In the Dirt of the Earth

In the dirt of the earth I lie

covered in moss and daisies.
They blanket me and so I rise
against hard arms of gnarled roots.

Safe in my bed
under white covers in which
I hide and close my eyes but
no darkness is granted.
Because the sunlight still streams --
still sings, and sighs contently
onto where I lie
in the dirt of the earth.

In the dirt of the earth I dine
eating the patches of green.
With my friends in the wilderness
here to keep me warm and brave.

My friends, they dance
around the open flames. Flickering,
fade.
Here our ghosts feed on smoke,
yes, charred remains on burnt tongues
tasting the hollows filled with grey
in the dirt of the earth.

In the dirt of the earth I sleep
breathing deep into the snoring sun.
Not even the whispers of beetles
can wake my claying skin.

In the dirt of the earth I dreamt of days
where the dirt of the earth
did not stain my face
but washed away the ash
that painted my cheeks
not red, not green, not white,
but grey.

In the dirt of the earth I rest
my bones, but the winds of spring cry life
as though my heart could still warm to the home
that I found, not in dirt of the earth
but the dirt of this ground.

if you cut me i could shine

On Turning Ten
The whole idea of it makes me feel
 like I'm coming down with something,
 something worse than any stomach ache
 or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
 a kind of measles of the spirit,
 a mumps of the psyche,
 a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.

 You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
 but that is because you have forgotten
 the perfect simplicity of being one
 and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
 But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
 At four I was an Arabian wizard.
 I could make myself invisible
 by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
 At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.

 But now I am mostly at the window
 watching the late afternoon light.
 Back then it never fell so solemnly
 against the side of my tree house,
 and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
 as it does today,
 all the dark blue speed drained out of it.

 This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
 as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
 It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
 time to turn the first big number.

 It seems only yesterday I used to believe
 there was nothing under my skin but light.
 If you cut me I could shine.
 But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
 I skin my knees. I bleed.

- Billy Collins

this was an unfamiliar text poem practice for english at school hahahaha i think i mainly like it just because it reminds me of supernatural and castiel in the last stanza DONT JUDGE ME

note to self to make a castiel gifset with the last stanza.... when i learn how to gif properly