Desire Paths

You’re my desire path

Alone and wailing

Into the blackness of the empty room.

The desire path I’ve dug out with my feet,

Beat each step into the ground to create a way to trudge through,

The meticulous design I’ve spit on.

And maybe mom and dad were holding you tight against their chest

Warming your forehead with their breath,

Dancing and spinning as you giggle.

Maybe they’ve created their own desire path for you to wear in. And you’ve dressed accordingly. 

Grass smashed under their feet until the grass becomes dirt and rewards the shortcut. 

Crave the temporary pleasure on the instant,

Pursue the deepening groves.

Never take the sidewalk because the path is now engrained.

Atlases of paths etched into the grooves of my brain,

The firing synapses I’ve forced to ignore design. 

Desire paths in my skin.

Alien patterns I never forget.