In this city house amid the screaming sirens,
here in the whirling of paper and garbage
I hear the banging of trucks over broken roads,
low rider stereos, their deep boomed, throaty moans.
Here in this strange forest that flies with cactus birds
alluringly they sing in secret symphonies,
before the howling chorus of coyote calls,
the rising magnetic moon, a mountain flower
pink blushed that fully blooms.

I feel the golden cage within my heart -
Has set its butterflies loose
My mind has waved the flag
And my heart called it a truce

With every word you utter
My pulse starts raging on
Your voice comes to sooth me
As hidden kisses rise upon -

Skin of lips and hushed whispers
And I keep wanting more -
Of those numbing, love blisters -
Adorned across my collarbone

Of what do I feel, you ask?
Light-headed and a drowsy sight
Like the Earth spinning five beats faster
Twirling me into your arms ever so tight

You are not a hindrance,
You’re anything but a problem.

Why are your ears deceiving you?
Your eyes blur what you can see.

Your body seems to hate you,
But please don’t take it out on me.

She comes to sit with me at dawn
her hand is warm, but
time is cold
just born it seems and now I'm older
time gets colder
she comes to sit with me at dawn.

I'm lost, the road in front split in two
So little time, with so much to do
The woods around me, is so dark
Each thorn I touch, leaves its mark
I grow tired, with each step I take
"Next time", I think, "my mind will break"
Every day, strangely, I survive
Each accident and problem, leaving me alive
How much longer, will it take?
How many sacrifices, will I have to make?

What if I were to tell you,
that your soul dances in delight
every time your heart aches

                                Would you think her evil?

                                Would you conspire against her?

And what if I were to tell you
that the soul knows,
the knowledge of experience
          Are the fruits of its labor
That the wisdom
          hidden in pain,
          Are what it's after

And what if I were to tell you,
that without these,
                             You starve her,
                             Deny her,
                             Un-express her

Would you understand her now?
Would you give her the life she craves?
or
Would you continue to deny her existence
                                             ...and ultimately,
                                                              yo­urs?

--PY