I am counting things
at night numbers, dreams
hum of a hundred bells
soft harps to soothe
sweet with birds colored blue
in the tiger grass, big eyed cats
twitchy whiskers and paws
they sleep beneath tree limbs
branches wild and gnawed.

Do not wake me
while the garden is glowing
a thousand flowers in rows
I am fixed on violets
hydrangeas indigo blue
with fingers I paint thick
brick in red rose variants
on the lawn peacocks in resplendence
with monde blue-green iridescence
and a million gypsophila clouds pass by.

Colors so bright I swear I could smell them,
     a perfect kaleidoscope of hues.
Blinding me with excitement,
deafening me with their awe and beauty.

Roses curled up in a lovely kiss,
in shades of pink, white and red.
Tempting me with their ****** ambiguity,
waving like a stranger
in the wind.

Daisies giving me a friendly smile,
with their innocent, white petals.
Inviting me to sit and chat,
and perhaps share a cup of tea
to discuss our days over.

Lilies sprawling about,
with their elegant, flamingo pink flavor.
Drooping like a chandelier,
and revealing the secrets hidden within.

Tulips as purple as the plums
I picked from my grandmother's tree.
Mocking me with their vibrant personalities,
yet contained and uptight all the same

Their identities shine
through their wordless expressions.
I find more comfort here
than among the loud and thoughtless.

someday i’ll be too busy to notice the vampires
the sun wakes me up and i know who i am
maybe the chaos will always be there but
i’ll find a way to break it down into mulch and grow
pears and herbs and gardenias from what’s left of me
it takes a while to accept that the shadows matter
and i can’t pretend to know the watermelon lollipop
without the tongue that exists only to melt it away
to turn it into nothing until all that’s left is a paper stick
it might feel like freedom now but it can’t forever
i’ll pull down the curtains and never snooze an alarm again
the worst thing i can think of is writing the same poem
each day for the rest of my life and everyone knowing it
but me

where do you go
when you shrink yourself
so small?

sometimes i imagine
when you shrink
into this fragile thing,
in some far away place
the pieces of your self you hid
are growing exponentially,
a garden in full bloom.

I looked up and I couldn’t see the end of it but I knew it was there
Sunshine glimmered against the surface like
Cling wrap
Infinite horizons meant intrusive thoughts
If only I could bring myself to jump
Small children giggled in a row
Stumbling over each other’s oblivious actions on the dirt-caked path
Brought a smile to my face because they couldn’t help it
Panting puppy dogs sent a haze of debris into the air
Enticed the girls, sitting on a blanket
Who didn’t care to understand the appeal of fishing
Families of several walked by substance abuse and crude jokes
Disapproving looks but no one really cared
The sky was cloudless but the air was smoke ridden
We took a short nap
The sun set over the train tracks so the sky never turned pretty
But the melted blue meant we were to go now
So we walked past gurgling babies and smiling mommies on the dingy trail
And drove home with the windows down and it was an icy wind that bit our earlobes
The speaker screamed hey good lookin and we sang as we became enveloped in the
Blanket of wilderness

That girl in your class
She laughs,
Her smile lights up an entire room.

That girl in your class
She has great grades,
She doesn't even have to try.

That girl in your class
She has seemingly amazing friends who care about her.

That girl in your class
She has scars,
Lines marking her body,
And friends that don't notice.
And some that don't care.

That girl in your class
Doesn't remember what it's like to not cry.
She cries herself to sleep every night.

But hey,
She smiles.
So she's okay.
Right?

Maybe it’s time
To go out
And enjoy the Summer
That my father broth to us
There we will enjoy
The sunny days
Every single day
We will not waste the days
Sleeping in
Because if  we sleep in
We won’t sleep at night
Also that won.t be the right
Thing to do
We must live our lives to
The fullest

Brown leaves flux the pond
tadpoles elude the sunlight
an eerie fog infringed