we turn away from other days
we make it brave
to stay alive

we curse the old
almost as if to say
"How dare you have survived?"

is this a way to hedge our bets
to guard us from our fear of death?

do we believe we will forget?
do we confuse "no" and "not yet"?

and why are we surprised to see
that those who were
were just like we

who swear that we will always stay
the same way
that we are today?

and I am sure they also swore
they would be new
forevermore

we know the score

but all the same
we dare to live another day

I think my thoughts
But deep inside
There is
I feel
Another mind

Which sends me messages
In dreams
Some wells are deeper than they seem

I know that you are not
"the one"
I know this is not real

It isn't really about you
It's just the way I feel

I tell myself this time is different
this time you are right

But I am chasing the same shadow
through a different night

I never get used to the pain
the pain
the same **** pain

I know you will break the cycle
I know you will break the chain

And tomorrow I will run from you
But it will be the same

The same sorrow
The same pain

Same shadow
Another name

you take a step
and you are somewhere new
the winding road ahead
comes into view

you'll see how far you've come
if you look back
you've come this far
now take another step

you take a step
but is this really new?
the winding road ahead
comes into view

you'll see how far you've come
if you look back
you've come this far
now take another step

you take a step
there's nothing else to do
the winding road ahead
comes into view

you'll see how far you've come
if you look back
you've come this far
now take another step

you take a step
and you are somewhere new
the forest is alive
the sky is blue

and you look up
instead of looking back

tomorrow
you will take another step

Read my palm
Between the lines
You cannot answer
Neither can I

Soothsayer tell me!
How will it end?
I cannot answer
Ask me again

I do not show my poetry
to anyone I know
I don't want anyone to see
so deep into my soul

to know what hides
inside my mind
and who I have become
but you do not know who I am
I could be anyone

for you I would do anything
anywhere

the others can think what they want
I don't care

if I wrote this for them they would
like it more

but I don't want a dozen hearts
I want yours

there was a man
who climbed a mountain
all the way into the clouds

and the Buddha walked beside him
silent
he said not one word

when he reached the top
the man saw
the mountain was made of skulls

not only human
but of every other kind of animal

the Buddha turned to him and said
"you will understand the Dharma

only when you understand
that these are all your skull."

no one has my heart
no one colors my art
no one lights up my soul
like a million stars

no one knows me like that
no one loves me that way
when I get in my head
no one knows what to say

no one sees me clear
and still holds me dear
I reach out in darkness
no one is here

no one seems to me
the way the one should be
truthfully
maybe no one
is the one for me

the whole world waited
lost in wonder
curiosity

remember when
the Moon became
a place where we could be

we looked back on
our little world
so beautiful to see

to fly like dragons
in the sky
so powerful
so free

I remember
when I found out

what
not who but what
god is

it hit me like a ton of bricks
when I felt it

not He
but it

and that was so surreal
to feel

to realize
that god is real

no name
no face
no soul
only control

god does not know

god is
.

tree
light with flowers
hope
heavy with apples
joy

apple tree
glimmering white as the Sun
shimmering with hope

Apple tree
Through the sweet fountains of blooms
I could see our Moon

though it lives
high
in the sky

it comes back to the Earth
to sleep

even the eagle
has a home

We all live on a little island
In a vast and endless sea
Our words and wonders warp into
A rippling soliloquy

And when the Sun goes down
We see the other islands all aglow
Like candles in a chandelier
Our little archipelago

The brave ones sailed their ships away
To see what they could see and learn
And some of them brought back strange tales
And some of them did not return

And still we stand upon our island
Singing songs along the quay
All wandering and wondering
And throwing bottles in the sea

help me

I pray

I don't know
if you're there

or how many you are

I don't know
if you care

but I ask anyway
just in case you can hear

I don't know what to say to you

help me

I pray

how does it feel
to be a thought

to jump across the synapses

fly like a great ape
tree to tree

network to network
bridge to bridge

and when it kills another thought

does it feel guilty
does it mourn

does it want to be remembered
does it remember being born

does it make choices
does it know

when it gets lost
where does it go

does it fade
or turn into code

what waits at the end of the road

to change its way
to change its shape

what does that take

what hope
what faith

maybe it knows
or maybe not

ah well

it was only a thought

What other kind              of creature could divide        
        Each different thing             into its different sides                
  With chaos versus             order, dark and light
The stark duality of         wrong and right
We even split the very        world in two
With human versus human,       we and you
But still no matter how much      we divide
Each thing has infinitely many      sides

hurting yourself
will not help
anyone else

Run though there is no direction
No direction in the void
Hide though there is no protection
Everything will be destroyed

Hope though you are only dreaming
This is something you can keep
Sing though everyone is screaming
In the darkness
In their sleep

we love the Sun
because it is
so far away

the fear of the unknown
is visceral and real for me

unending
cold and empty

I want to understand

we cannot separate being from seeming
we could be seeing things
we could be dreaming

what small percent of this can we perceive?
we cannot know
we can only believe

the truth is everywhere
dark as the night
our minds overflow
with visions of light

how much do we see?
how much do we make?
how sure can you be
that you are awake?

a heavy stone
is lifted from
the loamy ground

a slender stem
tender and pale
first greets the wind

and rises slowly
to become
green with the Sun

when you submit poems
and they don't go through
‧͙⁺˚･༓. check your drafts .༓･˚⁺‧͙
that's usually where they get sent

otherwise I can't tell you where they went
which is most likely very frustrating for you

there was a time
I was connected
to myself
and to it all

my heart feels like a piece of wood
just waiting for the axe to fall

I know it will be split in two
I don't want the suspense to end

but deeper down I look within
and want to be the tree again

my mind is empty
my heart is full

I love my family and my friends
I sense a new journey about to begin

I am at the balance point

I was already someone
before I knew you

I didn't always remember

when I read my old poems
I understand her

I know

I love her and
I want to meet her once again

I wanted to believe I understood
I wander in your mind and I am lost

there be dragons
at the edge of your world
and oceans even language cannot cross

I wanted to believe that it was love
writ in the stars
to guide us o'er the sea

a shadow that will never reach the Sun
and all the things I wanted
to believe

I am not afraid to love
I am afraid to be loved

Why should this be something
That I am afraid of?

So I can never break your heart
And never show my soul

So you can never say
You do not love me
Anymore

If you bend them both far back enough
they'll meet at the same point
If you bend them both far in enough
they'll meet at the same point
But not before they've spiraled through your inner mind
ten thousand times
But not before your deepest soul
is molded to their form

sometimes you have to be the one
to reach out your hand in forgiveness
be the one to break the silence
be the one to take that step

though your senses may suggest
that no one dares to be defenseless
no one cares to mend fences
sometimes you have to be the one

only by imagining
that I am not the sky
may I step back and see it
through these bright and mortal eyes

and I will hold the knowledge
of this beauty to the end
when one day I will close my eyes
and be the sky again

who are you
do you wonder about us
there beyond the stars

If you believe no one thinks you are beautiful
I do
If you believe no one thinks you are clever
I do
If you believe no one thinks you are good
I do
If you believe no one thinks you are special
I do
If you believe no one wants you to stay alive
I do
I promise
There will always be somebody who
Wants you
To be
You

Be yourself

If you become
Someone else
To get approval
They aren't approving of you
They are approving of
Someone else

But if even one person
Truly accepts you
For who you are

Then when you are with that person
You can be free

You can be yourself

If you want some perspective
Look at the big picture
Sometimes this can be
Really hard to do

You may feel afraid
To move out of the frame
'Cause the big picture isn't
A picture of you

Then life isn't just
About you and your interests
It's about your friends
And your family too

But if you take a step back
And look at the big picture
Your family and friends
Are all right next to you

So life isn't all about
Family and friends
It can be about your
Fellow countrymen

But if you take a step back
And look at the big picture
There isn't one country
But hundreds of them

So you care about humans
In all other countries
You want to help all of them
Flourish and grow

But if you look a little further
There's more than just humans
There's plants and animals
We don't even know

So you look at the planet
A beautiful planet
Gold grey and brown
White blue and green

When you're up this high
Looking at the big picture
There are no countries
Or people to see

It's a beautiful planet
Not the only planet
It's a beautiful Sun
Not the only Sun

If you take a step back
And look at the big picture
It's easy to wonder
About the other ones

So you send them some music
You send them some pictures
You send your address
Hope they'll write back to you

You take one small step forward
And take one big picture
So deep in the darkness
Our small world is blue

We've never sent anything
Out of our galaxy
We are still guessing
Its shape and its size

And if you take a step back
And look at the big picture
Some light is too far
To ever reach our eyes

The Universe is too big
For us to measure
We don't know what's out there
What could be, what is

And if you take a step back
And look at the big picture
There could be many
Other Universes

There is always
A bigger picture
You can always
Take one more step back

We humans all live
In a world full of color
But the bigger picture
Is dressed up in black

It might seem so dark
It might seem so cold
It might seem so empty
That all might be true

But if you take a step back
And look at the big picture
There is no distinction
Between the Universe and you

So don't be afraid
To take one more step
You're not out of your depth
It is deep within you

If you take a step back
And look at the big picture
Then every picture
Is a picture of you

deep in the flower
stationary
in the dark waiting to grow
hidden within the sanctuary
there where only faeries go
seductive as confectionery
sweetest siren silent sings
a message evolutionary
carried far on borrowed
wings

I may seem open
vulnerable
like a flower
petals upon petals
shroud a tight furled core
deep within
sheltered, snowed in, slumbering
I have yet to bloom

something blooms
inside of me

slowly
petal by petal

inside the cage
I built around me

soft against
cold metal

so open
and vulnerable

so gentle
that I tremble

more tender
than the spring

more powerful
than words
or symbols

I don't want to miss you
it hurts to stay silent
but I hold my tongue
and pretend to be strong

I wish you would speak to me
even one word
but we both know one word
wouldn't hold me that long

a world full of lovers
who want me to love them
cannot understand what I need
but you do

a whole sky full of stars
and you paint it all blue
who could let me forget
there is no one like you

searing sun
burns the heavens blue
alone
in the silent sky

Sometimes it is brave
To fly away
Sometimes it is brave
To stay

build a bridge
empathy can walk across
and into your soul