A picture’s worth a thousand painful memories.
Out of sight, gnawing at your mind.
A face no one will ever love.
What doesn’t kill you fucks you up mentally.
Treat others the way you want to be treated,
and still get treated like you’re worthless.
Actions speak too.
Silence is detrimental.

Tonight I feel a heat in my chest
a heat that lets me know I've dug too deep a hole
a hole I've buried myself in
beneath this bladed grass
this serene soil
this poisonous air

Yesterday, I watched every strand of your hair
watched it become a sandcastle
rising and falling in the wind
and I thought to myself
I could love him forever
That's when I recognized I'd let this go too far
I'd let my love for you drown out all the walls I'd spent so long building up
and I loved it

Your eyes
Are places I dream of exploring
Your smile
Oh, your smile
Is the most lovely I've ever seen
Not at all warm
Yet so inviting

Something in the universe fell into place
The day your image was dreamt up
But it seems your creator
Your masterful sculptor
Didn't have a knack for chemistry
For though he perfected your smallest details
He forgot to instill you with
The ability to
Love

Live for the day that all your dreams come true,
the one that marks the beginning
of the rest of your life.
Live for the nights that capture
the celebrations that will never be forgotten.

Live week-to-week on the paycheck that refuses
to pay the bills while you eat ramen
for the fifth meal in a row and
listen to the neighbors fight.

Live because of the love those decades with her
brought your beautiful family,
and despite her absence,
live the rest of your years knowing
one day you’ll see her sunlit face again.

Live in the months,
live by the hours,
live despite the minutes,
live for the seconds that hold the most precious things,
and above all,
live for the moments.

I fell in love at the age of eight with
the dramatic circus arts and the unusual
appeal of something so weirdly pure.
Some say it was destiny, but whatever captured
my heart that day fastened its unyielding
grip, and lured me back
to my forever home. With glitter
on my eye and the feathers cascading
down my pinned and curled hair, I learned
to soar in sequin-covered spandex. I found
my wings under the big top
in the popcorn-tainted air. Over the years
I have lent my heart to many,
but it will live forever under the circus tent.

Love is no abstract thing defined by the constraints of the clock.
Gaining meaning with time.
Gaining power with days.
Gaining strength in years.

Love is no fashion trend or folly of the bored.
It is not cool.
It is not a hobby.
It is not a “just because.”

It is the soft whisper of breath that sends shivers down the spine;
Warmth to the soul.
It dances on skin
Like a child tiptoeing through a meadow.

It is the joy that accompanies the moments apart.
The feeling of peace.
The sudden grin.
The daydream of bliss.

Love should be measured in beautiful moments.
In kisses.
In smiles.
In happiness.