed by the void below
But I sent out thread
Enough to make contact, but no need to tug
Over the years, I’ve commandeered my own strings
Never really sent any out, the select few
But I feel the need to grab when people need another anchor
I let one go once
I felt sick, guilty
But I can’t hold on to this one
I watched it as long as I good, spiral away
I hope it got tethered, I think it did
I can still barely see it, like a dot, a speck in the dark
But I gotta move on
I run around these strings like trapeze artist, scooping up these loose strings
I’ll hold onto my own, thank you very much
I don’t trust you to have them
I’ll just stuff them into my pockets, make room for others strings
Running around, grabbing strings, making my way around
Sometimes I need to get at strings just slightly out of reach
So I can just hop around off other strings when needed
They won’t barely feel it
I’m not using them, just borrowing them
Sometimes I want something to happen
All it takes is to pull a few people’s strings
Simple as that
But I gotta pull them the right direction
Easy peasy
Swinging people through this void
A different, unseen layer of our world
An ether
Where I thrive, the cold, unseen vacuum of our world
It’s ok, I like the cold
And I know how to navigate, so stop worrying about me

Well, one day, I was doing my regular old thing, when I was suddenly transported
A new part of my void I hadn’t been before
New ropes, dangling around me I went around, tugged a few
None felt sturdy enough to get me where I wanted to go
I hopped around, swinging but never getting far enough
Until one day, a new rope
It was like a cold, steel I grabbed on
Gave it a tug
And suddenly

Whoosh

I fly through the air
Yanked into the sky
Flying through the air
But here’s the strange thing I don’t fight it
I felt content, flying through the air
I was headed where I needed to go
Up, up, through the ceiling I’ve always known
And there was a man
Old, and young
At the same time
There, he had a shovel
Digging holes, all around
Holes in his world
Wrapped around his waist, a silver rope
Cold, like steel, but worth all the more
There I found a strange new world
A large field, hills of grass, never ending
A place beyond comprehension
I sat down
He sat next to me
And we watched the sun lower into the world below
And the day ends
I check the time
Four ones
Time for me to return to my own world
So I slip back down, and return to my business
But I had to make sure we would meet again
He’s holding something for me
Trailing behind me, reaching into the world above
A single rope… my rope