today a dark cloud
hung over your head;
I could see it written
all over your face

instantly my skies turned grey
as your overcast spread
and I wished that my empathy
alone could take it away

but that stubborn cloud
would not leave you,
as my heart ached
for your sunshine

and that terrifies me.
that your sadness
means partly cloudy
for my forecast

i don't want my
mood to mirror
yours, but it's
impossible when the
highlight of my day
is hidden behind
pursed lips and
furrowed eyebrows

I can only pray
for clear skies
tomorrow, my dear
or I, too, shall
dwell in the darkness
with you

So he's the druggie,
You're the depressed one,
And I'm the one with issues.

He pierced himself,
You dyed your hair,
And I ripped off my doors.

He laughs as he's yelled at,
You stand strong to criticism,
And I encourage belittling me.

So explain to me,
With all these things so close,
Why we all dislike each other?

You
Are beautiful.
You
Are funny.
You are dynamic, and nuanced.
No one knows how to see the world
The way you do.

You don't give yourself
Credit.

You don't think you're
Worthy
Of good things.

You believe,
And heaven forbid these words,
But you believe
(Whether in some immense degree or a smaller, subtle way)
That you
Are
Worthless.

Oh, my beauty.
Oh, my dazzling darling.
You are more than you think.
You are so much more
Than you have let yourself
Become.

It's not too late.
Drop those weights,
Those heavy, dark thoughts.
And remember who you knew you were when you were too young to lie to yourself.

You are amazing.
You have flaws and they
Are wonderful.
You are not a magazine.
You are not a Barbie doll.
You are you.
And that is what makes You
So very, very
Perfect.

I used to talk about love
Like I knew what hell I was talking about
I had all the clichés mastered
My mind made sense of
Nonsensical things
Like, tackling a girl into the snow
and her liking it...
Because it seemed to make sense,
I did it - and it worked

Back when I talked about love like
I knew a thing or two
I would use Crayons to color my best
Staying inside the lines
But love has no lines
I knew so little that I didn’t catch on
A flawless drawing just means
It doesn't have character at all

Now that I talk about love like
a ******* fool
I step on your toes
I laugh a little too loud at
inappropriate things
I respond to your “I’m fine”
With a quiet hug

When you hear someone talking about love,
Like they think they know
What they're talking about
Just give it some time
Once you realize how little you know
You took the first step toward understanding

The way you said my name,
like it was heavy in your mouth
yet worth its weight in vibrancy,
worth the strain a single syllable
caused an undulating tongue
such as yours, that rippling
pink squid beating a solid
leather drum to carve me
into existence, explode the
air into a sweltering thrum,
like you had licked the naked
off my skin and melded  
negative space and clammy
saliva onto scaffolding
lining the roof of your mouth,
carved an arc of sound
only I could fit through,
you said my name  
like you meant it,
like you loved me,
you knew what it meant
and cherished it no less
and because of that,
so did I.

I will always be a little bit depressed.
I will always have that little spot in my heart
that you can feel lying in bed,
that feels like an unfinished apple
browning in the air.
I will always be a little depressed
with the sound of the swamp cooler overheard
and the sound of crickets outside at night
and the deep blue color of the sky
on a southern evening.
and the train running through town
across towns where the moonlight
seeps through shut blinds
where the tall grass climbs the pale blue walls
of a small townhouse under a telephone wire
and across the country,
where the desert spreads out from a lone house
like the mountains are
shying away from it
where a scared and tired young girl
tries to fall asleep with all the lights on
where fluorescent-and-concrete street lights
flicker on but nobody drives that night
and therefore nobody needs them
these things are all so sad
and so the question begs to be asked,
who can't connect with them?
ipso facto,
who isn't a little bit sad?