20 years I’ve lived
And I still feel like a kid
I told him this
And he said, with ignorant bliss

But you’re a woman
You certainly look
Like a woman

And something about
What he said
Or how he said it
Or how he looked at me
Made my skin itch
And my stomach turn

I couldn’t hide
How my smile dropped
For the sudden realization
That I was simply something
Pretty to look at
Stripped me to my bones

Oh, how can a man
Drain your humanity
With just a few words?

at the end of the world,
when the future isn't looming above us
all we will have is each other
and beneath the night sky
we can watch the world turn
and relive the bitter melancholy
of what once was

-a poem for my sister

i had a dream of us
aged like the finest wine,
one comes to the other
looking for the knowing glances
and careful smiles

underneath all of
the time we spent apart
lays a love so untouched
and so bright
it may blind us both

Today, a simple day
I like to start my day with someone gentle and sweet,
Who only needs a little extra sleep
Who I’ll be extra quiet for when I zip my things

Fluttering in and out of sleep, I can’t predict when you finally speak
                        “Are you going on a walk?”
                        “Not yet, darling.”

Sleep, darling.

---

Yesterday, you held me when I cried
And looked at me in a way that made me
Want to kiss you, wondering when
I’ll stop being so scared

I’ll keep thinking of the way
You looked at me and the way
I had to look away, scared
Of what I’d do

Too many thoughts and the wrong state of mind kept me from loving you yesterday.

---

Today, you told me you dreamt
Of kissing, something vague and hazy enough
To remind me not to tell you
That I dreamt the same last night.

Between my usual fevered dreams, there you were.

---

I think I’ll be OK.
Nothing to repent for.
No shame left to carry.

The years had brought me here.
It has been a far walk.
But it’s time I took a breather.
Just to muster a look back.

Many were shed along the way.
Perhaps met with many a forked path.
Or simply that the ticks of the hands
had decided different for them.

I’d dug deep,
and I’d seen you…
Amongst several others.

Making your mark
at every checkpoint.

I haven’t been alone.
And I’ll never be…

As long as you’re here,
making these marks with me.

May our verses sow seeds of kindness and care.

And let compassion be a reward we all can share.