writing the pain away
until my soul wont ache

and my sense of humor comes back
and I start seeing color in my day

because this black and white is hurting my eyes
and the lack of energy you're giving me is deceiving

Inhale smoke,
exhale my memories,
laugh at a joke,
and forget about your enemies

Wake up sober,
freak about the future,
struggle through another day,
and start it all over.

Long before the clocks ticked,
  the garden was burning

The law had been laid down,
   only the animals ran free

Long before the clocks ticked,
  two lovers were yearning

The power, the struggle
  —the lust to deceive

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

He was a great one
He made stories that we love
Rest in peace Stan Lee

The laughs,
The cries.
The secrets,
The lies.
The little fights,
The drunken nights,
A friend is all you need.

if they say a one-word poem,
i'll write your name...

"But what if we're wrong?"
It was silent
But her thoughts echoed around in my head as we laid on top of her pickup truck
I swatted at the eighteenth mosquito chewing on my leg
I don't want this to be love

We were tangled up in the acoustic music they play on the radio on Sunday mornings
She was trying to dream up something clever to write about
And I was pretending I could learn to play guitar through osmosis,
As if blending myself in with the harmonies, finding her in every lyric, and sheer willpower would give me wings or at least magic guitar hands

She set the alarm, checked it over and over
She was not going to be late for her first day
I told her I'd be asleep when she got home, she told me she knew
I told her to wake me up

I wasn't looking for perfect
Perfect really only applies in first year physics courses
After that, we learn to fall in love with "rough around the edges" or "unique" or "unfinished"
As if their life is a puzzle that we need to complete
Just so you know, it isn't

She bought me breakfast and dropped me off
She used to tell me she loved me, but I know she didn't
She does now, so she doesn't have to say it anymore
When I said, "love," before, I didn't really mean it
Not like I mean loving the garden on the balcony of her apartment or thunderstorms in May
Even if I was a puzzle that she completed (and I'm not saying that I am), we didn't need any glue to fit perfectly