I have gathered up
all the little bits of me
the sharp edges
and the tiny shards
I have put them in this bag
right next to me
I won’t touch it
if
you don’t touch it
to
two
too.

I just want
the good bits of you
I want to package them up
shape them
into a man I can love
you can take your other bits
the bad bits
and sell them around town
I just want
the good bits
of you
Am I wrong?

Let me give you the bits of
the conversation
we should not be having
so we can decide
together
which bits are worth
saving.

I think I know the
meaning of No
when stakes are high
and morale is low
I think I know
the pain of resist
when lights are high
and pain exists
I think I know
how far people go
when desperation hits
And your core is in bits

Here is
a  very tiny small part of me
take if you will
just promise
to toss it back
before you leave
so I can catch it
mid air
and save
the little tiny best bits
of me

Do not inch towards me
if you cannot fight for me
I have been here
too many
times
My boundaries well defined
my edges sharp and fine
Do not inch towards me
Unless you are certain
you are prepared
To bleed before you dine

Don’t leave me to stand all alone
I fear I will bend over
and break an important bone

I could spend all night
and deep into tomorrow
listening to your song
You are a melody
awaiting a tune
hang on!

I would like to give you tomorrow
fresh and fragrant
wrapped up in a bow
I would like to give you yesterday
rosy and pink
without any foe
I would like to give you today
smiling and new
I would like to give you forever
If only I knew

I used to be you
giddy and careless
brave and cold
outspoken and bold
hold the line
it’s worth the unfold

I watch my girl
claw herself upward
slowly and painfully
on the greased pole
of her dreams
while others
take the stairs.

How were you to know
this world
would so harsh
on you

I
wish
I
could write
a poem
about you

I knew a girl who played a pink violin
So beautifully
That the world fell
Into time
with her uneven  tune
I knew a girl who played a pink violin
So violently
That the world stood still
And changed their mind
I knew a girl who played a pink violin
So silently
That the whole world
listened
heard unintentionally
Applauded gently
then quietly
peacefully
blissfully
Closed their eyes
And
universally
Fell into a
Very
Easy
Deep
And beautiful
Sleep

I cannot mop up
all your sadness
but I will try
I cannot laugh loud enough
to silence your cry
I cannot dance long enough
to make you fly
but trust me
I will try.

If I had two thousand words
with which to describe you
I would ask for two hundred
to lessen my task
and still flounder
let me use two instead
uniquely beautiful.

I will trade
all the best of my
tomorrows
for the worst of your
yesterdays
and then some!

You’re trouble
this much I knew
from the moment
you stood there
boldly
and
answered
right back

I was born
yesterday
but I do my best
to live
today

People often ask me
Where am I actually from
think I was born right here
right now
in this moment
Unsure
where
I hailed from.

Forgive my insecurities
they are born
from my badly cracked heart

it was late
it was a good time
just as I was leaving
guess what I found
someone who looked
just like you
staring out
from the bottom
of my bottle
well ….
that ain’t right.

I once knew a boy
Who laughed out loud
That’s how I found  him
In a dreary crowd!

They are grown men now
I watch over  them from afar
they have their wives and rings
and slings
and other things
that bind them
and make them sing
sometimes I want to scoop them up
one in each arm
like long ago
throw them in the back of my car
and sing out loud
ridiculous
melodies
laugh out loud
to
lyrics
born
inside my car.

The words flowing
easily from my brain
tonight
are everything I ever wanted to say
to you
too much
you say
a bit insane
yet still
my words flow easy
flow easy
for the first time
from the inside of my brain
insane
you say
maybe
you’re right

There is a newness about today
and I welcome it without delay
a brand new sun
of a brand new year
I will hear no bad of it
I will believe in it
I will welcome it
I will savour it
I will believe in it
no matter what
you say
I will believe in it
Today

I believe you are brave enough
to love me
you carry a. weapon
to even up.the score

These might be the moments
we might try
to remember
the days we fight hard
not to fade
the smiles we are are glad
that we gave
freely
the moments that remind us
we were once
too young
too giddy
too brave.

When there is nothing else left
I suspect
I will see you
Exhausted but still breathing
Trudging wearily
Over the precipice
To find us again
Know this
I will be here
Still breathing too

You left tiny pieces of yourself
on the dance floor last night
I only noticed because
when I began to sweep
they were still shining
bright

I have nothing to declare
except
my very bright red
lipstick

Let me take your broken dreams
and put them back together
bit by bit
crack by crack
and if we can’t find the missing bit
let’s learn to miss it
heart by heart

the  garnish glittery
golden bits of me
faded effortlessly into
the subtle serious
silver bits of you
smelted for a bit
and became
slowly solid
indestructible undefinably
bronze.

You will always be
the missing piece
In our three piece
jigsaw family.

I have had a missing person alert
out for you
for most of my life
so don’t show up all shiny
this late
without a decent
excuse

reveal your thoughts
yes, all of them
let them tumble upon the floor
naked and raw
the little bits of you
no one has ever
ever ever
seen before

Everybody gets bruised
some of us
hide it
some of us
shout it
either way
everybody gets bruised

My thoughts shatter
like bubbles upon touch
reigning droplets
upon my soul
an old soul
one that really should
know better
yet still
even at this late hour
a soul that
simply
doesn’t know how
To fair better

Your love hit me
like a bullet in the dark
it came from nowhere
but it’s surely left its mark

Well done!
You won
You got me
Bullseye!
arrow
straight through
my heart.

My love
is such a burden for you to carry
it is filled with fury
childhood grief
undried tears , years of no belief
my love
is filled with never speaking
learning to whisper
never shout
a bundle of miscommunication
my love is full of  loud words
never reaching their mark
like wounded birds
my love always too stark
never quite smooth enough
my love is such a burden for you to carry
upon your  open honest heart

You said your burden was too heavy
as we trudged through the
deep December snow
you had to lay it down now
the winds were too high
too harsh
too cold
I didn’t see you go
I was too busy trudging through
my own deep December snow.

my heart
is buried deep
in yesterday

There are so many words
inside me
dormant
To light a match
might ignite
and burn
the whole world
down
tonight

You burn me
not so much that anyone can see the
scorch
on my palm
my hand
my face
my soul
pain that leaves no mark
is a true artist’s
greatest work

There is a whole village
waiting for your return
and within that village
a whole family
praying that you burn

I have burnt my bridges
and the heat
from those  flames
marks my skin
everyday

Thanks
lovely but
honestly not  quite
enough

we flit around
like  butterflies
feelings
like circles of smoke
disappear upon touch
emotions
like breath on a freezing morning
visible but unwelcome
we flit around
from table to table
words
like confetti at a wedding
abundant but never heard.

These words mean nothing
Unless read
By you