i laugh after i cry;
i sink before i fly.

try to keep going
let them live peacefully
as I fake it
let them keep
the illusion that
I am Something.

honestly,
when was I ever
Anything?

layers of scars
over your heart
sedimentary footnotes
pages of insults
stacked one atop another
novellas of reminders
select a spot on the bookcase
pray to forget

you're on the other side
but we stand
just a breath
a heart's murmur
a spider's sidestep
from touching.

i'm the duck who doesn't fly
& you've spent so long getting high
now that you're finally
touching down
solid ground just seems
like rock bottom.

Hallmark of good poem:
when paper softens rock and
scissors are laid down.

lifting sifting
drifting intense
pouring distorting
apparently blessed
breathe high & divide
love myself, then the rest
I'll never stay with anyone
I can stand to give to less.

sweet soothing rhythms
& drip drop words
rain drop grooves
through my mind
a sheen of pink syrup
drips down my rib cage
staining my core &
strengthening me  
makes me feel regular again
I ***** & reject troubles
with a magic that bathes
my body; leaves me gleaming
as a goddess.
otherworldly & yet swimming
close to shore

die to keep myself alive
laugh for every time I cried
drink water straight from the tap
don't crack
don't crack