Following the crooked pavement
that is set in the street
like a broken arm in
plaster of paris.
We steal the smiles from
the people plastered on
the sidewalks like thieves
in the night.

Stealing the hope from children.
Stealing music from the pages
like a third-rate pop artist.

Sneaking past sirens that
try to lull us from the
road less traveled.
Sirens that blare in the night
like ghosts in the hall.
Singing songs trying to serenade
the kleptomania from my
soul.

Chasing passions through pulsations
beneath our skin. Sighing
sighs that make angels smile
and devils cry.

Skin warm beneath secret fingertips,
trading lines back and forth
like a hand-me-down Casanova
indulging in each other, and
each other alone.

Ripped apart at the seams
like a stuffed animal, stained
and worn through the years
of abusive love.

Pulling together again
through the actions of
an unwilling heart
doing anything possible
just to hear you whisper
"Blue."

It's like a smile at a funeral.
Soft and insecure,
cradling.
Unsure if you're fit to go on,
but too polite to suggest
such weakness.

You use your wit and your guile
like a mask at the dance.
Gliding in and out of the
crowd with a grace and imperfection
that is fitting to the inconsistency
of your character.

Someone's mirroring your
movement like a doppelganger
dark and fierce,
step by step,
arm to arm
heart to heart.

It's like a smile at a funeral.
Soft and insecure,
cradling.
Unsure if you're fit to go on,
but too polite to suggest
such weakness.

Yesterday you were swallowed by the sea.
Gasping and screaming air bubbles
and smoke.
Flailing and laughing your laugh
that made the room raise their
eyebrows in suspicion.

Yesterday the sky swallowed you.
Somewhere in the vicinity of
Howland Island.
Without a trace, without a sound
save for a single cry for help.

Yesterday the earth swallowed you
cracking and splitting like a
peanut out of its shell.
Suffocating and squeezing the
taste of soil and decay down
your throat and into your lungs.

So, go ahead and push.
It's easy if you try.
Just go ahead and fall.
With no one to catch you,
be free, and push.
It's so easy and
so free.

Go ahead, breathe.
Inhale, exhale, like
a cancer patient.
Deep and gasping.
It's easy if you try.

So, go ahead and laugh.
Carefree and childish
like the days when
the snow feel fast
and deep.
It's easy if you try.

So, go ahead and cry
just like you do when
you go home to your
empty apartment
and crawl cowardly into
your bed.

So, go ahead and push.
It's easy if you try.
Just go ahead and fall.
With no one to catch you,
be free, and push.
It's so easy and
so free.

So, hide behind that ink pen
and wit you're so proud of.
But I know the truth.
You're like a child
lost in a shopping mall.
Alone, clinging to passersby.
Wanting to ask the clerk to
page your family, but too
shy to suggest.

So, hide behind your so-called
friends
and flee from your idiosyncrasies.
But, you and I both know you're
a deserter.
smile and laugh with them,
but you're still coming home
with me.

So, hide behind your charisma
and guile. You're not as clever as
you think because, I'm still here when
you close your eyes
And you're still taking me home
with you.

Everyday she smiles at the mirror
and kisses it soft and pure.
Then leaves a note signed with
XOXO
on the bedside table.