people see smoldering flames  
crawling up her veins
and think of empires collapsing into ash,

people watch her eyes spark
and feel her calloused electricity
and they convince themselves of her power  

she broods and she intimidates    
and they think she is strong
and they think she is dangerous
and they are afraid of her fire

even though the only thing she tries to destroy
is herself.

My skin is red there
its peeling there
So I pull.
I pull at this pain that traps me;
I pull away the suffering;
I pull away the memories,
the hurt too much to keep.
But when I am done pulling
what will remain of me

and when you said
laughter is like a foreign language
i imagined that i was
teaching you how to
speak it

universal love
must be
all inclusive
non exclusive
or else it is non-existent.

or whatever...

i let go of needing
i let go of preaching
i’m going to go sit under a tree
i’m tired of thinking
that i learned everything
i’m tired of thinking
anything:

peace.