I Wished for Some Peace and the Ghost of Rip Van Winkle Came (He Let Me Rest for Awhile)

when i breathe i can feel the
forest over my mouth shivering.
(it grew before i had the time
to think to rip out the roots...
now i think it's too late.)

these vines crawled up my body,
grew and have held me down since.
(they came up so fast, looked at me
with little green leaves, so hopeful.
i called them "family". it fits.)

my middle, i used to call it a belly.
now they call it a lake, and little
people swim, drive boats and speed
across the water. (sometimes they get
to the bottom and they never get
back up. i wish i could save them.)

at some point, my legs got covered.
dirt and roots, plants and the ashes
of my past lives. if someone would dig,
just a little bit deeper, they'd find me.
(god, i wish they would. find me.)

sometimes, i can almost feel my fingers.
or maybe it's just a vivid memory.
i can't remember the last time i moved.
i've been under all of this for so long.
(trapped under the world, please
someone save me, please just look
past the camouflage that's grown
over me and get a fucking clue)

wait.
did you—
i think—
is this—
i moved.
i try again,
and there it is.
i am moving.
i can move.
i can be free.