Had I studied your palms
a little longer,
gotten to know every crease
every scar,
chiseled an indelible memory
putting Roman sculptures to envy
I'd might better have known
who you are.

I don’t wish to be celebrated...
only understood.
Apparently being beautiful
won’t do me much good.

Tonight
two men told me they love me:
One wanted something he was struggling to find
and had never matched hearts with mine before
The other gouged my heart little more than a year ago
and of whose most basic need I took care of
                 [water]
      without any hesitation
      in a home unfamiliar to both of us,
the first time in each other’s true company
since our dolorous unravelment.

“I love you.”

Neither reflected genuine inclinations, nor hint of veracity
Meant absolutely nothing by it
Both of which rendered me wearily calling out to the abysmal sky
only to be left in marmoreal stillness
      and evanesce into the shadow
      cast by the waning moon.

Last night I had a dream
In my arms was my beautiful newborn
but it kept throwing up
profusely
painfully
uncontrollable
It couldn't stop.
I turned around for one moment
frantically looking for something, anything
to help my dying child
and just like that
it choked
and was gone.

The night before that
I was ***** by an acquaintance
No matter how hard I fought
He overpowered me
I begged him
pleaded with him
to at least use protection
He disregarded and continued.
All I wanted to do after
was warn the other woman who was there
But he wouldn't grant us any privacy.
Finally, a chance arose
and I told her:
"If you ever have a dream about someone you know,
if you have a dream they **** you,
heed your intuition.
Do not question.
Better safe than destroyed."
I woke up with a slight start
but blanketed in a strange sense of peace
bleeding, as only a woman can
grounded with Gaia.

You see a girl, a running girl
You see her running, you don't know why
"What is she running from?" you ask
She's running from her cage, her life.
She's an untamed spirit, but she's stuck here
drowning in her agony
What cruel force holds her down
when all she wants is to be free?
She's lost all hope, lost all meaning
her pain is deep and sewn inside her
She can't fight back, and cannot hide
So she runs
      she keeps running, running.
Her heart is thumping, aching, screaming
like it'll explode and leave her twitching
Pointless crying, harming, hurting
The cuts she's made just keep on itching
Tears are trickling, dripping softly
off her wrinkled, anguished face
To herself she's nothing
       nothing
She views herself as a disgrace.
Her parents love her, her friends say the same
but she believes they're liars
       liars
Their promises are never kept
they're unpredictable fliers, fliers.
She's lost all hope, lost all meaning
Her pain is deep and sewn inside her
She can't fight back, she cannot hide
So she runs
She keeps running, running
What can she do? There's no solution
Only one way out, it's dying
     dying
She's attempted many times before
But now she's tired of so much trying
That girl is stuck in her hell of living
she cannot hide, there's no way out
So she continues on with running
She won't complain, she will not pout
She's lost all hope, lost all meaning
Her pain is deep and sewn inside her
She can't fight back, she cannot hide
So she runs
      She keeps running, running
She sees the cliff, the end is near
She runs right off that dreadful ledge
She leaps right into open air
Her last deep breath was at the edge
No one will catch her
She's falling
     falling
Falling out of sync with life
It's too late to save her
    she's dying
                 dying
The rocks, they slice her like a knife
But she's no longer falling!
She's flying!
            Soaring!
Her soul bursts up like a mighty bird
She leaves behind a piercing silence
Her final words were never heard
She kept on flying, until she reached a place
A place of peace, free of misery
Now she runs above the clouds
At last, sweet bliss
She's finally free.
The only thing to do is run
It's the only way to free her mind
She's running with the wind, the breeze
Never stopping to look behind
As she runs, she feels lighter
Like a load has lifted off
Running frees her from herself
So she runs,
  She'll never stop.