I remember that night, like I remember the first time your lips became acquainted with mine,
The moon was embracing the thin sheet of winter's rain - a sapphire shadow illuminated my mind.
The sky was sad, but the stars were smiling.
The night's opaque disposition was all I seemed to know.
Though, I recall your eyes-
Like the first snowfall that frigid November ever graced me with.
Your eyes -
They were painted in crimson, illuminated by your laughter.
And the stars were put to shame by the light within your iris,
Your skin was a brilliant saffron,
Like a marigold in summer's warm embrace.
I wanted to paint your cheeks with vibrant strokes of scarlet -
My gentle lips the most suitable paintbrush.
And that was the night I fell for your crimson disposition,
Your eyes were the sky's azure complexion set to flames -
Followed by the silver freckles scattered across midnight's opaque canvas.
I haven't wished on a star in months -
Not when there are galaxies in your eyes.


(m.c.)

i love your heart,
i love it because
it dwells on beauty
and bravery and gold.
i love your heart,
because your heart
has learned to love
its brokenness.
i love your heart,
because your heart
looks beyond and
finds light in the dark places.
i love your heart,
because your heart
hasn't stopped loving,
because your heart
refuses to be disappointed
by what it finds in this world,
because your heart
hasn't given up,
because your heart
still believes in grace
in love, in kindness,
in wonder and light.
i love your heart because
it keeps beating.

your feet are falling apart again,
let me grab a new sole
for you, old soul,
sooth you down into your new low;
let me miss you and kiss you
in my head
because that’s what the books have led us to believe,
pity the painter who has to grieve.

you painted Death from the palette in your palm
as you looked up from your hospital bed calm
and delighted, but you’ve lost this fight tonight
darling.

I kicked a rock
On my way back home
It was a beautiful day
No clouds, no snow

I was down the street
Getting the mail
A dog was barking at me
And wagging his tail

It was neither hot
Nor cold
It was a beautiful memory
That I will forever hold

But that rock reminded me
Of something peculiar
But I didn't know what it was
It was unfamiliar

How could I remember?
I've seen so many rocks
I couldn't think of anything
Like I had writers' block

I knew there was something
I just had to think deep
And if I don't figure it out
I would feel incomplete

And then it hit me
At the speed of light
I've used this rock before
In the middle of the night

I felt the guilt again
It ran through my veins
It was the night my favorite shirt
Became bloodstained

"It couldn't be," I said
"I thought you disappeared"
An idea came to my mind
And I froze in fear

I turned the rock over
And I saw some blood
"Yes" I assured myself
"This is the one"

It was that misty night
In 1993
When the love of my life
Let go of me

It wasn't an average break-up
Not average indeed
He pushed me so hard
I fell to my knees

He was supposed to be on his knees
But he pushed me to mine
So I took the rock and branded his body
My name was what I signed

At that moment it hit me
The love of my life is dead
I tried so hard to remember
But all I want to do is forget

I came back to my senses
And took the rock in my hand
I squeezed it as hard as I could
And came up with a plan

I never understood why he pushed me
But my life with him was good
I never wanted to be alone
But alone I stood

I grabbed the dull end of the rock
The sharp side facing me
I remembered my promise with him
"Forever we will be"

I prepared for my last breath
Right then I exhaled
I branded my body
Silence prevailed

I fell to the ground
On my knees once more
Ready to see the love of my life
Mi amor

My mail soaked up my blood
Diminished I will be
The bracelet around my ankle was unhooked
I am free

No longer alive
My soul is above my body
The truth and blood
Both engulf me

Two people have gone
Out of this world
Branded by one rock
Are a boy and a girl

The rock can be known
As nothing or all
And unlike money
It can't be withdrawn

I can no longer breathe
Inhale or exhale
I branded two bodies
Silence prevails