are farsighted? I’m splitting in two
in front of them, and still I can’t get
their attention. They walk over me like
I’m fallen leaves. I feel so used. I beg and

I plead for some relief. But they think it’s
my usual drama. So, I wear my steely armor
and smile. I’m not fooling anyone, least of all
myself. So, I hide in a bottle like a ship. And just like

the ship I can’t get out of the narrow
mouth. And there’s a cork at the head that won’t let
anything in. So, here I’m all alone by myself, which is
something I’m used to. And now since I’m split at the bow
I’ve no masts but two hulls.

our love lies
battered on the ground
like the centre of a rose
left naked without
its petals

bitter whispers of
"I loved you more
that you loved
me"

I will call you
cruel, your
callous heart
wounding me
with goodbyes

I will call
you cruel

cruel

cruel

I like to think
that i am not alone.
That if i needed;
someone would be there.
That my call would get answered
or my love reciprocated.
But i know make believe
is for children;
not the lost souls
who are just
lonely.

a.n.p

I can fold your sweatshirt into
a tidy package and send it back
across state lines
but what do I do with the memories?

I long to return the feeling of your arms around me as you sleep.
I can pack away the necklace you gave me
but when rain falls, its music speaks your name

When will the summer air stop tasting of you, too?

There is a tattoo
of a wolf
on my thigh.

A tattoo I had been planning,
for a long time.

Underneath is not what I would call
bare skin.

It is graced with
and possessed with
scars.

Of one kind.

That kind.

I am grateful that now
when I look down

I am not met with harsh lines,
but instead the eyes
of a kind wolf mother.

She now bares the scars that I carved.

Be kind to yourself,

she says.

You all say such nice things to me
Such pretty empty words
Paint me beautiful with compliments
But underneath all the colors run together
And it’s just a mess
Keep your sweet words
Give me something real
I am drowning and you are throwing flower petals at me

A pool of blood is all it takes
For someone to realize they made a mistake