It's a shame,
That roses have thorns,
But nothing's ever easy,

We're the same,
We learn to crawl,
Before our footing's steady,

Through the pain,
We all learn,
To find the meaning of beauty,

Thus, you came,
And made me fall,
And love is what you taught me.

And like that
my voice has been stolen away
Anxiety barricades like invisible steel walls
Trapped, I’m left banging with clenched fists
A prisoner within my own head
My brain a chemically imbalanced warden
My mind in solitary confinement

the angel on my shoulder
picked up smoking,
the devil on the other
took up yoga—

they don't know
how much they have
in common.

is all you have. Are you
going to listen to all
the **** empty men
that turned cold
fed you?

One move
is all it takes to make
or break you. You can’t go
down without a fight. This isn’t
a rehearsal. It’s life!

One woman
is with you. Look inside
the mirror. I can’t speak it
clearer. If you won’t fill yourself
don’t look to a man to fill you It took years
to let go of my fears that people
are talking about me. Now I do for myself –
no apologies

mouths
spout
garbage out

Nasty
eyes
see the world
and everything in it
as dark

Nasty
hands
crop up as weeds
full of disease
do nasty deeds

Nasty
people
don’t like themselves
so they ruin it
for you
it’s all they can do