when you learn that you
are enough
you see the world
differently
you see the world
in color
instead of the black and white
surrender
to which
you've become accustomed
your face shines bright
in the mirror; illuminates
the dark room
where you once hid
you stand taller
you smile wider
people see you
for the beauty
inside
which you exude
with every waking breath
you attract goodness
and joy
and share these gifts
with those
around you
you stop trying
to be that person
everyone
wants you
to be
weight lifted
you can breath
again
because you know
just as you are
that you
are enough

the sky is not blue
but the clouds do not loom
i look at my hands
with nothing to do

nothing to do
on a day like today
my mind's in a fog
but the sky is not grey

the sky is not grey
the winds do not blow
my kite will not fly
i have nowhere to go

nowhere to go
no cheer, no rage
no walls surround
yet i'm trapped in this cage

trapped in the cage
my mind is not free
the sky is not blue
bitter ennui

my gut so tight
no knife can cut
through my hardened core
no needle can pierce
the walls of this chaotic

        a
            n
          x
              i          
        e
           t
         y

leaving a huddled mass
to self-implode
under the pressure
of my own gravity

i hear you, child
don't spend your breath
trying to say
what's already been said
words spoken loudly, proudly
did not fall
on deaf ears

i hear you, child
there is no need
to cry tears at night
whispering secrets
to the moon
secrets you desperately
want to be heard

i hear you, child
your pain sings to me
a song of longing
of disappointment
of wanting to disappear
but i can see you, child
i can see you
and you are beautiful

you will never be invisible to me
you will never go unheard
i see you; i hear you
come with me, child
it will be alright

Even         the spider     gets             lost in         the
    tangled                     web     of                             lies
                I     tell                         myself
to     keep             me         from     the         truth
                that     I         am         not                     okay

A seductive aroma of
lavender and lilac,
dances through the air,
singing sonnets of
lovely Spring glory.

A flame illuminates
the emblazoned Summer sky:
A back-yard barbecue
woven upon
freshly cut grass.

When the candle is extinguished;
it leaves a burning ember;
sultry smoke infused into
an Autumn rain;
I can taste it in my lungs.

And when the flame dies out,
the sweet smoke slowly
fades into the night;
Leaving a memory so vibrant, it
lingers on the tip of my tongue.

Our lives: fragile as porcelain
Our egos: swinging sledgehammers
A bull in a china shop will do less damage
Than hubris will inflict over a lifetime
Our ego may be a loaded gun
But our ignorance pulls the trigger