She’s got daisies in her hair
Collected on a hike
With a bubbling brook laugh
We circled the bay on bike

Her blinding essence
We fit like a glove
Dive in the pool
And also a love

She’s got apple cider lips
And cinnamon filled eyes
Leaves drift off the trees
We promise no goodbyes

Her coat warm and ready
For the next blanket of snow
Carols in the square
Sleepy snuggles by the fireplace aglow

On some clear night
Their tale gets retold
Silent sobs fill the air
Thick with grief and memory
As he kneels by the body of a
Dancer

With a gear-made heart
And glassed copper eyes
The ghost of her maker lingers here
And her other half
A few feet away
All in their presence hear the whispers
Of monachopsis

A prince covered in life
Tendrils of Ivy
Spring from his ankles
Slashes of moss
Dapple his shoulders
While twisting trees
Paint his back

His sobs fill the air
Thick with grief and memory
As he kneels by the body of a
Dancer

His lover’s soul split
Two halves
Two dancers
Melomania led the charge
In his demise
A kiss sealed his prison

One heart made of gears
Another smashed on the ground
Two eyes made of copper
Another pair on the floor
Chimes in the distance
One dancer goes on
Unable to stop
There’s no mourning the other

A prince covered in death
Still tendrils of Ivy
Spring from his ankles
And slashes of moss
Dapple his shoulders
While twisting trees
Paint his back

A lover nearby
Corpses of dancers
Lay down beside
Chimes in the distance
Ring without greif
His soul spilt
A prince now alone

Your blanket of hair
Beneath a sunflower sky
We’re dancing away
From dangers unseen
Huddled in a shadow
And stolen in a silence
These someday birds
Will wait for us
To rebuild our wax made wings
And try to kiss the sun

You called me for the
First time today just
To talk about the fireworks
Now everything I see reminds
Me of you and those
Stupid cowboy boots the
Ones you wear to church
(The ones I don’t actually hate)
That black jeep the
Pocket-knife collection
The perfect music you play
(I can no longer hear
Without seeing your face)
Your art
Your hats
Your hands
We talked about fireworks
Until late in the night now
I’m blinded by everything
You are but it’s okay
As long as it’s you

Come inside
This hope-found inn
And rest your weary soul
Let the gentle patter
Of rain wash away
The darkness in your heart
Come inside
This dimly lit sanctuary
And rest your tired feet
Take a break
For a warm meal
And a cozy bed
You’re Halfway Home
Just a little bit left
No longer alone
But still quite lonely
So come inside
And sit for a while
Before leaving again
To wander this mighty cold plane

A rainbow of sadness
Take your pick
Will it be big sadness
Small sadness
Scattered clouds
And rain
Or you could choose
Sprinkled sadness
Windy sadness
A thick layer of snow
There’s more adding up
So many options
I know it’s hard to choose
But we’re happy to serve
So just hand over your card

A pathway home
A wander-some vagabond
The gods among us
Have forgotten who they are

It’s hard to stay away
When she keeps
Crawling back
Building this up
From the ground
Only to tear it
Back down
Light it on fire
And say I ruin everything

I let them steal my blood
Just because everyone said
It was fine
When I walked out the world
Was spinning static is
All I can see now
I’m pretty sure everything is
Different I stare at
Constellations during the day
And climb trees in the ocean
I thought my eyes were
Brown but she seems
To see them as green
The waves I’d struggle to
Climb soothe me to sleep
And that howling in my
Ear whispers lovely things
The salt stinging my eyes
Comes out with the tears
But it just doesn’t burn
The way it used to

In the early days
I can’t always remember
Things were so full of yellow and blue
And sunrise and sky
And sprinklers and bikes
Then with parting screams
Life was orange and brown
And sunset and birds
And movies and tears
In it’s wake I drowned with grey and maroon
And clouds and hoodies
And work and sighs
Consumed by the dark I could finally breath
And I became yellow and blue once more

A speck of light
In an endless void
We can make a wish
Upon that dying star
I’ll keep it safe
Just in case
So while our planet spins
And while that star dies
Maybe your dream
Could live on

They clip your wings
‘Till you grow out of their reach
Towering above
Where only the wind and stars
Can touch you
How is the view
From the top of the sky?
Do you see all the birds
And take pleasure in their company?
You’ll grow forever more
But will forget me in time

You’re so pastel yellow
And so heather grey
You’re so hopes to fit in
And  wait just a day

You’re so pastel yellow
And so heather grey
You’re so stitches undone
And so lost on the way

You’re so pastel yellow
And so heather grey
You’re so just you and I
And so we’ll be okay

It was four in the morning
We were watching edits
Laying with your head
In my lap the best
Of friends I knew
It wouldn’t last
It couldn’t last
Dice hit the table
What are the odds
It might work out
The silence came slowly
I didn’t even notice
But then
Turn around and you’ll see
Curled up on the bathroom tile
Head in your hands
Tears are not always visible
Look up
Written on the ceiling
How long until it all
Burns down
Which of your truths
Are false
I’ll never know

“The pain will fade”
The wind whispered
“It’s not yet the end”
Breathe in the warm scent
Of sunlight between leaves
Lost in the gardens
Of my spiraling mind
Wade through the ponds
And see the fish
Smiling from the depths
Painting reeds
On your ankles
Climb the towering
Wisteria tree the centerpiece
Each petal a thought
Climb to the clouds
And emerge from the fountain
Dripping with blood
Birds fly from the labyrinth
and lick the flesh
From your bones
Now free to sit
Or wander the endless
Crumbling walls
Consumed by Ivy
To look for the path out
Of which does not exist anymore

I can show you heaven
Joking about that crow we saw
Texting until three in the morning
Hiding just how much you mean to me
I can show you hell
Remember what you said to her
Ghost you for weeks
Hiding just what you mean to me
I can show you love
Thanksgiving with my family
Laughing in the rain
Planning a future
I can show you hate
A side eye in the hallway
Screaming at each other
You’ll walk out in tears
I’ll leave just fine

The hole in the
Stained glass window is
Eight years old and
Mom is screaming
At us that we just
Don’t understand
Just why she hates
Our dad
Reason
Has died in the
Hands of anger
The hole in the
Stained glass window is
Six years old and
She doesn’t know
We haven’t had a
Real conversation since I
Was 7
I confide in my
Brother now
The hole in the
Stained glass window is
Four years old and
My dad is upstairs
On a call with her
We pretend not to
Hear the hollering
Through his phone
I turn the music
Up
The hole in the
Stained glass window is
Two years old and
I stare at it as
Though it’ll set me free
From the conversation
The confusion
The constant
Later I cry in the shower
Not knowing
How am I going
To handle what will
Eventually turn into the
Rest of my life
The hole in the
Stained glass window is
Not there yet and
I don’t see them kiss
Don’t see them hug
My brother knows
Something is wrong
He also knows
I’m to young for
Carrying the burden
Of why they go
Away on Thursday nights
The hole in the
Stained glass window is
Eight years old and
Hope has left I’m
Not sure when it’ll
Return to me
I wish for the love
To last this time

All I am in
His eyes is
A girl who needs to
Be saved
Does he think
I don’t see
Right through the
Mask he wears
So no I don’t
Want to hang out
With you
I think I’ll just go
And look at the birds
Instead

I am my own
Best friend I’ll
Always be here
If I have nobody to
Accompany me we
Can make our own jokes
With ourself and
Laugh until our ribs
Are aching and
We can mark ourself
With things we
Love and when I’ve
Never felt so alone at
Least I’ll always have
Her
Who is always
Me we are
The same and yet
There are forever
Two of us
I love her so
There should be no
Denial of things she
Loves too I’ll
Let her do what
She wants and
She’ll show me how
To be happy
With her

The salt air reminds me of the time I was five
And dad took us to the beach
I almost drowned
In the frigid water I’d just
Wanted to play with the waves
Sometimes I’m five again
When I spot a seagull flying high
And wonder if it was there that day
When I hear the crashing water
And ask myself what went wrong
When I feel sand under my toes
And know it’ll always be a part of me
I’m back at the beach
With my dad and my brother
And the salt water tastes the same
As the campfire in the forest
As the books on my nightstand
As the house I don’t recognize
As the way it’ll never be the same
The little girl tumbles over
And over
And over
Until she’s pulled out gasping yet silent
Tearful yet breathing
Now I stand again on the beach
With my dad and my brother
And stare at the waves
That’ll always be here long
After the five year old girl is
Gone

Our lives are entangled
Woven together like
The strands in my braid
One week we all meet
In the middle of summer
This one was different
With cereal jokes and
Hot tubs and hair ties
But I bet
You’re with her now
She’s in your hoodie
And you pull her in close
Something cold
Crawls out of me using
My ribs as a latter
It sprouts from my mouth
And wraps me in shrouds
So I take out my braid
For it was never meant to stay