There we are
Bundles of thoughts and nerves
We plan and script
Burn the midnight oil
Charting paths and mapping
Defining destinations
But then, life happens

And it will

I suppose I could brood
And close tired eyes
Or I could lasso a cloud
And hitch a ride to paradise

Time’s a thief
—though can you blame her?
I want to be in a room
bathed in shades of you, too.
So long as your laugh echoes,
still in the corners of my mind,
your birthday balloon
will remain; limply dangling from
your favorite chair in the family room,
nylon ribbons frayed and loose
Because time is unkind.

It serves to remind that
you should be here;
And I,
Bathed in shades of you.

Courage wears a pleated mini skirt  
Red tights and Mary Janes
Gold shadow in the corner of her eye
Courage wears a **** bra
Three shades darker from two weeks worth of sweat
A silken ivory blouse, first two—
No— first three buttons undone
Scrubs
Courage wears overalls
Rolled at the ankles
A nose ring
Butterfly clip and an old locket
Courage wears men’s boxers on a female body
Dr. Marten’s with the chunky soles
Carabiner on the (right) belt loop
And her grandfather’s leather belt
Courage wears gold hoops and a silver watch
White after Labor Day and off-white on her wedding day
A lab coat in the morning, a breast pump at lunch, and a little black dress later tonight
Courage wears a uniform
Hand-me-downs and Goodwill sneakers
Cheap lingerie and slutty stilettos
An orange jumpsuit
Camouflage
Courage wears a binder to church
A burqa to school
Box braids in the office
Courage wears the pants
Wears the shoe when it fits
Wears her heart on her sleeve
Wears pain like a badge of honor
Courage wears a kitten heel
Even when it goes out of style

But the room was so loud and it was so late
(But you have legs and I have a voicemail)
But I forgot all about it
(But you remember now)
But I lost track of time
(But you saw the sun go down)
But why should I have to?
(But why don’t you want to?)
But the world is ending
(But you are my world)
But I don’t love you anymore
(But did you ever?)

Because hasn’t every new song already been sung?
Because there are no new thoughts under the sun
Because every other freckle since birth has come from the light of the same sun
Because the sun on my face today,
Is the sun that poisoned my skin twelve summers ago—
Is the sun that birthed the roots of the Oaks that taught me about pain—
Is the sun that blinded Icarus—
Is the sun that lit up Genesis—
Is the sun that makes me squint my eyes
And open up wide all at once
The sun that will mull the bones of humanity into an earthen wine  
And swallow us up
Is the sun that raised me
And I think my dreams
Are the only parts of me that are mine
Because every waking thought I have is solar-powered,
Cosmically fueled and eternally eclipsed
Because it’s only after the sun goes down
When the body is at rest and the darkness comes
That my own light can shine,
And my truth illuminates the night.

Oh— to be a Pothos vine
Crawling towards the light
Always takes her precious time
Makes every room so bright!
Oh— to be a golden green
With marbled fronds so lush
She, the thriving Houseplant Queen
Makes other flora blush!
But, lo— beneath her heavenly form
Her truest magic resides
For through the winter and the storm
She’s balanced as the tides
Oh— to have that perfect Pothos Power
Flourishing through the night
Oh— to grow and never to cower
No matter how daunting the fight
For it’s her courage that we envy,
Her fortitude that we fear
Her resilient leafy frenzy
That will suddenly appear
Even when you think she’s dead and gone
The stars will still align
A tiny sprout will bloom at dawn  
The mighty Pothos vine!