I am the
farthest
geese,
mingling
over
mountains
but when
my
emotions
descend,
I flatten
into a
plateau.

Soon after being
struck by
the wind and
your wayward love—
The doors of my
heart opened
Like a double-sliding
window.
I inhaled too sharply —
and the shards came in
with the air.

Last night,
 meant to
loosen
the bulb
I wrapped
my hands
in woven
cloth, and
coaxed the
moon down
instead
It creaked,
blushed,
and fainted
slipped into
my palm,
like a lover.

I’ve been to Shawell
by whispering soft
syllables of vowels,
There, I met a
girl of Gumps—
who led me down
to shadowed dumps.
I came back bearing
quite a few lumps.
She wore pink baby
florets, woven through
her sunny hair,
carried a basket
of twins asleep,
an apple, a jug of milk,
and clothes, with an
umbrella—for the rain.
Twas a night of
strange old “oohs,”
and still—I rose
on my pointed toes.
I bruised her lips
like breath on glass—
two shadows still,
where time won’t pass.
I woke with tears I
couldn’t name—
and dreamed again,
but not the same.

Love demands
openings,
tender ruptures—
And I’m too raw
to receive them.
I hover myself
to keep
from falling—
Like blocks,
stacked in silence,
each part of me
resting on the next.
One wrong shift,
and I could unravel.
So my body
learned
not to split open
for want.

The smallest things
in the world wait
to contribute—  
seeds of thoughts
pressed in my heart,
holding forests
in their sleep.
I see the hand still
clenched, in the crib
its neck craning
like a pigeon’s
over the ledge,
as if the whole
world is waiting
below.

It is that time of year
when the sky and
I forget we
were part of the
same clock.
The sun passes like
a stranger,
brushing past me
no warmth,
no pause.
The moon does not
show me her inner
blush, dark pink
blemishes of light.
The rainbow leaves
beneath the meadow
before I begin
to wonder.
I feel unmoored
Like a tide swelling
forward, unsure
if it’s coming to rest
or could be turned
away again.
There’s fog in my
mind, and birds
sleep on my
neural wires.
no power.
no clarity.

Waves of the
sea
smeared my
sweat
on its skin,
making
me a single unit
my effort,
my ache,
Lost in
something endless.
I gave the shore
my heat,
my hum,
my salt.

You already carry
enough to be believed,
Your heart tastes like
strawberries and
listens like a god.
Your blood keeps you
from rusting and  
clears cobwebs within.
Your bones keep
your daring steps
from stumbling.
Your eyes have
the power to soak
uncertainties.
Your skin lets
you love.
Your wit helps
you continue.

What more can
they ask of you?

My heart
crumbles
  and offers
itself
to you
for feed,
for love,
for sanity
so you
feel full,
because you
want a life,
not just
survival.