i heard you hum
a silly song
i couldn't see
the sound waves in the air
but i felt them pass right through me
as if i were a rock in a mountain stream
as if i were a meadow in the spring rain

don't
walk in the forests
the forests are not made for walking
don't
visit your friends
your friends will be fine without talking
don't
buy too much sigh too much want too much
don't cry why
don't scream or shout when they come
take your rights don't defy
and when the world
spins like a carousel
and rotational force
throws you out on your ***
under no circumstance be late
to your online class

i relish in it
this hard time
i live with it
in my mouth
and its weight
on my shoulders

we walk together
less towards
the finish line
more towards
an understanding:
this is how
you prepare
for the hard things
yet to come

black coffee

dry wine

the sour sting
of waking up with love
troublesome and futile
mingled with sweetness
of knowing what the poets talked about

it's not that i'm afraid
of how you will react
the words just
scar my skin
as they leave my mouth

i want to talk about you
to everyone i know
i want to shut my mouth
and keep you to myself
my heart flares up
explodes with thoughts of you
and i can't catch the words
and i can't catch my breath

sometimes i let it go
i'm disentangled
i listen to the wind
i mourn the things i haven't lost yet