you touched my cheek
as the sun melted into its grave
and I swear the clouds wept,
bleeding copper and violet

your voice—
a frayed lullaby
threading through
my breaking

the world
slowed to an ache
and in that hush,
even the wind knelt

you smiled
like it wouldn’t be the last
but I saw the sky
forget how to breathe.

I dont understand my habit
In collecting my best shiny pennies
In heaping genuine bundles
Just to throw them in the bottomless fountain
Where they will sink, become useless, and rust.

What do I keep wishing for?
Your attention? Your admiration?
I must be one of the billions of banks
You ignore and use on a daily
I should have deactivated your account by now.

Sometimes I feel like the human race
Trying so persistently to touch the stars
I build ships and recruit the public
I guess what makes me different and dumb
Is hoping the stars will touch me back.

I am a slave built with emotion
Here to serve your every need
I have been hungry for so long
That I lick your crumbs off the ground
As if it's a meal I am sharing at your table.

I fantasize of the day
You finally give me flowers
I will smile, and hold your bundle of roses
Pretending as if I dont stand behind
My entire uprooted garden.

steady, steady
the waters billow.

time has come
for me to let down my sails.

drifting away
in search of myself.

where i got lost —
i cannot say.

but the tempest is calmed
and to the waters i must go.

a hum in the head of the moon

a word in the wash of the stars

heard well above the din
brightly poured forth

red roaring light
in one last lunge

and done

a part           of yourself
apart            from yourself

dusted away
once upon a shelf

Feel safe here and now. This is enough.