i've been picking at this thread
that has come loose in my mind.
my fingers keep reaching for it, compulsively
pulling it further and further.
this hole is getting bigger and
all my edges are frayed
but i keep ******* with it
until all the thread is unraveled in my hand
and now i must weave myself back together.

light me up, like a candle
i will drip for you tonight
touch me with your burning skin
i will melt in your hands tonight
ignite me with your mind
i'll be a puddle in your lap tonight

all my life I’ve been shackled and bound
with weights on my feet to keep me on the ground.
but then you came along with a ring of keys
and shackle by shackle, you set me free.

you took off my heavy shoes and rubbed my feet,
tied helium balloons to both wrists so I could fly,
then you unlocked the cage of my mind
and let my dreams spill out like water.

I float on these dreams from coast to coast,
and I fly with balloons, to the moon and the stars,
knowing that upon my return, you’ll be
waiting with open arms.

you removed the blindfold so now I can see
the best thing about you being you
is that you let me be me.

I followed my dear friends to the edge of a cliff
and was greeted by a peculiar thing.
There, standing on the edge of the earth
was a swing set waiting just for me.
Her thick black seat and strong metal arms
cradled me while together we flew
into the starry night canvas, sprawling
dark blue, except for a splatter of twinkling
firefly-speckles, from the cityscape
to the moon.

Each time she lifted me I felt closer
to the heavens. I raised my chin
and let the gentle kiss of raindrops
wash away my sins, cleansing
and revitalizing my body like a baptism.
I’ll never forget the smell of the rain
on the freshly-sprouted grass, with dew drops
made from the breath of my friends
hanging delicately in the sweet air
like glass beads strung on a wire
while the crisp wind carried me higher and higher
and the most brilliant masterpiece ever created
was painted across the entire night sky.

You carry my heart in your pocket
with your car keys and your pennies
and your business cards.
Heavy as brick, breakable as glass,
there my heart waits
with your pens and your bus pass
and that old stick of gum
you forgot about
with the little bits of lint stuck on it.

You drag your feet up the hill.
The higher you climb, the heavier
my heart.
You could lighten the load.
Just leave it behind. Someday

someone will find it,
dust it off and carry it home.
But you don't do that. You keep it
with you, in your pocket with your phone
and your receipts
and that half-eaten protein bar
you never finished

slowly making your way
up this long, winding path:
step
by
step
to (y)our future