Poem by J. Patrick Brown

Commute

If only you could avoid the space between spaces
the going tos and getting theres,
the en routes and on-your-ways

If you could just be where you needed to be
instead of where you were

then you’d be free of the commute
and the creeping sense of failure that comes with it

the language not learned, the book not read,
(or, for that matter, written)

if only you could shake the unshakable feeling
that you’re not the the person you could be, should be,
or even would have been,
if you had done things differently

but of course,
you didn’t

which is why you are here,
somewhere between points A and B.

and with the shortest distance
still being a line
and with a line being infinite,
you can’t quite make out where you’re going,
and you’re not quite sure where you’ve been

liminal, subliminally,

muttering what could be a new poem you hope you remember,
or an old regret you wish you could forget.

If only you could just be where you needed to be,
but of course,
you can’t.

J. Patrick Brown first name is actually the letter J, so he’s not just being a dick. Well, about that one specific thing. He’s originally from New Orleans, has written a book about owls, and currently is the Assistant Editor at Scout Magazines.

Allison Goldin is an artist living in Cambridge. Her work is a collection of spontaneous drawings from the imagination. The most common link throughout her art are the semi-recognizab41le creatures scattered amongst and bringing together the surrounding doodles. She is currently studying Illustration at The School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.