In the town up north
They hide the sons and daughters
Who seek refuge under the light of the setting sun
The children who hide
From sons of daughters pregnant with absinthe
Heavy with intoxication
And daughters of sons looming with angry fists
Guns fiery with magazines of threats

When they see no one’s home
Sons of daughters head west
They proclaim "we’re not needed here"
Daughters of sons head east
They cry "we’re not acknowledged here"
So when the children return
The house has moved down southward

When they leave for their own
Easts and wests on their foggy compasses
History trips them on the feet of new strangers
In a murky, yellowed sea of foul leftovers
They make unions on flimsy wooden boats
But when they return home as the sun disappears
Their children have been taken along with the light

SUBURBAN CACOPHONY
is a mother yelling over the sound of the dishwasher
hanging grapes that dry against the yolk-orange wall
the local boy with mud under his nails
and the girl that smells like new york city
loud sunlight upon the hush still river
brown rust eating up white paint
father's office suit in the back of his dusty Jeep
screeching tires that tear past red-light lines
blood red sprinkles on the roadside's white daisies
birthday cake swallowed in tears

don't let these worlds collide,
they say -
for it only brings chaos
suburban cacophony hurts your ears
with a truth ugly to the eyes
leaves an imprint
like a sharp pendant pressed to the chest

this is a city of pain
buried under sunrises and sunsets
but not forgotten in its heart

dawn casts a light on the cross across the rocks
while lady peace illuminates on her own in the night
bright yellow flowers lie at the foot of stones
and a peaceful shine graces the water surface

paint a dark red on the history book
but it continues on with its telling

My arms are tingling with nervous energy
There are too many words swimming in my head
WRITE THEM DOWN, my mind yells
But the water’s too murky
And the waves much too turbulent
I can’t find them
Where are they where where where
The thoughts are vehicles of reckless drivers
Speeding, screeching, crashing
Are you sane -
Maybe the medicine’s working -
It’s been 2 weeks, right -
Write it down -
The medicine should’ve kicked in -
You’ll feel emptier than before -
I knew since Year 1 -
Just a thought -
Are you okay -
Is mum still mad at me -
I don’t know -
Are you going to pass -
Is something wrong -
I like your art -
Would she appreciate my art -
Why is my head so full of noise -
Should it be this way though -
I don’t know -
Why don’t you know anything for sure -
I don’t know!
Leering, laughing, screaming
Thought the noise was from the hairdryer
So I flipped the switch off
But the noise didn’t go away
It’s all in your head, dummy
Looks like your medicine’s working
Shouldn’t have taken in that caffeine this morning
You’re always in my head
I can feel my heartbeat at my fingertips
Throbbing with frustration and fear
I bite my tongue
And this doesn’t feel good
But I don’t know what to do about it
And neither does anyone.

let loose, darling, they told me
so they sent me an angel
with blue flowers in his hair and
just a drop of devilish mischief

in the light of day we'd be
over the hills
where spring flourishes and dances
and flowers are akin to watercolour
splatters upon a green canvas;
or at the stream
watching the water run almost nervously
while fish slip through the waters
like the wind through my hair

in the dead of night we'd be
on the roof
discussing the constellations in the sky
how the stars intertwine --
and are they all friends with the moon?
he'd ask and I'll laugh at the question
because i didn't have the answer to it;
or in the attic by ourselves
where we shouldn't be, with our
lips interlocked, his hands on my jaw
and mine at the back of his head
pulling each other close at an ungodly hour
pretending nothing would go wrong
if they caught us in this unholy act

then the time came
when they said they'd take him
away from the hills, the stream,
the stars and from me -
and I wondered how I would do
without him, for would I be lonely
with the blue sunshine he'd leave behind
or would I be anything but that?

he was my sun in the day
and my moon in the night
and so i had an answer to his question:
he loved the stars dearly
and I knew the stars
would love him
so the moon would be friends
with the stars and all of the stars
would gladly be friends with the moon

the boy laughed at my answer
he kissed me on the cheek
and told me he'd be back
for the hills, the stream,
the stars, and for me

and so I had my blue sunshine to myself
for a long time after that
but I well knew that it wouldn't last
for as long as the moon
was still friends with the stars