I either remember
Far too much
Or far too little
And there is no
In between

I realized just today
that we can never be real
that we must stay
imaginary

for inside my head there are no problems
within us
or in
our imaginary world
I only hear our laughter, see our smiles
in place of anger and tears

inside my head I'm never scared
for you or me, you and me
everything is flawless
we talk, and then we see

the truth
each other
everything clear

and in the real world, well
there are sharp edges on which we will trip
knives that we will create and use to cut ourselves
practicalities
of my fear and shame

things that would never exist inside my head

so thus, with a heavy heart
I must keep us imaginary
so that we
can
never
be

real

there wasn't something
but there also
wasn't nothing

and now the gates to my heart have flown open

I turned your letter away from me
I can no longer see the content.
All I have
Is a shell of your words
That I hope
to throw out
some day

Your sentence
Meant
The world
To me...
                                      
                    ­                 Yet it
                                     Was said
                                     So long ago

I know
I’m not supposed to
Cling to the past
But I can’t
Get ahold
Of the present

Sit in the back seat of the taxi
Keep your legs crossed
Or if you have to walk at night
Eyes stay wide, don’t get lost
Have 911 at the ready
Keys between your fingers
Walk fast, move quickly
It is best not to linger
Make sure you know where to aim
The eyes, crotch, and nose
When they shout
foul things at you
Keep walking, you know
where to go

Zip up that jacket
Tug down that skirt
For you are a woman on the street
Stay safe, and stay alert