Awake to radiant hues
Sweet sunrise lullabies
Cherry red underbelly

Take me to your home in the cold night
Let us dance a fearless catwalk

Don’t hide in silence
Let’s dance
A naked truth uncovers us aloud

Today I speak with heavy heart
Red as the crimson drips after picking up pieces of shattered glass
I sat for an hour or so on my kitchen floor a broken soul
Have I failed you? Because I know I failed myself
What else is there to do after a war torn path leaves nothing but dust and ash?
I am on all fours in grief
Numbness to the pain has worn off
I am open
But am I free?
I hope I can repair these damages
I want my future to be free
But for now all I can do is pray for air

Peaceful mountain
Silver stone fox
Sweet honey glaze peach drip
No restraint on blue keys
Secretly blinded by you
Don’t resist it too long
It will eat you away

Why was he so trusting of his intuition?

In an ever changing world of gold, glamour, greed and girls
He leads me further astray

At times I struggle to fight back
On nights where my mind is clouded by the night cap

Finger waves under your hat point to the picture on your night stand—“I like that”

Knight standing guard of my queen
Pardon the interruption while I intervene in your dreams and navigate to king

Hand in hand on shared alter
Of our worlds colliding like the memories of the last conversations with my father

Together we prosper
In a better life
Entice in our passion

Sunflower daydream
Poppy seed fields like the Sundance Film Festival
Where to go when one is incomplete?
Black-eyed Susan complimentary as the colors of your skin your hair your eyes
Hydrangea honeysuckle hubris
My meditating mantra of you soothes me
Like my third floor studio apartment yoga class
Red rose, violet drum
White peonies pantry I dip my hands in
I cradle that craving every night as the sun rises and the moon sets

Words in your curves
Soft as rhythm and blues
Langston Hughes piano keys and sultry jazz
Neo-soul gold

The protagonist of my dreams—ride of my life
Valley peaks in the distance
Metaphors speak what our bodies cannot
We wonder why I’m back to my old ways
...Why violet vibrations take heed
If only
If only

Why can’t I shake you?
Why can’t I let you go?
“Is this scale accurate?”
Perplexed I let it go
But not you
Not Chicago
So natural warning me before I entered
Assuring me before nightfall
Are you trapped inside of me forever?
5 am on a Wednesday
You come to me as I stare past save the dates

Rain gently knocks on my window
The door is shut
Silence finds a way to sneak in

Blankets warm my body
Mind overflowing with thoughts racing at 100 miles per hour
Rain
Rain
Rain again

My pencils breath timed perfectly to the trains persistent horn
Chest caving in and filling it’s lungs

I believe I long for love
Pulled back as I try and run
Eyes peeking through my soul
I try to run
Ease on by
It won’t last forever

I believe I won’t find love anymore
My thoughts aggravating
Irrational beliefs

I believe I will find love
Through the painful connections

One day I hope for love
Hopefully I’ll get my wish

She is the labyrinth
With wings spread far and wide

She is the eclipse
Half moon; shuddered stars

Be different
Her womb is as fragile as the crown she wears

For all that you’ve done
And for everything I’ve become
Not once did I imagine
Nectar tasting so sweet
South of the draw
And behind closed doors
We match eye to eye
Facing each other
Or
Fading away

I woke up numb on a Saturday
Publishers metaphor seeping through the cracks
Don’t let go of my crawling skin

Longing for that message that never comes
And finally we’re back again
Take control now

Earn my love
Earn my soul

I met a woman who I felt was more important than all the women I had met before her.

Letting go of my previous life was the only way I could ensure I had the longest time on earth with her.

It was the end
Until you showed again
Memories combine with suppressed feelings

I was supposed to keep away
Aloof
But I got lost in your grace
I lied...I can’t pretend
I’m just trying to understand what I can’t comprehend—what I can’t contain

The fall came too quick
My landing wasn’t soft enough
Now I’m blind running through a dark, rough path

She sighs slowly, I breath heavily
Shaken up on my knees confused and weak

I wish I could take back this wish and turn back time
What happened was never supposed to be
Maybe it should’ve...but not to me
I need to stop questioning myself and find some new excuses

Time to start life over
And find something new
In my next lifetime