They waltz,
Right around you.
Dancing
In rhythm.
Their costumes
Elegant and flowing.

Eye contact
Is avoided-
Except to their partners.
They twirl
And they spin
And laugh
Right in front of you.

Champagne,
Flows freely.
From bottle
To glass,
From glass,
To parched lips.

And they dance.
They dance harder.
And strangely,
With more ease.

The logic-
Like that of a dream;
The more champagne
The more intricate
Their dances become.
The more they laugh;
The more sober
You are.

The costumes
Appear to grow longer,
As the night
Stretches on.
The elegance fades
Into grotesque
Haunting themes.

The moon and stars
Gently blink out,
One by one.
But the sky doesn't light
The horizon with dawn.
The morning is still,
Yet ages away.
The sky,
Empty and black.

The champagne
Never ceases to flow.
The couples keep spinning
In and around,
This large
Marbled hall.

There you stand-
The only exhausted,
Itching to leave.
The exit hidden
By patrons unknown.

And you,
The only dancer,
Not dancing.

Screaming into the night air,
But the silence remains unbroken.
Weeping into a pillow,
But the case remains dry.
Running down the street, leading out of town,
But the scenery remains unchanged.

Nothing but a daydream,
A silly little fantasy.
The actions most desired,
Played out and seen,
But never feeling the release.

Trapped inside a silent bubble,
Caught within your mind.
Reality and fiction,
Molding and bending,
Meshing and splitting.
Until it’s hard to say for sure
Exactly what you thought-
And what you said.

Nothing but a daydream,
You whisper.
A silly little fantasy,
Replies a honey sweet voice-
From a lady in a lab coat.

This red dress-
I'm shocked that I forgot
And you remember well.
This red dress
Is me dancing like an idiot
And you acting like a fool.
This red dress
Is your arm around my waist
And your hand upon my thigh.
This red dress
Is trial
And triumph.
This red dress
Is both my high
And my low.
This red dress
Is you comforting me
When I was nothing.
This red dress
Is you stroking my hair
And I laughing too hard.
This red dress
Is me wishing that I
Was the only girl in the room.
This red dress
Is me puking on the floor,
Embarrassed and alone.
This red dress
Is you carrying me to bed
As I smile at you.
This red dress,
Is you and me.

So restless.
I can feel my muscles
Aching for movement.
My mind racing-
Looking for something.
Anything to focus on.

I want to run,
But I've nowhere to go.
I want to work,
But nothing needs doing.

I'm so restless,
But I've nowhere to turn.
I want to talk,
But nobody will listen.
I feel trapped inside myself.

Maybe if I go away
I can finally breathe again.
Maybe if I go away
I'll relax again.
Maybe-
Maybe not.

I'm so restless.
That I think,
It's making me tired.

I still remember that magnolia,
We found it walking down the street.
It was as beautiful as that day
And it hadn't even bloomed yet.
I still remember it

I remember the walk through the city.
Without a care,
As if we owned it,
In some ways, I think we did.
I still remember

I remember the looks we got,
You could tell what everyone thought-
That we were the sweetest couple
They'd seen in ages.
And we didn't bother to correct them,
It'd be too hard
And it'd break their hearts.
I still remember

I still remember that magnolia,
It was hanging off a branch-
I'd never seen a flower like it,
But you hadn't either.
So you grabbed it, and I kept it.
I still remember it

I remember how the sun was hot
My shoes were all wrong for that walk.
You wore a white t-shirt,
And I wore a tank top.
You paid and I told jokes.
We asked questions,
Almost as if we'd never met.
I can even name the song you played
On your iPod filled with albums.
I still remember

I remember how I tried not to cry
When we said our final goodbye.
We hugged more times than I can count.
And we smiled so we wouldn't fall apart.
I still remember

I still remember that magnolia,
It bloomed the very next day.
It filled my room with a magical scent,
It opened until it was larger than my face.
I researched until I discovered
That it was called magnolia.
I still remember it

And now it's years later,
Maybe two or three-
It's hard to keep track.
But magnolia is my favorite flower

I’m running.
So fast,
And so far.
But I cannot escape.

It clings.
And it follows.
Ever present,
Always there.

It haunts me.
I hide,
But it finds.

Every waking moment.
Every corner of my dreams.
I've learned,
You can’t out run your thoughts.