a week ago
i turned 26.

two days ago
i hurt myself again
for the first time
in four years.

this time i didn't
use the little blades
from my razor.

this time i
got more personal.
used my own fingernails
to dig deep for the life
i'm scared to live
beneath this skin.

then i took some
deep breaths in
& restarted the journey again.

sometimes it seems there’s no escape from your mind when life twists your light.
you can’t recognize yourself anymore after all your stars collide.

on the horizon of the black hole in your life full of lessons past,

a self-destructive mind remembering
the heartbreak,
the ungentle death of an interstellar cloud—

pain so hot that you explode
birthing brighter stars.

but you still feel small.

smaller than the earth you walk
that is smaller than the sun it circles
smaller than the galaxy it floats in
that is smaller than the universe they reside.

but they don’t know they’re small
and neither should you,
full of galaxies. you are a universe.

but a universe can yield violence beyond comprehension.
with every heartbreak, and with every tear,
a lesson making you think twice—

did i do this right?

these are not times you should wish to reverse,
these are just the actions of a restless universe.

simple like rain
on a window pane--
it all sounds the same
drip drops
turn to hurricanes.

simple like rain
the tree branches sway--
wind passes through
whispers secrets to me and you
as the sun sets in the afternoon.

simple like rain.

a warm cup of coffee
with cinnamon and honey

a little bitter, a little lovely

but hot as hell just the same

we go night swimming,
then wake early to watch sunrise.

blue wash
watercolor sky
and cactus-covered
rolling hills on the horizon.

only going 50 in a 45
because we want to get
there quickly, but not
too quickly.

or maybe we're just
trying to keep up.

all of these nerves--
creating wildebeest
stampedes in my
stomach.
hope they're wrong
about the future.

the fear is
consuming.
but i don't even
know why.

life's really crazy sometimes.