Happiness within a pill.
That’s the only kind I can feel.
Fully inside me it fills,
And I feel like an electric eel

Tzzt. Ooh.  
The rhythm
of my nervous system
unearthed.

Is this happiness for real?
Is this pleasure an illusion?
Or temporarily revealed
under the layers of contusions

Left by life
on my heart?

I am no rock
my heart
is not made
of tiny bits
of stone
it will not
be crushed
like a pile
of ground-up bone
it might be
washed upon
shores
like the most
miniscule of
treasures
found in sand,
unseen to
naked eye
yet so full of
iridescent magic
in a spectrum of colors
a secret world
unto its own
those almost
invisible shapes
jeweled corals
of earth
up from
sea  bottom
in foamy
rebirth
but I will take it
(yes, my heart,
in rawness
and thunder)
and hold it
and nurse it
before it goes under
I will rock it
and soothe it
before it calcifies
as the ocean
invites endless
salt from
my
eyes

I’m just popping out for cigarettes
Just popping out
But he never returned
Everyday someone just pops out and never returns
It was out of character
Something must have happened
She left the keys in the ignition, her mobile on the seat
She hasn’t been seen since
It doesn’t make sense
Everyday someone will just walk out the door and never return
They all have their reasons
Stress, money troubles, relationship breakdowns
For the loved ones left behind
Some never recover
****** is always the first thought
Some return in time
Some return after several years
Some change identities, and never return
Eighty percent of people who go missing have mental health issues
Teenagers make up the biggest numbers
The greatest tragedy in all of this is
The Police may find people after several years
The missing person will tell them they don’t want to be found
The loved ones never know this.