My lungs are filled with bright stardust.
When I exhale, I see new stars erupt all around me.

And from the blank, shimmering faces, I can see a watchful eye.
The long nights stretch ahead in front of us like a perfect syzygy,
bringing the sun and Earth closer together.

Pouted lips and wide, troubled eyes.
The epitome of beauty stands before a mirror,
painted without worry and fear.

The luminous features swim in and out of my dreary mind,
causing my reality to become all the more splendid.

A wave.
An awesome wave crashes upon the shore.
Yellow, coarse send explodes in a vivid shower of gold.
Aquamarine water lands upon palm trees.
Blood-red skyline shimmers for a moment before flickering into the dawn.

A star.
A crystal star twinkles delicately among the night sky.
Blinking in the universe, small, but so massive.
Independent from the world,
Burning the elements around its flaring warmth.
Finally, suddenly, exploding in a great burst of energy.

A lunar eclipse.
Blocking out the light that warms us on brisk fall days.
Rust orange, capturing light particles,
Creating fire in the sky.
Standing bright against an indigo backdrop.

A shout.
A violent noise that lifts the dust from the floor.
Shaking the roof over a solitary home.
As the drunken emits his lion roar in an assertion of dominance.
Powerful, frightening;
Taking the breath away from the silent night.
Destructive and burning,
Leaving burn marks upon the wall.

I'm on my bed and she's playing with my hair
Electrical currents run through her fingertips, making my hair stand on end
There are lantern lights floating above our heads, tiny suns illuminating our pale bodies
She spends her Saturdays strumming Debussy from her harp in the moonlight, laughing and dancing without worry while I sit on the floor with colored ink all over my hands, stencils littering the floor and printing press pushed against the cement wall
She loves the smell of waffles in the morning and the way I look at my reflection in the mirror
She says my nose looks roman and she wants my face in her chest and I want to say I don't know when she asks what this is
I want to say I don't know to a lot but every time those three syllables rise in my throat, I choke
I feel the white cold fear grip my chest
I want the answer to everything, to be the oracle that everyone seeks in times of doubt
To be the all knowing, the wise, to understand the workings of the world
I want to tell her in scientific terms why my heart beats faster everyone she touches my face, why when she's not around me my brain feels cloudy and grey like the Washington skies above our heads, why every time I hear that song I want to be the singer on stage and sing the words just for her, why that time we were on my bed and the lights hovered over our porcelain figures I felt whole and like we were gods
But these thoughts are just for me
There is no need to say them out loud, for I know she feels this
She is an M80 on the 4th of July, luminous green sparks that catch my heart on fire
She is perfectly imperfect, purring at the sight of peaches in the summer heat
She is my rose, my bud that springs forth, bravely and passionately into spring
She is all I need, all I desire.

sometimes
you write a poem
and you think
****, that's good
this is not one of them

She blooms
As words tumble
Through painted lips
A purple visage
Blinding my thoughts
From my eyes
She is fit
For a Spanish queen

Now that I have flown
I must make my way
She makes the sound
The sea makes
Breathing in hymns and lullabies
Into my dreams

Put me to rest now
Lay me in a bed
Adorned with rocks
She will take today
And form it into tomorrow
Rocking my battered, fragile self

I want to be with you,
Alone and in solitude.
A mouthful of glue,
You stick my tongue to the roof of my mind.

There is no need for these rambunctious thoughts,
Although I cannot help it,
Collecting fast like blood clots.
But your wide eyes catch my wandering gaze.

Breathe in all the time,
Rustling your tired feathers.
I cannot bear to commit this crime.
I’ll keep this secret in the basement of my brain.

As long as I can remember,
The sunrise has blossomed in your eyes.
And your knotted back needs tender fingers.
These creases need undoing.

The path to your hear is lined with thorns.
Vines snare my ankles, leaving gashes.
The air outside is thick with stormy weather,
So let’s stay in tonight.

Dream of our hands like black mambas.
Twisting over each other, so venomous,
Awaiting that bite that marks skin as red as trauma.
Perforated marks tearing your beautiful imperfections.

My insanity runs as wild as horses,
Tumbling through cortex and sulci.
Until through my open mouth, it forces itself out.
Screams of passion building, then finally subsiding.

Now everything has settled.
Our lips are afraid of one another.
For weeks, weeping and biting nails, hungry and fretted.
Longing for what may arise in a volcanic explosion.

In the woods
During youthful days
A cabin stands irresolute
A great pond surrounds the yawning forest
Emphasized by a worn dock
Jutting into the glassy water

In the summer
Sailboats drift lazily
Along the surface
Driven
By gentle winds

But in the chill
Of bitter winter
The water freezes to icy blue
Cracks appear
As heavy feet touch the fragile slate

At night
The iridescent moon erupts
Bursting with quiet violence
Perforating gentle clouds
Transforming the water
Into diamonds

Everything
Is here
Within
Without
Hovering above the world
In flushed splendor
Lost in the wild
A love and a life