Do not
Shred yourself into pieces
To make others feel whole.
You can't**
Empty your entire being
To make others be full.

Despaired eyes bleed waters of the sea,
Lapping at the memories of you,
Of me.

Our rippling laughter lifting up in a swell.
Tides under the dock rising as we fell.

Where we went, adventure followed.
Our bright eyes, never hollowed.

Times when I was gone, sank under your skin.
Our midnight conversations filled me in.

Dew drops cling to grass blades like newfound friends,
Sunlight melts into a robin’s egg dome.
Bumper to bumper- glistening bugs wait,
The bright shades of green open the flood gate.

Fog covers the city with a grey sheet,
Dimming street lights give their nonchalant winks.
Soft breeze makes branches bow, waving goodbye,
Corn stalks seem to whisper as you ride by.

Meadowlarks converse in an elm somewhere,
Small talk and yawns fill the thick morning air.

A basin filling to the brim
Weathered by wind
A crack that has yet to rescind
Strong gusts, breaking its whim.

Last night, remembering monsoon season.

Shaking, pouring out a stream
Uncontrollably heaving heavy droplets
Looking for sunshine to redeem
Wedging icy gates between outlets.

Sharp sounds from the tongue,
Adroit hand,
Pushing you away.
May illness empoison love
And inspire you to stay.

The mind of a child is a sponge,
Soaking up what others expunge.
Some fester with brackish water.
Swollen with poisonous matter.
Others, saturated with bleach,
Expelling contradictions their elders teach.

Youth wrung out, once over again,
Scrubbing away the grime and pain.
Now faint- the writings on the wall.
Rounding out their squared edges and standing tall.

Happiness is found
With the souls you surround.
A friend is not a friend
If they're looking to cut you down.
Life is short, so say what you think.
Feed your insecurities to the wind
And pour yourself a drink.

Free from a pill,
Some are slaves to depression.
Free from the law,
Remaining slaves to our own transgression.
Free from the bell,
Merely slaves to bleak reality.
Free is never free,
If we are chained to our *mortality.

You wonder why young children look in the mirror
In disgust with themselves.
Why they go looking for love
In places they know it won't be found.
You can't comprehend why they,
With so much ahead of them, bury themselves
In an avalanche of notifications
Intangible, glowing distractions.

A sick, insuperable obssession
With the thought that
Connections to trajedy somehow transform them
Into more beautiful creatures.

Our generation is enthralled
With negative space.
Gaps in time;
Valleys eroding inward until
There is just
Nothing
Left
To give.
Happiness is out there for all
Who lift their heads from the blankness..

Let's bring ourselves back into a pure,
Simple life.
*It's worth living.

Learning through osmosis,
that's what you desire from me.
Pages and slurs of facts,
saturating the air with verbose greed.

Musing behind dark lids,
so much every night.
Sleep- now reserved for the reckless,
enough night terrors in daylight.

Battered by sharp whistle,
together we must tread.
Eternally catching up,
to the expectations in your head.

Somewhere underneath the rubble a century old soul lies.
Hammers pound, wood-chippers whir.
A chaotic landfill of past, present, and future.
Welcome to my mind.

The signs prohibit visitors and many don't realize the rusted metal warnings are only guises.
With palms aching and restless feet, you crawl over the shattered sky to find me.

Here,
we can pretend to care about life's many quandries together.
Dig underneath the limestone with me,
take off your coat and stay a while.