I can no longer paint pictures
my hands are trembling and broken,
even though I arranged directions in the fixtures,
you know there’s much I’ve never truly spoken.
I created a simple scavenger hunt
and drew out a map to my only treasure,
my clues are obvious but clearly not blunt,
but what I have cannot be weighed nor can it be measured.

You should know me well enough
to know there’s nothing you can’t say,
go on and call my bluff,
I’ll remain feeling this way.
Kiss me gently or slap my face
give me breath or finish me,
stay connected or disappear without a trace,
I’ll still love you unconditionally.

I’ve never been one to give a speech;
words have weight and I hate my voice,
but with time and support it’s not impossible to teach
where there’s a will, there’s a way and a choice.
It feels like I’ve made it easy to see
I can’t help it, it’s plain as day,
‘cause even as I’m locked; you’ve got the key,
and your lips can read mine for what I don’t say.

I’ll never forget the smile on your face
when our lips slowly first met,
the skin that my fingers ache to trace,
a face that even death could not make me forget.
Burn my skin and scrub me raw,
or lovingly bathe me in the sea,
you can part the rules and break each law,
but I’ll still love you unconditionally.

I believe you can pull the stars
straight down from the skies,
cause I see past all your scars
and see them twinkle in your eyes.
I know everyone has their role
and everything is a two way street,
but Darling if I’m going to bare my soul,
it’s only fair that you show your feet.

I can’t gurgle out a love filled poem today,
even though so many of you have been dedicating work to Valentines Day all week.
All I’ve been thinking is;
almost everyday I write a poem
for the girl I love with every inch of myself,
and she doesn’t even seem to know it’s her my words come to life for.
So today I take a stand,
‘cause who writes love poems
for the poets?

I’ve been struck down again,
fully aware it’s my own doing.
Do you have a heart you can lend?
Mine’s drying from the taping and the glueing.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
oh my sweet Clementine,
are you smiling or are you snarling,
more importantly are you mine?

Outside the window seasons blend,
the temperature holds no meaning.
I notice the change and the trend,
to ignore the withdrawals from weaning.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
oh my sweet Clementine,
you’ve been avoiding and been barring,
but you can’t severe this line.

The stronger the initial fear
usually means the most is at stake,
and trying to prevent a single tear
can lead to the worst heartbreak.
Those who leave the best memories
usually leave us with the most hurt,
you know we can’t just live life with ease,
there needs to be some blood on a white shirt.

You can try to completely forget someone,
but putting that effort in means you’re actually fixated more,
and after all is said and done,
honestly who do you wish to be behind that door?

Oh my darling, oh my darling,
oh my sweet Clementine,
is it cleansing or more harming,
to live in denial all the time?

Oh my darling, oh my darling,
oh my sweet Clementine,
when it’s finished it’ll be starting,
and I’ll stand under the Montauk sign.

You found a sunflower girl
With golden hair and freckles on her cheeks
She won your heart and then broke mine
I want to hate her but I can’t
With eyes so blue they put the summer sky to shame
I can see why you fell for her

Her eyelashes are long, reaching towards the sun
They flutter as she looks up at you and smiles
In that moment I almost fall in love with her myself

I promised myself I’d never get in the way of your happiness
But she shines so bright
I can’t see clearly anymore
She’s made a fool of me and she doesn’t even know it
I want to hate her but I despise myself instead
Why did it have to be her

When I was sixteen I fell in love with a girl
Who looked like autumn
Long wavy hair the colour of maple leaves
Freckles on her cheeks scattered like raindrops on grass
She felt like home in ways I could never understand

Rose petal lips and silk skin
She had silver knives hidden as collarbones in her chest
They didn’t hurt me until she left
That summer I broke my own heart for her

Falling in love with her was easy
But accepting it was so much harder
She made me feel things I wasn’t supposed to feel

The first time she kissed me was magic
She ghosted her lips across mine
And I didn’t know it had happened
Until it was over
I can still taste the coffee from her lips

My autumn girl
Your heart was filled with wild flowers
You said you’d never change the world
But in one summer you changed mine
To this day I don’t remember how to get back to where I was without you

You say I'm golden

I say, "that's a lie."

I'm sun-dappled at most

Yet you still smile

In the shadows of my light.

My bad moods loom, solstice

Too often, I ache for heat.

Still, you speak of my radiance

When I feel like a garish Vegas effigy.

In the end, though

I'll let your illusions be.

But, love

Even if you think I'm light's zenith

Being your star

Is enough for me.