The waves in your dark hair
that catch the light
that gives it shades of brown
as it falls around your face
and lands softly on your shoulders
reveal your tiger eyes.

they pierce the soul of its prey
peering into its past lives
skinned and naked to your gaze
as you savor the taste of its flesh
blood coloring your savage lips.

you're the top of the food chain.
there's nothing delicate about you.
other men would long for your body.
I'm forever haunted by your face,
the prey to your tiger eyes.

Sam@042117

I drove to nowhere
This is where I found you

there
I find while
sitting waiting
on it

a peace
tender bit
a slivered fragment
of what I seek

though finding
might be a ******
the search is
also abiding

for if I found
the treasure
the it
I might just die
in ecstasy

her smiles brought enough joy to make the sun rise;
her hair was the night sky with occasional caramel streaks
and there were endless fields of sunflowers in her eyes.
her voice was liquid silk that filled the doubtful abyss,
but should you anger her would start a storm, yet still,
at the end of the day,
she'll come into your room to tuck you in and give you a good night kiss.

the wind laughed with us as we made silly faces
at the ghosts under my bed and the monsters in my closet,
she pulled them out and filled herself into the empty spaces.
the ocean waves sang symphonies as we ostensibly
walked along trails of light and picked apples in the midnight city.
the snow whispered as we taught ourselves ballet,
we splashed into puddles of pearls as if we were mermaids;
we were our own superheroes that saved the day.
the leaves on the trees fluttered as we cut up sundresses and skirts
for my glowing red bear and princess barbie dolls
that danced in the rain and rolled around in the dirt.
the ladybugs cheered as we watched movies under a blanket of stars,
we ate cake and giggled on a bed of light in the dark,
and before she left for the night,
she slipped a handful of quarters into my hand and tucked her orchids into my arm.

there came a time when her headlights faded;
her own ghosts and monsters took over and left her jaded.
i couldn't tell, between the hospital gowns and jackson-pratt drains,
if she would get better, because remembering her pain
could possibly be my only memories of her that really remain.
the monsters carried her away, their stomps leaving the world,
my world, tilted;
and as i stumbled, i awakened a once-placid cumulonimbus.
the rain seeped through my umbrella and her orchids wilted.

the monsters felt sorry and took her to a kingdom of golden clouds.
they gave her wings and breathed harp strums into her lungs
and her breast
and her liver
and she suddenly emulated the sun and that made the monsters proud.
from the kingdom above, she looks down on my father and my two little brothers.

and though it feels like was all just a dream,
the woman that loved me the most was my mother.

kiss the loneliness your heart feels
the forever pain
that is really not forever
it’s okay
if you used to love a bed
a home
that isn’t there anymore
it’s okay
to feel small  
it’s okay
to hate yourself
the longing you feel
needs a smile
and your kisses
will make you realize
the different existences
that were once a broken home
sad and hurt
are not just an innocent human
a soul full of wonder
a moment moving slowly
that leaves your arms
not so lonely
anymore

it is better to forget the lonely
to stop holding the form’s presence
in sadness
in a hope that seems to be constantly
far from the surface
but comes in
tasting like water
instead of blood
looking like a lovely warmth
and perfection
that can only be found through tears
and a certain touch
aching fingers
outside the breadth of the home
reaching closer
to a new, sure death
changing into kind, sweet branches
that quietly beckon stronger reasons
for living
and finally
your bones will believe
that they exist to be soft
under their flesh
and that dreams are able to actually
exist outside of despair
outside of rain
and outside of fear and blood

In this tightly interwoven
tapestry of
           silks and cottons
softness upon stems
an intricately-*****
                     journey
manifesto of life
        I find myself in
patchwork landscapes
of ochre and
rust turning
           turquoise
earthern shades
of cumin and cardamom
cloves and coriander
piquant red of paprika
alighting the senses
My fingers reach out
to sift the powder
to crush
fragrant fronds
of fresh basil and oregano
upon the blueprint of tips
allow their scent
to permeate my skin
and infuse tissue
                of tongue and lips
and I seem to be
in this
           bustling marketplace
my blood afire like
dried ghost pepper
searing and brightening
all flavors
fenugreek and asafoetida
to soothe the ache
of emptiness
chervil and chive
to get juices flowing
I want to slit open
vanilla pods
get at the beans
revel in their essence
wear it all over me


In this realm of spice
and paradise
I am flying,
a magic carpet of dreams
unrolling before me
like an unfurled flag
of new existence
The sounds of hagglers,
fading in raw visons
of shiny apple colors
olives piled high
textures of smooth cherry
budded broccoli
of walnut wrinkles
aroma of guava

Music takes over
I am in a cloud of
oud and lute
syncopated tabla
bells and rumbling
taut skin drum beats
Or is that long low whir
simply my heart purring
to the cadence of
       freedom's call?

I only know
that in the whisk
of a second's split
I will savor the flight
and also the
                fall

her marble features beckoned to be broken
seized by palms, sculpted to crack
jaded lips stained by cerise and bloodied causalities
parting in a feint fruition of compulsion
obsidian gaze, lidded regard of carnal inferno
tearing his pulse apart with egotistical teeth
bestowing the incorruptible mark of possession
upon his blindly bared throat

half empty, half full
cup runneth over.
campfire and lambs wool,
abounding moreover.
cloudy nights and coffee grind,
dominate my thoughts.
stargazing, mind-blazing
mid-afternoon plots.
flower picking, field wandering
wherever the wind may take us.
harmony humming and dream discussing,
off to faraway places.

So this is how it feels.
Heart pounding at the slightest glance of your face.
In your presence, my pulse at an unsteady pace.  
Reminded of you at all times in every place.