Want to keep friends?
Have none.

Tearing
     down
          all
                    the
wrong
     walls

Breathtaker

unknowingly
herself


to be capable of splitting atoms

          [of unrelinquished hearts]

of striking chords

          [of graveyard whispers]

of swimming endlessly

          [of setting suns]


Breathtaker

veiledly
herself


in imitation smiles

          [in huntress stripes]

in doe-eyed brilliance

          [in one thousand yards]

in cocktail laughter

          [in autumnal sighs]


Breathtaker

suffocating
us all

Her eyes
were the faded green
of summer leaving
for the fall

springtime artistry:

floral inkblots bleeding through

winter’s blank canvas

flask of kerosene

accompanied by matches

problems housed no more

She smiles in that hurt way,

with clasped hands resting

where I couldn’t go


She leans over and whispers,

ruby red syllables caressing my ear,

*“But you have to”.

Brochures of tourist traps,

read aloud from the passenger seat, spoken in

ambivalence;

never closer to our

destination, but

only further away from

nowhere.

The scarecrow,

guts strewn across

a rotted kingdom,

a rusted relic of a dying land



watching the seasons

forget the fields,

watching the roots

of faith become the dust

Burlap martyr;

Set to warrant,

left to waste

Her evening breath

tasted of

cool peppermint.

                                        Her sweetest scent

                                        wrapped around

                                        my fingertips.

I won’t use your nicknames or

shorten your name in the slightest



I want to savor every letter

every syllable of honey

rolling off my tongue



let the mouthful of sound

rattle my teeth

until they ring in adoration



make it my own exhalation

so every breath

has a worthy purpose



speak it only in whispers

to keep what is yours

mine.

to be wrapped up in arms

for the end of the world

I chase lightning.

In a flash, my world is illuminated

and I am happy;

But I’ll only ever catch the sudden thunder.

Still, I remain undeterred.

Apologies:
for self,
for every act.

A warm somebody

softly next to me

to remind me I’m awake

before I fall asleep.

My choked upon words:

rotted birds in rusted cage,

locked jaw and tuneless

weakened  hands
forever  mending
endless heartache

Warmer seasons perfume
teasing hungered beasts

Drawing silver thread
from every dream caught
I sew my bones together
into sleep, into knots

Fatal curves
colored in copper
and dusted with
ageless freckles

Mahogany hair
this as forest,
married by
oceanic waves

Tiger-eyed innocent
armed with daggers;
Medusa's glare
now included

Broken jaw rhetoric
from a crooked smile
with lips coated in
cherry bomb explosives

A summer dress
simply yellow,
ringing beauty like
a Southern belle

Perfumed in
cherry blossoms
and passing
like a season

I am left
lightning
stricken

Never alone whilst in
absent company

Wearing
another’s scent
makes breathing
easier.

Mouth full of salt,

kissing wounds.

Here we are again .

sitting at the kitchen table

with silverware in hand

doing what we do best ;

prodding, poking,

slicing and cutting.

tearing away and chewing



Our gazes stray from

the mashed potatoes to the

steaks bleeding on our plates

but never/

to the eyes at the other end of the table ;

to the face wanting to be seen



we make small talk

out of the corner of our mouths

as we chew away the fat ;



talking of the meaningless/

how the food is



of the pointless/

how the day went



of the impossible .

. how . are . you .



It's all the same

just as the night before was/

the night before and before/

the table is set

the food is placed

and we sit ;

Far . away .



on this our hallowed ground

our ritual performed

in doublespeak



Pass the salt, please/

a dance for rain



More peas, dear?/

a primal scream



Looks good, honey/

a sacrificial lamb



in your name, we dine

amen