I start a text:
hey
I delete it.
I start a new one:
how are you?
delete.
I sit there and wonder
With my phone in my hand.
I begin to type again:
i miss you..
the cursor blinks at the end of the phrase
a lot
I hold my phone tight.
Nope.
Can't do it.
delete.

I can't believe how amazing you are. You're the only person who's made me feel this special in a long time [delete]

are you sure you just want to be 'friends', I think I'm in love with you [delete]

can I have a goodbye kiss? I love your kisses, they taste like summer [delete]

I wish you would just say "Hi" to me in the hallways [delete]

that girl you always walk with is beautiful, I can understand why you didn't want me [delete]

when you told me I was beautiful and **** and all you would ever want, was that all a lie too? [delete]

I got a mosquito bite today and it reminded me of when we slept outside and were attacked by them [delete]

it smells like the nights we spent together [delete]

one, two, three...I've lost count of how many drinks are for you [delete]

I wish you thought about me as much as I think of you [delete]

why are your words stuck in my head [delete]

I was naive and young, I'm sorry I actually thought you loved me [delete]

it's been months since the summer nights we spent together. please tell me you miss me. [delete]

my chest hurts. my heart aches. everything about you from the way your lips tasted to how I got chills down my spine from just one touch makes me want to explode [delete]

the blood running down my wrist contains the words you said but never meant [delete]

Never fall in love with a poet
for their words are sometimes lies
on occasions they're a shield
on occasions a disguise

They will take you on a journey
upon which they bare their soul
in a bid to ease your burdens
in a bid to make you whole

But in every word they choose
for the stories that they tell
lies a little piece of heaven
and a little piece of hell

Tormented souls we poets are
sometimes quite broken and despaired
in search of lost expressions
missed by others who once cared

Never fall in love with a poet
unless you're prepared to share their pain
to hold them close on the darkest nights
over and again

[July 19, 2016]

Shackled by the guilt of another
He stares at the blank wall, devoid of any color
Bleak walls of stone surround his entire being
Everyday he stands trial, taking another man’s beating

For in this world, they promise innocence before guilt
But instead, you are taken prisoner for a crime you didn’t commit
Guilt before innocence in a world surrounded by lies
Another rots in a prison, suffering a liar’s demise

Corruption and greed, faking innocence
The wealthy overpower the poor and innocent
Hands tainted, stained with the blood from their citizens
The government ignores its flaws, feigns ignorance

One by one, the guilty stand undefeated and tall
As yet another prisoner is laid to rest, staring at those walls
A banner of truth and justice, corrupted by greed
Taxes and money lay to waste in a land that was never free

He walks down a hallway of falsehood, filled with pain and regret
Thinking of the life he could have had, the time he could have spent
They open an iron door and lead him into an empty room with a chair
As he is sentenced to death, the guilty walk free without a care

it's that moment when you can finally speak of it without feeling like your lungs are giving up on you.

that's when you know you are past it; or at least on your way.  

and if you're not there yet, keep working towards that moment because, believe me, the air has never felt so fresh.