You are not my children,
tender as you are.
You are not my lover,
though you cause my heart to yearn.
You are not my sun,
or my moon,
or my star.

I set you on this rock;
you will not make me burn.

You are simply sticks,
arranged upon the pyre.
You are clever tricks,
though you flaunt my clear desire.
You are not the match,
or the wick,
or the fire.

I set you on this rock;
To see what might transpire.

You will never be a pheasant's egg to be coddled.
You are only this: a calf led to the slaughter.

.

Crooked pathways
twisting and turning
through sarcastic shadows
and broken branch detours
draining every desire

Climbing mountains, daily inclines
sapping strength
in challenges formed
of uphill battles
in a losing war

Following stagnant streams
flooded with teardrops
raining on every parade
of drenched floats with
soggy paper flowers

Blinded by the sun
wishing for white clouds
that only hover much darker
than those lonely nights
with no moon to hold you

Or lonely highways
of dotted line decisions
changing lanes
hoping for an exit
but finding a dead end...

Know that there will be a light
glowing of a caring heart
beaming brightly, illuminating the way
in every fog riddled alleyway
you may wander, for…

Wherever life leads you
no matter what you may face
obstacles that might present themselves
I will travel this journey with you…
you will never be alone

Weak and broken, lost inside myself,
Scared and alone, basically dead inside,
All these things running through my head,
Who am I? Why am I here? Why am I alive?
Am I even important? To anyone? To anything?
I struggled to find the answer,
Slowly along the way, drowning my demons,
Fighting my fears, meeting myself,
Simply knowing,
Helping the ones who have been hurt like me,
Forgetting the ones who never wanted me,
Cutting myself free from the grasps of the darkness inside,
But I have a stiffening fear I will be back someday,
As I finally stand in the sun again,
But I'm different now,
And the fear melts away,
As I finally walk free of the chains that once scarred my wrists,
My hollow body, heart, mind, soul, fills once more with joy,
And I stop to think, why now? Why here?
But I realize now, the reason for it,
I am content with myself and who I am...
After everything I've been through,
I'm stronger, stronger as a person,
Along this journey I made a friend,
Myself,
And I am good enough for me, and that's all I ever really needed.

The eyes of the unseen and unfelt
The innocence of a siren crying under water
A first kiss on a hand white like snow
A glass of red wine on a full moon night

Smoky rainy Thursday morning bringing back the seventies
The Doors playing at full volume at July’s
A ride through the never ending night, never ending warm asphalt
The recognition of feeling

A statement on insanity while standing on the ground with one foot
An eye blink filled with a ton of words
The bruise on the leg turning into a supernova
The poison path which will never ****, ever

The New York I imagined to daydream
A clear night in companion of strings and waves
The dollar got lost because loving you is free
The setting on time but not in place
The tear calming the fire with no explanation

The laughter of lost souls driven by the same motor
A sleeping beauty who lives pursuing passion
The hope to understand all these infinite bridges to the other side.