My eyes cry out dead flowers.
Each petal is wet on the cold ground,
laying there oh so very proud.
I could stare at them for hours.

There is beauty in rotting things
Can't you see?
There is beauty in old meanings
Even if they make you bleed.

lamplight bathes
the empty street
and the constant
tick-tick-ticking
of my bicycle's chain
soothingly
fills
the silence

I am not the name upon the building
There is no shingle hung for me
But, if we walk into the forest
You'll see where it's carved upon a tree

I move in diferent circles
though I like who I've become
While my friends were busy studying
I was absorbing, having fun

I'm wrapped up in a blanket of academic non achieving
Too much time has passed me by to sit here now and grieving
I wear a cloak of non success that is a little worn
And just like me, it's tattered some and in places slightly torn
It doesn't matter one **** bit, I'm where I want to be
Making ripples in the water, that make their way out to the sea

I life life at a different speed
and Time it is my friend
Because just like those who studied hard
We're all dieing in the end

They won't outlive their building
Their name not there to see
But, deep down in the forest
My name's still on that tree

I'm wrapped up in a blanket of academic non achieving
Too much time has passed me by to sit here now and grieving
I wear a cloak of non success that is a little worn
And just like me, it's tattered some and in places slightly torn

They won't outlive their building
Their name not there to see
But, deep down in the forest
My name's still on that tree

In a tsunami of turquiose and honest
Smiles, you sing silently of
Anything but tragedies us others wave
Like flags before us,
Until asked.

The oldest young person I know,
And we laugh together across
The oceans between us.
Making noise; annoying haters.
We could be the coolest cats in the world,
If we cared to.

But we'd rather curl up under
My raindeer- and sheep skins by the  
Fire. I'll temper mead; it'll warm you.
We could watch snow falling, lit from the window
By which it fell. Then suit up in the morning

And make angels and snowmen with the landlord's  
Daughter. I'll throw so many snow ***** in the
Back of your head you'll be curly for
Months. Trust me. I'm Norwegian.
You're dead...

You'd love it. Summers are green and blue.
Life in the city electric.
Ice cream and cold, cold beer.
Out here, so quiet you can hear a thousand birds, a
Myriad of scents; freshness; organic.

This could be our happy place. Our
Safe Haven; our Sweet Away.
I'd read to you.
Write about you.
We'd paint together in the fall.
When all is red and auburn.

But there's distance between us
As wide as worlds.
For now I'll enjoy it alone.
Arms open on
Demand.

You have to stay where your life is.
And myself without the pleasure of
Making all your worries whisper away on the wind.

Girl, may you never be cold. Never sad again.
May the life you are so full of
Repay you with bliss.
With love.
With laughter. Oceans of giggles and hugs in
The sunshine.

I wish you so well it hurts. Yes,
I may think you are some sort of magic woman.
Everything you touch
Loves you.

I've measured her right
Little toe. It's exactly 16mm.
When she grinds her teeth in her
Sleep, just rub her jaw gently.
She'll stop without
Waking up.

If you read to her in bed, she'll
Watch you wide eyed from
Your shoulder; study your features
As you speak.
She'll stop you if you lose her
Between two words she doesn't
Quite understand.
She'll thank you for explaining.
She's worth it.

She's allergic to sugar, dairy, gluten
And eggs. I'll mail you a hundred
Recipes I've created for her.
Tell you all the tricks
So I know she'll eat.
You get used to the hassle.
She's worth it.

She's crazy about cartoons.
Let her watch them; seeing her
Laugh beats the game
Hundredfolds.
She'll love you for letting her
Read for hours and tell you about
The story.
She'll be so beautiful
When concentrating.
Give her space. Yours included.
She's worth it.

Let her grow.
Let her learn in her own time.
Let her be who she is.

She was weaker before me.
Now she's strong enough
To stand up and do the right thing,  
Though both our hearts broke
In the process.

If she goes, let her.
Help her out, send her off
With blessings.
Say to yourself I'd rather see her
Happy without me than
Unhappy here. You'll
Mean it.

You'll cry your eyes out
And scream at the skies. Then
Thank God for every minute
You spent as her man.
They were worth it.

I want to kiss you so fiercely that I finally understand the depth at which I fall and the height at which you rise. I will meet you again, even still —in the center of it all ("Like a ring."); the two of us caught in a tangled mass of scarlet cord, wound and knotted so tightly around us that I almost feel indistinguishable from you. ("Two bodies, two lives, one soul.") I can feel all that red humming and chanting beneath my ribcage like a war song, running through my veins to deliver to my heart a desperate echo of longing.

I still see the boy in the baggy trousers playing in the sand,
With a rubber ball in one hand, and in the other my tiny hand.
‘Hold hands so that you don’t lose each other,’ Mum screams from the gate.
The four-toothed grin of my favourite playmate.

I still see the boy with the ‘lucky’ green wrist band,
Who crossed the street with me on the first day of school- hand in hand.
And tugged at my neat pigtails from the bench behind me,
The mischievous smile of a schoolboy- so carefree.

I still see the boy with the bow tie, standing six feet tall,
Who held my hand as we made our way across the resplendent hall.
We danced and swayed till the clock declared it time to part,
The dreamy, flirtatious smile of a high school sweetheart.

Now, I see the man in the turquoise suit so grand,
As man and wife they leave the church; he gently holds her hand.
‘…hold hands so that you don’t lose each other,’
The desolate smile of a helpless narrator.

It takes a thousand reasons to recover, but only one to relapse.