sunlight flits through a wicked, worn white picket fence
bathes fading green grass in the day's last outstretched fingers
casually it recedes, the pale radiance dips behind the crooked mountain
              and the flood of night rushes in to envelop me

sea-drowned dreams bubble to the surface
lost and broken fragments diluted with the horrors of the abyss
Once sweet melancholy and pleasant conflicts
now distorted monstrosities fused with thoughts we hold dead

sweet little nothings in my deaf ear
why do you try so hard for me?
affection, persuasion, tiny kisses on my cheek
you're trying to warm the heart of a corpse.
Pack up, move on, leave the dead things behind

suns set and stars align
this is the end for this love of mine
troubled hours and weary eyes
we stumble through our last goodbyes

our hearts have burned
our minds have turned
and all we have learned
has been well and truly earned

we have built a family out of
friends, strangers, and lovers
a bond we share at the heart of our souls.
Now I leave behind it all.

Passions and fears blend into courage
to push me over the edge
allows me to spread my wings and join the flock
I gazed into the abyss and the abyss gazed into me.

We are one going different directions
reaching new heights
and forging new trails
forever tied together.

We saw ourselves in each other's eyes,
opened ourselves wide
and embraced those outside,
felt the change in shuddering sighs.

I will miss and love you all
as this too fades into memory
our hearts full and warm
I wish you well and depart, adieu.

there once was a lonely little leaf
champion of his tree, soul survivor of a bitter winter
one-by-one he watched his exquisitely green opponents
fade, turn and die
until at last remained he, singular resident of the tree
and with a shudder and shock
was hit with the vein-cracking chill
in his moment of triumph
he had forgotten what he was meant to be
and now too strong to fall, this lonely little leaf
stands guard over all

tickles of startlight
(and flutters of fancy)
dedicate a sermon
to all the hopeful dreamers
casting a wish tonight.

vivid imaginations
moved by frank impossibilities
peeled away the layers
to reveal a mellow thought.

we are not all that we seem
(but not quite what we imagined)
yet there are still a few of us
unafraid of standing out.

heroes destined not to be remembered
and adversaries universally praised
line the pages of this notebook
in ink that looks the same.

embers and coals alive and whispering
haunting memories quick and ticking
fill my addled brain
with threads i cannot follow.

but You can
with all your acquiescent defiance
and souls alight with our raw potential
push us into tomorrow.