Understory 2020

Under the Influence

Driving into a valley of streets, off into the distance. The road extends in front of us. Smooth black skin leading us home. We rumbled in 3 am jungles. Roaring like lions, breaking up concrete and we left the grumpy half-asleep world reeling from our pillage. Oh, this rowdy youth. We ooze invincibility while escaping into the vault of heaven filled with constellations whose names we can’t remember. We shout our names into the atmosphere. I beg the stars not to forget me. I’ll always remember this past life of mine. Hopefully, I’ll reminisce with a smile. I like the shimmering glow of the street lights. I like how the road unfolds like an ancient scroll. I like how the night time version of me belongs to the rain-soaked roads and feels at home in parks after closing time. The me shaped impression I leave behind is washed away by the cold showers and dissipates into the morning fog. The soft Fanta orange sky melts into an azure sea. Heavy night air grabs me by the throat with it’s unyielding hands. We swing dance in the dark. We whoop and shout like hyenas prowling the darkened Serengeti. We drive with no hands and flee from the scolding lights of flashing red and blue. Chewy bits of nostalgia stick in between my teeth. My fingers are wet with remembrance. I carry the scent of adolescence in my hair and on my skin. And my clumsy stumbling into adulthood will always linger under my tongue and behind my eyes. Monotony turns my world into a hazy vhs tape. The days bleed into one another and the clouds march by at an achingly slow pace. Until suddenly the world opens up before me and reality is bursting at the seams, bending at the edges.

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JANÉE WILSON is a sophomore pursuing a Baccalaureate degree in English. Janée has always had a love for reading and writing. It is her favorite form of self expression and a helpful emotional outlet for her.

 

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