He stops to recoil
She leans forward to help him
A bluebird flies by
Silently she tries again
With air thick as smoke
Mothers cry a world away
Boys too young to fight
He opens himself to her
The battlefield rages on

Hemp made canvas bags
Tree trunks thick chocolate bark
Earthworms housing Earth

Feeding world hunger
Post Covid stress disorder
LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈

Sun rise is my time of inspiration.
Its performance of every season.
It is always there.
The beauty of a mornings fog lifting.
The days rolling in.
We do some of the same,
and some of the different
we create.
Life is great,
even when it doesn't feel great.
And as surly the sun sets
the evening rise rolls in,
and mornings morrow will return
to do it all again.

Rain drops feeding leaves
Deserts growing cold at night
Spiders spinning homes

Old houses whistling in memories
Screen doors flapping in the wind
White sheets wrapped in furniture
Echos of children playing
Cool breezes blowing through curtains
Overstuffed bookshelves
Mothers standing in doorways

Sad with no reason
He loves me, he loves me not
Overcoming pain

Prayer may not change Gods' decisions
But it holds our hands in those times of need

Night falls in the world around me
I realize my day's been good
I Thank God who is all around me
For helping me live the way I could

Strong winds at my back
Dry leaves 🍁 playing with children
Wet earth's perfumed scent

Youth leads us to dreams
We haven't yet glimpsed

Flipping through the pages of my mind
Remembering those who have been kind
Securing me
With the help I need
But never thought I would receive

Old men playing chess
Patients sitting nervously
LGBTQ

Long stemmed red roses
Dew drops making love to leaves
Beehives a buzzing

Corona settled in
With an ocean between us.
I miss the summers warmth
Of your cheek
And the winters cold
Upon your coat.
I miss your scent
Your mess
Your voice
How you dress
I miss you
At night
I don't play scrabble anymore
I wait for you
At the door
In bed
In my head
When will you be back
My life lacks
Your humor
That tickles my funny bone.

"What time is it?" We used to ask
"Time I knew better." She used to say
"What time is that?" I used to ask
"Do more, speak less and bring me a glass🥃

I used to hate myself,
because you hated me.
What a waste of energy.
Today I have moved on from you
and closer over to me.

I used to seclude
myself from me
Just to seclude
myself from you
Now, I have moved on.

You have made my life easier
Since I have known you.
You have made my days prettier
Since I have known you.
You may not know who you are
But, I do
And I will make sure
You know this
From now on.

You're the punch to my stomach
Like a sinking soufflé
Inside of me
Nobody sees.
The mess
Of distress
You left
In your wake
In every place
Of every space
That I had
To be safe.
If, I'd have known
Then
What it meant
To live with you
I'd rather done a line or two
Drink a drink
**** a ****
Cause living with you
Was just no joke.
I understand the meaning of
"Don't do crack!"
But, what else can you do
When humans attack?

I used to be thin
out of choice
to shed my weight
to be a boy.
To shed the weight
that made me a girl
the only way I knew
to live in my world.
Now, I know I am short
I'm alright with that
and since I've been eating
I wouldn't call myself fat.
I'd call myself proudly
what I want to be
short, little chunky, girl
"weighting" to be me.

I let you in
to pin my hair
and pick out a party dress.
I let you know my
deepest
darkest
secrets.
You said I was safe
in our shared space.
If, however, I'd have known
for one second
for one inkling
of that one second
the thoughts
that were your thoughts
I never would have let you
come near me anymore.

Anxiety.
Like a cup of hot coffee.
Spilling. Forward. Flowing.
Debilitating from inside out.
Cursing through my body.
The only one I have.

How intent you were as you typed my complaint
Every few minutes you had to stop and wait
To contemplate
Whose crime was it
His or mine
What was I wearing
or not wearing
At the time
To describe my state of mind
Why didn't I fight, run or scream
You put me under scrutiny
Consensual or not
In a parking lot!!
The pain of blame
Over shame
But, today the survivors
And the rest of the world
Should take one step
Outside the dark shadows
Of all boys and girls
And the disgraceful boundaries
We are caged in
Like our **** is our sin
And make it that
Once a year
For one part of that one day
People all over
Shall face what we face
The painful existence
Of a survivors days
Before those last three words
They always say......"Are you sure?"

How intent you were as you typed my complaint
Every few minutes you had to stop and wait
To contemplate
Whose crime was it
His or mine
What was I wearing
or not wearing
At the time
To describe my state of mind
Why didn't I fight, run or scream
You put me under scrutiny
Consensual or not
In a parking lot!!
The pain of blame
Over shame
But, today survivors
And the rest of the world
Should take one step
Outside the dark shadows
Of all boys and girls
And the disgraceful boundaries
We are caged in
Like our **** is our sin
And make it that
Once a year
For one part of that one day
People all over
Shall face what we face
The painful existence
Of a survivors day
Before those last three words
They always say....."Are you sure?"

Why did you do it?
     I didn't know it would hurt you so much.
So, if it would hurt me a little bit then it would be alright? Now, come this time every year I can't do anything. You are my can't do anything.

Anxious
Vanxious
Very very anxious
Corona you got me dead to rights
Taking my anxiety to greater heights
Clothes laid out the night before
Notes of inspiration at my door
Mask making hard to breathe
Already almost an impossibility
Down the stairs
Cross the street
House still there
For me to see
Easy, Easy
Slowly I breathe
Corona, you won't get the best of me

I don't want to be lost
Even though I am
Please, send a search party
Don't stop till I'm found
I may be wandering
Or hiding well
I may have gone to a familiar place
And gotten lost on the way
I ran for good reason
Fear swooped me away
My bones aged
I live in pain
Please, come out to find me
I want to be saved
I'm still trying on my own
Come meet me halfway

Sometimes we laugh
Sometimes we cry
The people around us
Wonder why
What makes us happy
What makes us sad
What makes us smile
What makes us mad
And that's alright
If they use the information well
To help us through
Days of hell
Sadness is a sort of spell
That transports us
Back to the shell
Of what we were
Before the sadness came to life
And doing all we could to survive
Cut off a bit
Split
I try today
A return trip
So afraid
Of all my truths
Of yesterday

I walked into a room where nobody knew my face.
Slowly some approached "Are you so and so?" "Yes." I said.
"You don't look like yourself." No, I think. Clothes do not make the man. The words do. You know my words.

Vintage clothing fun to wear
Riding a horse getting away from me
Perfume made of wet earth

A house whistling in emptiness
Continental Educator Chocolate Morsels Farina Brown Sugar
Old linen closets that squeak
Ghosts wrapped in sheets sitting on beds
Ice Box Cookies Thin Mints
Children wrapped in rooms empty of joy
Raisins Honey Almonds Melons Coconuts
Books read to you as you read
Dates Carrots Figs Pomegranates Apples

Messy winds through my hair
Winter coats collected as yesterday's old news
Setting my forgotten self straight

clothes do make the man
with a warm wind at my back
now I live more carefully

People exchanging words
Poetic chats
Connecting them
To presents and pasts
Friendships grown
Over a screen
Words read
Known
Understood
And believed

I miss the wind in my hair
And sandals on my feet
I miss the rain
And the beach
I miss my dad
He died of covid
Almost a year
I miss you daddy
Do you see me over here?

I like myself
When I'm with me.
Most important friend
To be.
A friend indeed
Is a friend in me.
And that's most important too
Because,
Now,
I am
A better friend
For you.

Love poems
Are for those
In love
And
For those
Not

I set my alarm to wake me
Should someone like you
Enter
Into my life.
I am
Awake

I want to sit by you
And share my thoughts.
Our love is an adventure
In time and shared experiences.
And should the time come
That we are no longer greedy
For our time
And experiences
It means no more than
We have set our faces
Apart from each other.
I will help you
Look forward
To these shared experiences
With me
Today
And forever

P
     U
D
O
W
N

All around
Close the fridge
Use your
Hip
Foot
Hand
Knee
That's what it's like
To be me
Twirling dervish
Thinking fast
Do it all
CRASH!!
That's how I stop
or
D
R
O
P
Sinking soufflé
Inside of me
This morning
Happy
Now knotted up
Stuck in my seat
No more
User ability
That's me
Not from time to time
But daily
I need a vitamin
An elixir
A fixer
UPPER
Don't save me
From being me
Confidentially
I'm learning to live
As I am
But it's hard
When I'm doing well
And bam!!
Please world
Take
Not my disease
But me
For who I am

There is happiness and love
and pain and sadness
around all of us
and in all of us.
We choose words
as our medium
to the world.
Our words flow.
We hope to reach
kindred spirits everywhere
and if we are prepared
we listen
even to ourselves.

Top line
Third line
Me in between
Most comfortable place
I've ever been.
Free
Free
Finally free
To choose
To write
What flows from me
With clarity.
My words
With the guidance
They deserve
Helps shape
A better world.....for me.

Past tense
Present tense
Very tense
Me.
First tense
Second tense
Third tense
Me.
Prepositional phrases
Bridge words
Adjectives
Adverbs
Dangling modifiers.
Stories to be told
Of the young
And the old
In me.

Although I have
Nothing to say
I still want
To sit quietly
By your side
And take in
Our love

Please, hold me close
in warm embrace.
Feed me close
to a loving face.
Say you love me
as I grow.
Say you're proud
so I will know.
Keep me safe
so I'm not afraid.
Keep me near
to conquer my fears.
Help me explore
the dark of my mood.
Share a laugh
to dispel my gloom.
Shower me with kindness
through the phases of my life
and show me the differences
between what's wrong
and what's right.

I'm afraid all the time.
I jump at a sound.
I
Hop
At a
Pop
I
Drop
All I
Got
I'm a soldier
In a war
That's not there
Anymore
But is

Patience
Relief
Belief
Trust
Faith
Returns
New beginnings
Hope

I was a bird
set to fly.
A butterfly
spreading its wings.
A house plant
ready to grow.
Who knows
Where I was heading.
I was a flower,
again.
I was a tree
ready to give shade.
I was a book
prepared to be read.
I was a child
ready to grow.
I was a building
strong and safe
saved
crown molding
around windows
and doors.
You wanted more.
Now, I am but a pen writing.

Daddy,
Why
do you
tell me
You
love me
only when
You
are drunk