I heard them,
lots of them
out on the Altiplano,
crying out,
screaming
to the brilliant stars.

And in my heart,
I knew they
had once understood
happiness.

I know I'm clingy, I latch on like a starfish, but at least I'm not a stingray, I won't strike when you least expect it, my only motive is to love you and it's the farthest thing from hidden. Maybe that's the problem. I tried to be a little more quite, shelter my thoughts so you wouldn't take off running but what I need from you is a roof over my head, cause I can't provoide it for myself when my words are protecting you like an umbrella during a rain storm. I've always loved you in waves and lately everyday has been a hurricane. But as I bite my tongue I find that my heart is cracking like the ground severs in the middle of a drought. I can not swim against the current and you are uncertain, and unsteady like the Nile River. Eighty percent of our bodies are made up of water, it's about time you let the flood gates down and opened your mouth.
-Kahla Mercadante

I left my soul in a hospital room. I left her swaying to the rhythm of a failing heart, of a flat line, of sloppy “I’m sorry”s, and final goodbyes. I left her. I left my soul in a hurricane. I left her singing with the rhythm of the wind. I left her drowning, swimming, sinking, grasping, clinging. I left her empty with shattered windows, boarded up, and breaking down. I left her. I left my soul somewhere between "I meant it" and "I'm sorry." I was just wondering if you could return her soon.

You saw me smile
I hid my pain
You heard me laugh
The tears you never saw
You held me tight
You never knew i wanted to run
You watched me sleep
You never saw the nightmares
You heard me sing
The anger you never felt
You thought i was happy
How wrong you were
You never knew

How could I have expected you to hear
yourself--damaged--

when everything
was screaming

that I was the siren

drawing you
to a trap

even though--reluctantly--
I always told you I only sang to pass the time