Line up my broken bones
over a floor of frost-bitten marble
so that you may brand their ice
with the bruises
of your lips.

Sink your teeth into the river
that floats through
the blueness of my veins,
and lands as a stranger
in the velvet of your mouth.

Let my wavering sigh
travel down
the treacherous nape
of your strained neck,
as you trace
the freckled porcelain
of my skin
-to map
the city of my dreams-

-in this ghost town of powdery breaths,
you will *****
the tallest
the greatest
of all monuments.

So hear my plea and
immerse my vision
in the echoes of
your uttered promise as
the tearing muscles
of my desperate heart
reach to grasp
your empty words.

A world map puzzle rearranged,
haven for the lost,
home to those too strange
to the outcasts
to the insane,

Where hearts collide
and children of the sun thrive
because storms
can’t keep them
inside

because
here
they find the moon
in their skin
rain in a stranger’s eye
and know that they are kin

because
here
there are no borders
to separate our brains
we are all one
yet never the same

because
here
culture runs deeper than blood
in veins
in its palm this world
where spirits roam
and dreams grow


-kisses
drawn
upon nurtured souls.

They say,
old habits die hard.
Don't I know it.
I put down the bottle for a while,
picked it back up.
Older now, more refined.
Bourbon,
instead of the cheap rot gut,
of my youth.
It all kills you in the end.
Still can't go out in public.
Teeth grinding,
Who's the enemy?
Who's the snake in this crowd?
Do I have my weapon?
Constantly clutching leather bound steel,
haven't needed the blade,
in a long time,
but must always be ready.
Marlb menthols,
pack a day, at least.
Smoke one to take the edge off,
there's always an edge.
Serial monogamist,
constantly striving for love,
hopeless romantic.
Hopelessly falling for women so venomous,
they could teach vipers,
a thing or two.
Picked up
a couple new ones but,
the old habits die hard

all you've ever known is me so i have to wonder if you wish you could have a taste of those girls with long brown hair and naturally bright eyes because if i were in your shoes i would at least want to experience that before settling for someone like me and i'm so scared that one day you'll find a girl whose eyes are golden in the sunlight but deep brown when you're alone in your bedroom that i know so well and that you'll actually have the chance to run your fingers through her soft wavy hair and they won't get stuck in the process because it isn't messy and tangled like mine and she won't have to wear makeup to hide the dark circles under her eyes because she doesn't have to send pills down her throat in the morning just to feel normal enough to get through the day without breaking down the way i do when i realize you're too good for me