I'm not in love with him;
I'm in love with the idea of him.
But I still feel guilty when he texts.

Don't chase the ghost
That walks these hallowed halls--
She seeks a change.

She embarks on a quest
To leave and start all over again.

My name is Batya,
Beth was a freshman's frustration.
Let me make my own introductions--
I'm graduating names.

The wrong eyes
Ignited
Butterflies.

A stolen caress
Disguised,
Denied.

Self- destroying words
Thought; scrawling,
Doubling, dying.

A love poem
Pens itself,
Redirection in desperation.

Because--

The wrong eyes
Ignited
Butterflies
Last night.

This week,
It's all about you.
This month, too.
This week,
He's going to forget about
All the things he says
He never got to do,
And everyone else will
Forget their gossip, too.
This week,
You're the man.
You're a superstar,
With pretty pictures everywhere
And candles drip and shine.
This week,
You're the title, hero, punchline.
Everything you were and never got to be,
Everything you prayed for till the end,
Making you even harder to bury,
Those are the things we'll talk about
This week.

I'm not sick,
Love is.
With it's cruel tricks
And double vision.

Love is one- way,
A mirror maze,
It takes your mind
To a point of no return.

Love is pain
Painted pink;
Killing chemicals
Enter your bloodstream.

Love likes triangles,
Scattering ice cracks;
Master of illusions
And puppets.

I'm not lovesick--
Love is.

Give it back,
From New York to Los Angeles.
It's conquered land.
Move embassies from DC to Texas--
It's not a capital just because it hosts your parliament.
Open your jailgates,
Set free those pacifists oppressed by your terrorist democracy.
Take a seat with a target on its back and cameras trained,
Pander to the ones with ready aim
While we count coins to pay for good behavior.

If you're in His image,
Then I am too,
And I am not a lesser man
(Or maybe I am).

I doubt His image has a head
To tonsure or to cover as seen fit;
It is, in fact, invisible,
Seen only in faces as reflected.

If I'm in His image, I imagine
Material immodesty is nonexistent--
For if not applicable to you in sight of Him,
I doubt His view of me is very different.

If I'm not in His image, then neither are you,
And every blessing you make is a blessing to rue.
The word is holy, if not your definition of manly;
And if I can't fulfill your obligation you never will, surely.

If I'm in His image,
Then beg my forgiveness.
If I'm in His image,
Then mind your own business.
And if I'm not,
Then neither are you.