Be honest, is this what you wanted, your skin is still under my finger-tipped reach, my lips find your neck, like an over ripened peach, you taste so sweet. The canyons between each muscled tendon across your abdomen, know my tongue, every part of your body, wander lust.

I’ve spent my life hiding
a part of myself
the most beautiful part
from the world

Be it self doubt
or insecurities
that pull me down
like an anchor
in rough oceans
of anxieties

But the waters
have calmed
I can see now
what I could not before

We are all beautiful
especially
when we stop hiding
who we truly are

I feel as if I found myself
while drowning out at sea
the waves crashing in on me

I pulled myself
up from the depths
by lifting myself up
shredding the weight
of my insecurities
all of my faults
sinking beneath me
embracing all of my qualities
fair and flaw

I will sail on the sea
proudly in the winds
enjoying the salty breeze
filling my lungs
Life
I am finally
enjoying life

She would have given anything
if she could have stopped their pain
with hers.

she was leaving
and got the gumption
to see me before she did
so we went to dinner
she sat, crumpled
at the edge of the booth
playing with her silverware
hands sweating
our knees barely touching
underneath the table
they shook like the day we met
they shook like floodgates
when the clouds get upset
her hair was drawn back
into an apology
and she didn't answer
when the waiter asked for drinks
she pans, tilts
looking for the restroom
but doesn't get up
covers her mouth
to hide her furled chin
i cut her a piece of bread
not sparingly
i didn't want to ruin the symbolism
of cutting a gangrenous thing
from ones self
she half wept out "tell me a joke"
i thought to say "look at us."
that's it. that's the joke.
the premise & the punch line
sharing some silence
here in this ominous moment
so thick with goodbye
you could touch it
i said "when they asked what the name was for the wait, i should've said "awkward, party of 2"
but that's not the joke
"knock knock"
she whispered "who's there?"
i sat for a moment and said
"so we've come full circle.. we're even in the same seats, from all those months ago"
her lips quivered
and she hid her mouth
"i just wanted to hear a joke"
she said
i came back with
*"if i fell for you in a quiet restaurant & no one was around to hear it, does the laughter of children i drempt we'd have make a sound?"