Daddy asked me one muggy day,
If I wanted to ride the ell again.

My attention caught the swings, for a bit,
Before turning to him and saying,

“I ain’t goin’ back to the city, Daddy,
To see Jerry or nobody,

‘Cause the city snatches my breath away,
And not in the sweet way neither.

The buildings make me feel so lost,
And, I’m lost ‘nough, as it is.

The people tell me my smile’s too warm,
For a place that eats up chills.

Can’t I stay here in your lap, forever,
And pretend to be unaware?

Listenin’ to talk of crime afar,
Glad that we’re not there?”

Daddy held my hand and stroked my hair,
‘Til it seemed as if hours flew by.

Then, he kissed, so softly, my frizzy hair,
And said, “At some point, you need to fly.”

My bowl is empty.

Bits, spits, and washed out leaves.

The curling twig swims through circles,
Drowning in broken squares that look like triangles.

Crying in Spanish dance halls,
To the smell of jagged smiles.

Leave me a piece, a whiff, a touch,
To sigh, sorrowfully, with sweet incense.

---

Sunflowers and posies,
Nuts and bolts,
Painters of all things lovely,

“Circle my heart,
Cut it deep, with an ‘x-‘
Your riches are buried forever.”

*06.2011

My cup runneth over.

Let me pour into your chalice and watch it spill into my soul.
A red, red wine, waxed old so quickly.

Give me this day and forever.

*06.2011

I see you.

Peering through your chainlink fence,
Anxious to see what’s going on outside,
But, not enough to actually come out here.

With your rickety lock and rusty old key,
Ready to lock me to your fence,
But never considering locking me behind it.

I can see the scars you fail at hiding,
From prisoners who got away.

But, why can’t you see,
That you really don’t need,
That fence or that lock,
Or that key to keep me?

Take down this fence,
And, let me step in,
To love you completely and let you breathe easy.





I do have eyes that work.

*06.2011

Three frozen nights in a row
Remind me that I’m cold.
Dinghy sheets with matching throws
Remind me that I don’t care.

Razor blades and waxless strips,
Tagged, cute underwear,
Sleepless sleeps and cereal—
Marking time.

Come here.

*06.2011

There is no light at the tunnel’s end—
Only dented cans and newspapers,
Amid discarded butts of dissatisfaction,
Strewn across broken pieces of gravel.

Empty bottles and empty hearts
Play wrestle games throughout the night—

What am I really doing here?
Who led me down this dark alley?
This alley so deceitfully painted in colours,
That, before, were all so lovely.

I’ve given up the daffodils
For chalkdust and white paper.
I’ve thrown away my careful bag,
But, now I want it back.

I want my heart to smile again.
I want myself to return.
But, this heart and this soul,
So sweet but alone
Are absent and i’ve no clue where they’ve gone.

*06.2011

Languid speech of sallow souls
Open your hearts & speak!

*06.2011

Fancy cameras and tennis nets,
Corridors so long and winding -

Remind me why we’ve gone so far,
From our time spent lost and searching.

*Regret felt prematurely is regret potentially avoided.
06.2011

Cummerbunds & cuff links,
Top hats & Armani.
P’s and Q’s donning shining shoes,
Seem to dance beneath your feet.

*06.2011

You told me that your eyes were yellow,
But, now, I see, they’re black.

You told me that you’d soon return,
But, you never did come back.

I carried with me for way too long,
Your basket of connecting rings,
Your deck of suits, and phony fruits,
And all of your performing things.

Starry-eyed in admiration,
Breath held tight for more,
Then, someone pulled your curtain down,
And revealed your quick trap door.

*06.2011

I see your wings have sprouted, dear,
And, they’ve lovely colours of every sort.

The greens that meet with shimmering blues,
Golden yellows that rival the sun’s,
Reds that yell from teeny corners,
And oranges where the yellows are done.

But, your colours can’t sing from within that jar,
Muffled so loudly - your song.

Though, I see the notes,
So, I know - I know,
You can’t stay in that jar for long.

*06.2011

I can see your fingers snatching at the surface,
And, I’m holding out my hand.

I can see your face and your silent screams,
And, I’m waiting, with my arm outstretched.

My feet are planted and my heart is set
To never leave this spot,

Because, I see you flailing & your burbles of wailing,
But, I’ve been placed here to stand and wait.

Stop screaming.
You’re dreaming.
Grab hold.

Five-pointed geometry lesson,
Abated in eternity,
Candles beating the shadows away,
Awaken.

Sweet desires sung into whiffs of hearing,
And, questions awaiting answers.

Then a familiar ear turned into a familiar voice,
I’m here, my dear, right here.

I don't want to be a speck in this ocean of humanity.
I don't want my words to be so small and obscure that even the keenest ear, still, cannot hear.
I don't want to be tossed and kicked and shoved about, like the speck I fear I am.
The speck that floats & sweeps and glides & sighs - the speck that will never be examined.

I breathe.
I live.
I mean.
I am.

I don't want to be invisible.

---

The world is one big bustle after another - people pushing and shoving, only to sleep and repeat?

I am the one you bumped into, in a race to catch the nooner to downtown Detroit.
I am the girl you stumbled past, in your rush to catch another cab.

I am the flower ******* McKenzie who sold you more marigolds.
The waitress at PJ's who asked, "More cream?"
The cashier at Aldi's who bagged your Arizona.

I am that ticket taker at Cinemark who gave you your stub and genuinely hoped you would enjoy your movie.

I am the girl you're seated by, right now.
This instant.

So close, you can hear her soft breaths;
So close, you can nearly smell her perfume;
So close, and still...
You stand.

You gather your things, get off the train, and run off to catch another, what?
Bus? Plane? Cab?

You're gone.
And, I'm here.
And, I'm still the girl;

The girl who might have been your soulmate.
But, you traded me for 15 minutes of silence and a bed you'd sleep in alone.

---

I don't want to be a speck in this ocean that is your world.
I want to be a boulder.

I want to mean something,
And be something,
And exist to you.

So, STOP.
I'm here.


"Hello."