She smelled like exotic fruit
freshly peeled, pungent
as she leaned over our adoring faces
buttons of her shirt open
almost all the way
we envied every curve suggested
and waited for hand me downs
wishing we could paint on
layers of her skin
we listened in on those late night calls
from boys who, after taking home
softer girls
would kiss her the next day
behind the skating rink
unlike those boys we loved
everything about her and wanted
it to be our lips they touched
juices dripping
we wanted the same sour taste
Mar 2, 2016
Mar 2, 2016 at 7:40 PM UTC
if a 13 year night
so deep and made of stars
could not save you
how could I
my nightmares
are now defined
within the history of us
some shadows stayed
long past midnight
Jan 7, 2015
Jan 7, 2015 at 1:03 PM UTC
Sometimes you feel
like a violent earthquake
lodged inside this tiny space
you passionately refer to as
-
the opening being a tissue paper flower
so delicately framing
the dark, endless center
(if you probed deep enough
you'd find
my heart beating
in patient rhythms
waiting upside down
beneath my left breast)
Sometimes I'm afraid
you'll get stuck in there
somewhere
and I'll have to call my mother
scream into the phone "How
do I get it out of me?" She'd
probably laugh
then break the connection
(if you searched long enough
you'd find
a broken chain
of paper dolls with minds
full of passion and miracles)
Sometimes you'll ask
brave lover of mine
if it was as good for me
as it was for you
did the oceans roar
the trees sway, the heavens sigh
you look into that space between
ask if I felt the earth move
(if you dreamed hard enough
you'd find
me alone in this room
in this bed you built
trembling beneath you)
Oct 21, 2014
Oct 21, 2014 at 7:47 AM UTC
little sister do you remember all those nights
I sat on the edge softly folding my love
your small body warm but heavy
my attempts at safety as I spun
apologies into lullabies
and read stories of ethereal landscapes
with orphaned children lost
I almost had you believing
we would be so much more
than our childhoods suggested
and in kings who ruled true
and queens who stayed brave
little sister can you imagine I am sorry
for all the nights I walked by your door
without stopping, my footsteps echoing
the sacrifice I did not make
leaving you wanting
stories where nobody needs to be saved
Oct 2, 2014
Oct 2, 2014 at 8:24 AM UTC
On a payphone in Swift Current I am calling you
on a road leading nowhere the miles stretch before me
like burning crosses telephone wires so hot
they send sparks flying through the sky
no sun shines here but my skin feels...thought you'd want
to know about the man who gave me this cigarette he tried
to buy my love with smoky dreams do you understand? my need
my addiction I am striking a match S.O.S. to your heart
The big green sign says I am only three hundred miles shy
of holding you still I had to call say hello/goodbye
and somewhere in between I miss you perhaps
my love will remain in this land endless towers of wheat
desolate and beautiful
Sep 12, 2014
Sep 12, 2014 at 9:19 PM UTC
suspended vertical defying human limitations
bound in heaven's threads they perform
an aerial arabesque costumes torn, scattering
sequins and halos on their ethereal descent
as the crowd watches breath harmonized,
almost willing them to fall
if air had been my mistress, I could have chosen
to soar the allure of existing only
in this angels' abode where letting go
relies on faith and testament of art
evanescent as we all prepare
for this our final show
Sep 9, 2014
Sep 9, 2014 at 8:14 AM UTC
the challenge is to be surefooted
steps soft and light weaving
through the house as it resists
my every move
to stop and kiss innocent cheeks
make sure the bodies are still warm
prepare the same rituals
of hot coffee and cold juice
while the dogs wait patiently
for fresh air, water
they exist only for my care
and hurried touch
this day like any other
you are here as well
asleep in the back room
i know this as certain as i know
the path i need to take
towards my favorite chair
also waiting for me
to take pen to paper
in the near light
in the almost day
the challenge is to create a life story
strangers want to read
Sep 2, 2014
Sep 2, 2014 at 7:29 PM UTC
bitter coffee helps camouflage the tremors
I shake my apologies inside closed fists and wait
for them to roll, always gambling for that final breath
climbing beneath god's hands
reaching for empty bottles that offer cold handshakes
all the deals I made and now the devil has come knocking
on sharp metal and cracked windshield
her body will be found
in the midst of my soul's wreckage
I was given everything but love was found
in the glass bottom of momentary bliss
where an angel's shadow now resides
her memories will be turned into stories told by loved ones
that begin with "She was" and end in "If only"
if only I had lived a gentler life
she was a catharsis for my demons
her death was the sound of everything ending
Aug 31, 2014
Aug 31, 2014 at 7:52 PM UTC
There is a loneliness felt with
the snow falling
headlights reveal only
what lies ahead
perhaps winter chose for us
the easiest path
your body shifts
closer to the door
as I catch my breath
at every turn
your hands let go
for just a moment
and home feels
a million breaths away...
Aug 24, 2014
Aug 24, 2014 at 6:34 PM UTC
burn marks of former transgressions
forged on your arm
i count 99 like the bottles on the wall
all lined up and ready for shooting practice
sparkling only in the day's light cause when
the blinds go down and you are glowing
liquid amber out of all your pores...i remember
how charmed i was the first time
you stumbled around my not so innocent
need to have a chance at redemption
so i could save the man whose eyes i now own
just like your father
and perhaps in so doing save you and
you could save me
full of your own history which was all too familiar
you were everything i'd left behind
crawling through basement windows
to rest in houses where
you no longer lived
sirens following you past all the road blocks
everyone else set up to hold you back
*a god **** ******* disgrace*
while you have one more round
and toast the life we could have had
your mother still says
i was the best thing
Aug 22, 2014
Aug 22, 2014 at 8:02 PM UTC