There is no sweeter sound

Than the listless sighs of

Those who love

For the sake of Love alone

-

For him to have no secret aspirations

Except to keep her warm

For the sake of keeping her warm

And warm alone

A silver spiral runs from the roof of the tallest skyscraper up into the sky

All the way up 'til it hits the clouds and disappears

The streets beneath are full of fears

But the silver spiral sheds no tears.

Please,

All the dishwashers I've refilled:

Pass them along to the lollipop guild.

Sincerely,

Me.

If I pooled my existence into a neat, little timeline

Pointing out specific places where my life had changed for the better

Showing-off people who have influenced me and made me who I am today with little red flags

If I decided to catalog my life so far on a long, thin, black bar

You would be at the center

At the beginning, and at the end

And in all places, all spaces

All times, memories, triumphs, losses, and happenstances

The black line would be red as a crimson bow

And your name would be leading the way to my future like a pillar of fire

Without you, that line would be stark and stripped and plain

You've made me who I am today

You've been there every step of the way

And I can only hope I haven't been too big of a pain

I love you

Because you've been my saving grace.

skeleton man
meets the dust
and rusts

his white bone
is vacant of red.

skeleton man
keeps a key
in his pocket

It's a locket
That stores his heart and soul.

skeleton man walks with a limp:
an eerily timorous skip
like some frightened child

he's a ghost
That lives
And never dies.

skeleton man's cheeks are hollow
and his smile is splintered
and his hugs are cold

he's old
full of mold
he's decaying.

skeleton man walks alone
with the desert dust
and the broken, wagon wheel
and the black raven's croak
and the dissidence of a million nights spent listening to imaginary voices in the wind forever and ever and ever and ever

The clouds are somber

-Your hair smells like wildflowers-

The wind is furious

-You dance like a wild Lakota-

The storm has started

-You grab my hand and smile-

Thunder strikes

-You offer me shelter from the rain-

Lightning sears and sizzles*

-I follow and soon forget my pain-

Off the silvery coast
A starving shipwreck flees
To escape, what can it be?
Just a murdered vessel's remains left at sea
-
On the open wilds, the woody plains of life
There always will be strife
A young woman turned to wife
But she don't love
-
In the icy wilderness, a man treads stoutly on
He is lost, but feels at home
The darkest place is safe, secure, and silent.
-
The hermit waits away the days in shadow, without sun
The hermit waits away the days in peace, without a soul.
The hermit has no need to wander wearily away
Until the break of day
What are the chances that he'll stay?
What are the chances that they'll understand me?
-
You walk a pace, the human race, divided, in your hands
A beach
In water
Sand
They never come together
They are separate.
-
Each one wishes, waits to show
That they indeed are real
They they indeed can feel
That their hearts aren't made of steel
And if pacts were signed they'd boot across the shores to face their fears.
-
A man will show his lover the hidden secrets of his heart
And if they break apart
The secrets will run lost in callous hands
-
Would it be better to isolate?
Or learn to face the pain?
I am lost in hail and rain
And my head is breaking out with sores and sorrows
-
The hermit waits away the days in shadow, without sun
The hermit waits away the days in peace, without a soul.
The hermit has no need to wander
For he has found himself in silence
And there's no need for alliance
No secrets shared, nor hidden passage found.