I'm stuck gnawing on this umbilical cord
Attached to Appalachia
Coiling around my neck

I came into this world, adrenaline coursing
Held eye contact with the Doctor
Stared my father in the face

A boy fell in love with me because I always won staring contests
He cried blue ridges,
Pressed a chess piece in my palm
I can feel that night(knight)

Things change -- the mountains don't.
I nod in perpetual agreement, eyes dry.

I'm sewn into this earth
Eroding and growing
Stagnant and moving

She was a star. Glimmering and shining bright for all to see.

Letting others cast their wishes upon her.

Then sometimes, when she was all alone, she would fall.

i gaze into this abyss
she is dark and wide,

her wide black eyes stare back at me
with sadness and longing.

i try to kiss her but when
i lean forward
i find myself falling, falling,
falling.

farther into this cold oblivion,
as the void whispers to me
"she will never love you"

and i say,
"i will always love her",

but this time the abyss does not respond
because she has eaten me whole

and all there is is

darknes.

you run home to me, peeling off your sweaty socks
you toss them in the laundry
is there any moment more beautiful than this?
i think not.

i see the crumbs you leave in the floor from your tasty bagel
crunch crunch
im so happy you have found a food you enjoy
is there any moment more lovely than this?
i think not.

i hear your screeches as you sing along to katy perry's "swish swish"
finally we agree on a song we like
because you like pop
and i like songs about fighting
i'm so happy i could spend this moment with you
is there any moment more fun than this?
i think not.

i taste your sprouts you have prepared for me
fresh picked from the garden
i used to not like sprouts but once you gave them to me they were delicous
is there any moment more precious than this?
i think not.

i feel your bones lurking underneath your skin
to think everyone has a skeleton
is disturbing and disgusting
but your skeleton fills me with love and light
to know there is a part of you that will never disappear
is there any moment more astounding than this?
i think not.

i smell your odor and pheromones after your run
to me, they smell like pheromones
a truly beautiful aroma and fragrance
is there any moment more crooshal than this?

i think not.

We fall for the ones who never seem to love us in return
But they need the medicine that we ooze
The broken-winged birds linger above as we try to find our own way
Waiting to be mended with our heart power
We are the healers

I refuse to make any eye contact with strangers
Because for that split second,
We are connected.
I penetrate into their soul
And sense everything that has ever,
And will ever,
happen to them;
I feel far too much
And it is beyond overwhelming.

What is this, is this empathy?
I can feel your pain - it's all about me,
I don't want to be the one in equal pain,
When there is no experience that I have to gain,
From hearing your words, your story,
For the most part, I'd find it boring.
But you recant it with such fervour,
That in protest I dare not murmur,
The urgency in which I want it to halt,
Neither of us are at fault,
You want to connect, to tell me your past,
I'm really just hoping the tale does not last,
It hurts, these feels, I have for you,
Your wounds are old, but for me they are new.