I've read a love story
A billion times in my life
Every page the same
Every dustjacket adorned with the same
Cover design of two sultry lovers wrapped
In each others' arms, lips pressed together in
A kiss

He was a man and
She was a woman;
They were destined to
Be together

Your story is nothing unique
Nothing different
Your words are the same as those
Scrounged together decade after decade
Centuries cascading to produce the same
Love story under a thousand names

It's your straight romance
Your promise that everything will be okay and
That you might have kids one day
And a nice house without fear of
Being killed for your identity
And out of my hatred for you is
A deep envy and a desire to have
What you were born with

You do not have to fight for
What I have earned

Hunter blood
Drowning in mud
Screaming to God
There's nothing I can do
Now
To escape this fate
I've chosen for myself

Pull me back
And take me home
Lay me by the hearth
So I can pray
To that which is killing me
As I sink here
Losing breath

Too weak to cry
Too deep to become the animal
I see at the edge of the clearing
Too feral to make
Sense of what I'm feeling

You're a firecracker
Filled with sparks and light
The world wants your energy,
But listen closely:

Hold it close.
Guard it with glass --
That way, it can shine through.
You're solar-powered
You're a neutron star
You're liquid moonlight at dawn
You're my baby girl
And the world will fear you one day,
And it will love you as well
As I do

Sister,
You're a goddess
And I know that you will
Leave this place better than the
Way you found it

I've got my eyes on the sunrise
Meet me at the gate
And tell me I'm your yesterday

There's a nail in your skull
And you're pulling it free,
I can see
But it's not my place to help

Instead, I'll read mysteries in the café
By the waterside and wish you the best
With your boy trouble in the Golden State
But I really wish you'd
Ask me for advice one of these days

We're the bezel-born,
Birthed on the outskirts
Of all that's known to
The world that chewed us up and
Spat us out

I know my place,
Little angel,
And the time;
It's on the little silver band
On my wrist and
All you have to do is ask

If you ever forget how much
You mean to me,
I'll mail a bouquet of thistles
To your doorstep so you
Remember my sting

I'll blow you kisses from my bedside
And end my prayers with "Oh God,"
Because sacrilege is the best medicine
For mediocrity

Sometimes
I'm fireproof

Sometimes
My kisses light up the sky
And I sing with the voice of a god
And my fingers stir up lightning
In the stormclouds above

Sometimes
I can silence the sun with a touch
And those solar roars sing to me
And me alone

The stars are shining and the
Voice of Louis Prima is leaking
Through my earbuds and for now,
I've gotta take some time to myself;
This is my peaceful time,
Buona Sera

I met you in a cloud down by the quarry
And we were there to watch it when
God cursed the crows with their raucous
Voices because they told too many of His secrets
When he wasn't listening

Looking into your eyes I see a deep
History of ups and downs and
Promise and venom and I need you to
Hold on

Hey,
It's not that bad

You know that
You feel that
You see that
You're rounding out now and
Growing comfortable in this world
We've built up just
For you

Listen though, little fighter --
It's a tough place to survive but
I know you have
What it takes