once upon a time
a girl was built inside a factory
situated on the edge of a cliff
overlooking the sea
she was made from the finest materials
by a man who cared very much
but knew almost nothing about being a little girl
so he made her ears too big
her face a bit too funny
and her body more like a boy’s than a girl’s should be
but he built her with infinite worlds
fastened them to her insides so that she would always have
a galaxy full of spinning globes
to run away to and play in
and he promised her that
whenever she found herself lost in this world
that she had instant access
to a funhouse
a hall of mirrors
a merry-go-round that never stops spinning
the way infinite worlds spin inside
infinite worlds
like a self-fulfilling prophecy
where spring blossoms inside of spring
and the horses never stop running
Apr 25, 2016
Apr 25, 2016 at 1:57 PM UTC
“is this a dream?”
the girl asks
the shadow on the hill.
“i’ve swallowed a stone
as big as the world
and now i don’t know what to do.”
the shadow turns
and it turns so much that
it is now in the light
and has a face after all.
“i don’t understand,” the girl says
“are you human or are you not?”
“i don’t know,” says the shadow.
“are you dreaming or are you not?”
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 2:08 PM UTC
this loneliness is like
a heavy bag of bones
and i keep forgetting that
these aren’t even my bones
i have all my bones
i have never been boneless
but i think i’m boneless
so i walk around
carrying this heavy bag of bones
wondering whose bones are these?
and which of these bones are mine?
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 2:07 PM UTC
i know about the little things
that live upon the hill
the flowers and the birdlings
and the ghosts that stand so still
i know about the stories
that you whisper in your sleep
i hear your secrets long before
the dawn begins to creep
i know that you are haunted
like a river running mad
i know about the sickly things
that make the good things bad
i know your river isn’t running smoothly,
it’s drying up inside
but i also know that i don’t care,
and still want you by my side
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 2:07 PM UTC
here is the land and the river and the sky
and the bird that grows with the moon.
here is the night and the day and the fall in between
that catches every sunset in its arms.
here are the stars and the comets and the black holes,
the sinking ships and swirling winds and falling leaves of gold.
here is your beauty up high on the mountains
and the grace brought down by the dove.
here is the reckless abandon that shivers in the snow
and the warmth of summer that will bring it all home.
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 2:01 PM UTC
we took our boat out
onto the river of time
and it slipped by us
in silver and gold
in sunlight and cloud
and once we reached the opposite shore
we looked back and realized
that no time had passed at all
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 1:59 PM UTC
the catch is that
there is nobody there to catch you
because you are the universe
and you have to catch yourself
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 1:59 PM UTC
when we were very young—
i was a monster
and you were a monster
and together we picked flowers
and we didn’t know that monsters
weren’t allowed in the gardens
when we first became monsters
we celebrated with balloons
but now i wonder if the balloons
were begging to be let go of
and if maybe they found a better home
in the sky than in our hands
and after a while
once we’d gotten used to being monsters
we folded paper into birds and named each one
after all the reasons why we weren’t monsters
but then all the reasons why we were
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 1:51 PM UTC
i am not looking
for someone to save me
but i am looking to be saved
by the grace they talk about
in books and up on the hill
i have tried to find my own light
but it is eluding me
and i cannot tell
if i am a fool for even trying
or if it’s just that the darkness is so convincing
that it has fooled everyone else
into not even bothering
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 1:50 PM UTC
i do not know
what to do
they say follow your heart
but i cannot feel my heart
it is a dead weight in my chest
a dead stone
floating in the dead sea
there is nothing alive in the center of me
no bird calls
no song sings
there is not even a subtle spring breeze
to blow away the tumbleweeds
they say follow your heart
but i don’t know what that feels like
all i know is a mind
full of tornados
and houses
being swept away to Oz
and all i know is that
i do not wish to go there myself
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016 at 1:50 PM UTC