Earbuds blasting
Curls cascading down her back like a waterfall
Her black swimsuit shapes her broken frame
hugging her tight
Tighter than he did during her sleepless nights
She stood staring at the abandoned pool in front of her
Her eyes became a steady relentless stream
Filling the desolate expanse
She crumpled to her knees, emotionless
No one came here
To the empty pool
Or the girl who filled it with her tears, just to swim
Every tear held what she saw with him
Everything she experienced with him
The way he said, I love you
How he held her close when he taught her to kiss
Not yet in the pool
She already held her breath
To keep from drowning
Crawling towards the pool of tears
She looked inside
The boy was looking right back at her
One smile was all it took
Shattered, broken, irredeemable
The pool dragged her in
And she laid herself next to him
Promising to never leave
Kissing him
Just like how he taught her

It is almost summer
and the hot night
seems so quiet
as the wind on the water
lifts the sails on that ship
sailing west like smoke
from the fire I lit
to burn the driftwood
of my dreams and desires
until morning comes like
that sad-eyed Moriah
I've admired from afar.

or Portland, or Spokane
A two-bed hideaway with pale green shutters
and a patchwork quilt of a garden. Neighbours
that bring wine and friendly company late at night
me and you, and our future children
will swing in the backyard. Porch light blazing
and moths fluttering in the rays of gold
that penetrate the darkness beyond our little nest-egg.
Autumn will bring gloom and rain will patter on the roof
but we can snuggle up on the couch.
I'll do my best to cook at thanksgiving
have our families to stay, talking loudly for hours, then sleeping
in every quiet corner and dimly lit study.
Sometimes, I'll seem faraway, in the land of bad habits and strangers
I'll stare out at the stars and wonder - what if I left?
and I can't promise that house will be ours forever
but right now there is nowhere I would rather be
than that little house, timber and glass
everything will be snug and warm, I promise.

if little things didn't make a big difference
God would not have created insects