I took a walk with you
to escape my mind
your smile was so sincere

In the cool night air you held me tight
but I tripped on a sigh
and exploded like a star
scorching the sky
lighting the dark

And now I exist in the space behind your ribs
and as your chest rises and falls
I'll remain like your last pocket of breath.

I mistook your smile for the moon
and like a sailor lost at sea
you became my North
I let you take me to the edge of the world
and as the clouds stole you from me
I unstitched my heart and used
the needle of my broken compass
to point me home again.

She wears a fine cloak of mist
I take her hand and she leads me
through a forest of glowing eyes
the branches sigh
brushing and scratching against our naked legs
as the stars dance like fireflies
streaking magik against God's velvet canvas
I wonder where we are
and how the moonlight dances upon her silken hair
she stops to stare
and then I realise
it was me
all along
I was the girl with transparent skin
lithe and glowing from within.

Find me
in a place not too far away
where dreams float
and the stars dance in a velvet galaxy
where my wings may unfold
and I will soar
upon a tempest of hope.

Ocean waves rising and falling
she is breathing
   she is alive
and the midday sun kisses her great blue expanse
hitting her skin
  setting diamonds ablaze
forget the sunburn
forget its sweet sting
with a look in your eyes
nothing compares
  and nothing ever will.

My desperate hands
search for the answers
lost in the brambles
among the valleys
and peaks
and soft arches of your sigh
looking for the key to a heart
I once lost in a frenzy
of lust
and profanity.

I bared for you my all
and you took me to the oceans edge
washed me clean of my sins
you scrubbed the scars, dug out the hurt
till I was raw
and then you set me free, again
but were I to do anything else but return
chained
and bound to you.

Did you know
the Northern Lights
they twist, roll and dance
all over the sky
before disappearing
like a gentle tease
without a trace?

But they do return
night after night
unlike you
a night visitor
haunting my dreams
spectres of light
of whiskeyed breath and rosy lips.

come Closer
but remember The First time when
I Was A Fool
… A Fool To Cry
”I Know I Know I Know”
my displaced pride exclaims
but Back In Your Head
i’m Walking With A Ghost
who whispers sweetly, “Goodbye, Goodbye”
maybe once i was your Heartthrob
but you kept shouting, “I’m Not Your Hero”
and the echoes reverberate against the stained glass windows of my heart
Where Does the Good Go
when things fall apart?
and Now I’m All Messed Up
and So Jealous refusing to Call It Off
the unnecessary flirting and asking for My Number
because i never claimed to be an angel
and the Dark Comes Soon
but you were well versed in This Business of Art
the art of illusion
but in spite of my warning that You Wouldn’t Like Me much
you went ahead and canonised me
and with that Sainthood i tried to Fix You Up with clumsy hands
frustrated I Can’t Take It
so stepping away i ask myself,
”How Come You Don’t Want Me?”
this relegation to my own version of Hell
when Freedom feels more like Dancing In The Dark
spinning wildly in your Living Room
and Under Feet Like Ours, broken glass
your hand holds me like the vice grip of an Alligator's bite
and when i was younger you always Drove Me Wild
as Love They Say
sometimes feels like kissing Underwater
to discover one another was like studying the Floor Plan of your heart
If It Was You, there would be me
and This Is Everything that we would need
i would be that Shock To Your System
the North Shore claiming lost ships like strangers embracing long lost lovers.

Fluorescent lights and lonely eyes
this bar is full of smoke and the smell of stale cigarettes
there's another fool getting into a fight
spilled beer leads to a broken face
and through a cloud of smoke
you walk in like you're looking for me
in the corner booth
you're drawing hearts on the palm of my hands
connecting straight to my heart
it feels all too familiar and I get up to leave
you reach over and whisper,
"we ain't no good for each other but we ain't made for no one else"
and I'm walking away
with you right behind me
I smile because you know I say with every sway
let's do
what lovers do
we'll hold each other
in parentheses,
your curves
holding onto mine
in perfect alignment
even if
it's only pretend.

Once again, after the rampage is through
you ask me to stay
in the chaos of regret that ensues
you swear that you'll change,
and this willing fool readily falls to pieces
all my defenses crumble and collect at your feet
as I lose sight of the things that i want
to the blinding need
and guilty desires
laid bare in your eyes.

I sat and watched the bustling intersection. Our favourite cafe, our favourite lamp post, our favourite brownstone and tenement. All those people carelessly walking by not even remotely aware of the memories we carved out on these city sidewalks. This here is home. Home as reflected through the transient beauty of a stranger’s smile. Where do the lonely go to when everything reminds me of you?

They say that truth hurts
and maybe it should
because sometimes
we need a punch in the throat
something to wake us up
from this drunken stupor
we continue living
day in, day out
like how you walk around believing
that no one understands you
you feed yourself pretty little lies
it starts off hard to swallow
but with time, a lie becomes a fact
and how convincing you can be
and the crease on your forehead
grows deeper with every day
although secretly you have to admit
it amuses you that people even care
maybe it is our fault
our fault for feeding your petulance
feeding it with care and compassion
you must feel so proud of yourself
for fooling the naïve denizens
because well,
snap your fingers
a dozen shoulders-to-cry-on appear like magic
or maybe your boyfriend tells you you're perfect
and you don't have to change a thing
maybe your girlfriend swears your parents are insane
"it's your life, you should do what you want"
***** that,
society itself is wrong
nobody gets you like you get yourself
and don't you wish everyone would just mind their own ****** business
but here's the thing
look at yourself right now
what do you see
you think that frown is cool
or is it really the truth
does society really have it against you
maybe the problem is you
for once have you ever stopped and wondered
could it be that I'm wrong
and they're right
because no matter how irritating your parents may be
they're the only ones you've got
not all parents are good
sure, but what about yours
she carried you for nine months
has she ever asked you for back dated rent
has she ever complained that you wrecked her body
leaving her with stretch marks and flabby skin
has he ever asked for a refund on your education
how about when he had to wash your backside
or when you soiled his shirts with your tears and snot
and you're listening to your boyfriend or girlfriend over them
what does someone you met 3 months, 6 months, 1, 2 or even 3 years ago know about you
maybe,
just maybe
you're wrong and they're right.

She's magik
and I am spellbound
caught in a web
spun of her beauty in madness,
and if she would believe me
I would tell her that her eyes shine
brighter than the wheat fields
that glisten in the midday sun.

I’m starting to forget
the little things about you
and how I said I’d never forget
I’m starting to forget
on a cellular level
the feeling I felt when your hand was in mine
and like tendrils of mist
your memory snakes away
slipping through my delicate fingers
but it is nugatory, wasted effort
like holding a phantom, praying day won’t come
because you are a shadow
slowly fading into the light.

Frisson;
A disproportionate use of allure
you smile and I shiver with thrill
a kiss like a gun
baby you've got a license to ****.

This is about a dream
where we sing in bookstores
and coffee houses
thick with swirls of cigarette smoke

maybe we're laying on blankets
on a moonless rooftop night
I'm watching fireworks
exploding in your eyes

with you there beside me
your warmth keeps me whole
as we dig through old photographs

I let you laugh
at how chubby I used to be
it's unusual

you walked in from the cold
and your nurturing smile
makes me feel safe.

Stand under the red neon of that dingy bar. Use it’s flicker to still your heartbeat and tell me the things you can’t as you peel the label off your empty Copenhagen bottle.

Elegantly she floats
into my atmosphere
lace like blown in
a curtain riding the cool night wind
she’s nebulous and naked
and I wonder where she’s been.

The night she spills her sweet secrets
like dripping nectar
which collect like starlight in your hair,
as you sit and watch
wide eyed and amazed
at the wonders of the heavens above
they sparkle for you,
a spectacle
the magik of the cosmos
unfurling like the wings of an angel.

Sometimes I wonder
do you think of me
the way I think of you
or has time
tarnished us
into the blurred edge
of yesterday's memories.

Nothing beats a heartbreak
clenched fists and sweaty palms
gasping for air
on the bedroom floor
we cling to caricatures drawn with shaky hands
but who expects an honest portrait
laughing and yelling
under those conditions, you internalise them
no one said you had to be a superhero
when as you gaze out that train window
just remember
it’s the reflection that’s blurry
and not you.

Your smile is electric
setting off
lightning strikes

inside my heart
shattering my beliefs
shaking my walls

breaking my resolve
bringing this human
to her knees.

Feeling useless after those embraces
rapt in a nightmare dripping in gold.
The dark is tempting like the allure of sphinxes
as a nervous insomnia keeps me in the cold.
Levels of hysteria begin to boil over
with the same gravity he becomes her obsession.
This shadow play is replaced as a new lover
take my heart and begin its castration.

All the while
I was holding on
while you kissed me
with open eyes
searching for an exit
trying your ****** hardest
to break the ties that bind.

As dew drops sparkle like diamonds on the grass, the morning mist descends blanketing the ground and making me dream. I see the sky burn the the colour of a subtropical twilight and beyond the horizon are mountains devastated by harsh winds which work on the nerves and leave you a trembling wreck.

A cricket's call
a hooting owl
and the moon it shines
like a lantern overhead

but as you sleep
I lay awake
       wondering,

in who's arms
you're in tonight.

Maybe really all we are
is con artists,
magicians good with words
lucky enough to find some fool
who thinks what we say
is worth something.

The ceiling fan
stirs up the night
twirling shadows in the dark
I close my eyes
and feel your heartbeat
knowing for sure
you're out there somewhere
falling asleep
listening to mine.

I want to consume you
I want to singe you
let my flames lick you
tattoo my touch on your skin
in a insatiable controlled burn.

You're drinking wine
from the chalice of pleasure
could it be
that to you
love was always
more of an afterthought?

I was looking for A Hero
never suspecting
you were just
another soul fraught.

Is your heart so big
that you needed a compass
to find your way
to where my love was stored?

Is your heart so big
that you needed to fill each room
with anyone whose smile
was wider or brighter than your own?

Is your heart so big
that you had so much love to share
that you couldn't shower
all of it on me?

Is your heart so big
that you thought you could
invest in love
and spend it on two souls equally?

Is your heart so big
that you thought you could keep
me from the truth
that your heart
wasn't big enough for me?

Life has its small moments
commonplace beliefs that have become significant
But your heart aches with wonderlust
to escape reality for a moment
and embark on countless journeys,
cathartic and empowering.

So what happens when someone falls for you?
I am no longer able to be who I used to be
See, I’m fixated on the next step
I’m that someone who’s into you
And I’ll linger on the small moments
and reminisce the fleeting glances
in the hopes that there is something bigger
something much better
waiting in the hazy lazy days of the future.

Wandering through your mind
sifting through precious memories
I am the intrepid traveller,
indulging in an **** of sightseeing.

This is a poem about someone else
so don’t look away
don’t hurt yourself
(when you look in their eyes)
you might see me staring back
I am the mirror
and you’ve picked out the devil in the details
so grab hold of the one you love
and tell them that with every touch
     you feel the sun rise from your hips
tell yourself it isn’t a sin
that you’re still moved by the tornadoes I stoked
     when I stroked your skin
and we could be so wrong together
like the stars and the moon
  destined to outshine the other
but we can never be right for anyone else
(but) this is a poem about someone else
and if you’re on your own
don’t look away
don’t hurt yourself.

By only moon light
I want you to read me like a book
trace your fingers along my spine

and discover the passages
written just for you
breathe in the scent of secrets

hidden between the sheets
as you count the freckles on my skin
a constellation leading me home to you.

This is a heart
It buckles and comes unfastened

By trembling hands that search and *****
For words escaped through languid lips

Whispered promises left scattered in tussled sheets
Turn to pearls and diamonds under the weight of worn heartbeats

Like a single raindrop in a sea of emotion
Bury our sin in the slum of a broken heart

Seduction is love
And love becomes lust.

Your eyes flash like mirrored lightning
a fire that burns of drowsy desire
those somnambulant romances
heavy and damp
where hope grows in a meadow of whispers
like the alchemist and doyen of deconstruction
it echoes in twilight’s caress
willingly a bolt is unhinged
breathed out heavily between sighs
when passion ignites the plumes of incandescent liquid ash
and untethered silhouettes
find ease and comfort in the contours of shadows
transforming a dimly lit cabin
into a paradise of colours
and hastily made promises.

Sepia tints an old photograph
that I’d forgotten I took
in it we were holding hands,
smiling like fools
as our Blind Fingers danced a pirouette
gracefully, nonchalant
I remember your eyes as they idly traced
the outlines of my face
and how your tongue was like the ocean
and my lips the shores it died upon.

And now I see, we are but tiny bubbles that float upon the great blue ocean. Some of us struggle so hard against the tides that it would seem easier to just give up and let them take you under. And then there's you. You caught the light and shine like a diamond. Proud and beautiful, defiant and brave.

Morning sits close on the horizon
and as dew starts to frost
a lovers kiss is cleansed from my lips
as memories once so vivid
begin to be forgot,

another night is wasted
as streaks of rouge paint the skies
I'll bid you farewell once again
and wait for darkness to return,

for in the night I am the rain
bleeding tainted words and spilt ink onto ****** sheets.

Your silence hits me
like a strong right hand
a 100 lb sock to eye
and it's coming in crystal clear
how about you take a big breath
and swig of honesty
because right now
we're standing at a crossroads
and this fragile heart
isn't so fragile anymore.

I followed your eyes
and they have led me astray
help me I'm free falling
like confetti from your lips
won't you catch me
or the winds will carry me away.

You can preoccupy your mind with every new girl that you touch
keep a list, keep a tab, keep yourself busy
but you know that you're just trying to find me in every one of them.

Go ahead blame it on someone, blame it on me
say that my tummy is too flabby, my thighs are too big
and my elbows are too rough
but see,
those are the very things you look out for in every new person you meet.

And why can't you sleep at night even when she's in your arms
the quiet of your room is an oppressive screaming silence
because my sighs were the only sounds able to put you to sleep.

Friends tell me you don't look at the stars anymore because you've found them in her
you can lie to them and you can lie to yourself
but the truth is, you don't look because you told me that my eyes held the galaxies
and you would forever be lost in mine.

So fill your mouth with different poems and different verses and different words
tell your new addiction how metaphors form from the curve of her lips
but you know it's my spit that rises at the back of your throat because you still long for the taste of my mouth on yours.

One day
( hoping )
the wind will give wings
to my words
so they may touch you
until then they mark the
d   i   s   t   a   n   c   e
between you and my captive heart.

It’s better not to look
at the heartache
the nameless, faceless pain
but I see you everywhere
a sight to behold
in funny coincidences
as I think of beauty,
I only see you.

You break me into pieces
yet I cry, “hold me now”
now that I’m bare and vulnerable
without the sparkling
sunset hue
that youth bestows
I need you to see me now
as you saw me then.

So as you wrap your coat around you to leave
I will be
the taste that remains
of a bittersweet story
the vessel to pour yourself into
when hope becomes dim
and you need a place to hide.

A collision of two stars
a clash of two realities
the pages of your notebook is filled with gems that fall carelessly from your lips
like metaphors that come and go
bouyed up with photographs put into words
your imagination is your detachment from reality
and this makes you fascinating and intriguing
like drinking coffee under the stars
or staring into the rainbow reflections of a soap bubble
If she’d let me,
I’d step into her world
just to see how she became such a hopeless romantic
If she’d let me,
I’d hold her heart in my hands and feel how heavy it is
Like an iceberg that floats upon her ocean
Weary like poison in my blood
I’ll wade through her waters
and feel salty despair crashing at my feet
I’ll stare into the endless infinity of her liquid brown eyes
and search
for the faintest hint of my own reflection
staring back at me.

I can't look at you without feeling hurt
but in time
  I may find
that I love you more
(than I ever should have)
   with time,
  strange how a hairline crack
can sometimes feel
like multiple fractures.

Quieten your mind and steady your heartbeat
Close your eyes and listen
The wind she howls
And lightning paints streaks across the skies
The mountains they tremble
And thunder she rolls
I am unafraid and yet, moved to tears
This life is an adventure in your abode
You my Earth,
I am still
Deciphering your code.

Everyone says
it’s going to hurt now
before it gets better
but I don’t think
I can wait that long
or maybe
I just don’t want to let go.
I’d rather have something
than go on
with nothing.