i have seen the heaven created in you—  
one they could not understand.  
and so they named it wrong,  
because they could not hold what they feared in their hand.  

you were fire, and i the very same.  
they said we’d burn the world down—  
but all we ever wanted was to be warm.  

her touch: psalm.  
her gaze: prayer.  
and still, they call it sin—  
as if holiness can’t wear soft skin and hold my hand.  

they could not understand  
that when she loves me,  
the sky listens more closely  
and the stars stay a little longer.  

her eyes, gently pulling me in—  
her gaze sweeping me beneath her tides  
as i pry to the surface  
to utter her sacred name.  

and even the breath feels borrowed,  
as if the universe conspired to see it through.  

how can my sin be love?  
oh, they would never understand.

Sun hid his smile away
on a cloudy day
o'er Carolina

Moon she cried
thought he had died
for a love he left behind
across the line from Carolina

At night he dwells
in her emotion
an ocean of the bluest tears
that ever fell on Carolina
on a cloudy day
when the sun forgot to shine.

r ~ 8/9/14

There's a song inside of me
You wouldn't sing
Coming from the city of queens,
There's a light I want to see
You wouldn't show
I'm far from the city glow

And ****** Carolina
Can't you see?
The way you're killing me
You gave me life
You gave me love
And then took it all away

There's a hand I used to hold
The skin grew cold
I couldn't feel the same as I did,
There's a song inside of me
You wouldn't sing
I'm sick of all you're whistling

****** Carolina
You could be the one
To make me feel like I'm in love again
You gave me time
You gave me hope
And then you took it all away

****** Carolina
If you took the time to realize
Maybe I wasn't always wrong
And there are demons on your shoulder
You hear
Do you hear?
I only hope you understand

****** Carolina
Can't you see?
The way you're killing me

Love, like petals of a blooming flower,
Roses of rubies, lilies of pearl.
A skin as though of jasmine
that August evening…was it August?

I created you in a hazy vision
when my mind was drunk with sleep -
Are you a dreamer too?

i slept in the arms of cities
with no names,
listened to taxis like lullabies
while the moon
pushed its hips against my window.

i’m a woman born where the hills roll like old records,
where the dirt’s thick with stories and the air tastes like whiskey and wildflowers.

the mountains bleed black tar, poison dripping into creek beds,
and the government’s promises stink like rotting meat in a locked fridge.
but the women, ******* — they keep moving.
sideways, under, through the cracks in the system.

they’re not saints or martyrs — just survivors with sharp teeth,
ready to bite through the *******,
ready to carve out their own **** place
in the raw, relentless hills they call home.

I hated how I felt about you
I cherished you and held your attention
I nurtured it, fed it love and affection
If I envisioned it
It would glow like a beacon in my hands
But I still hated how I felt about you
Because you’d never choose to feel the same
And you never wanted love in that way
I wished there was a **** switch
Where my romantic inclination towards you
Could be terminated
So that I may see you in the only way
You wished to be seen
But you stayed over that night
I looked over the edge of the dorm room bed
I saw your quiet eyelids
Shielding your busy eyes
And I wanted to hold you
I wanted to place a kiss on your cheek
No, I wanted to kiss you
On your strawberry lips
Of course I never told you
I kept it hidden, locked, door after door
I didn’t want to scare you
And make you believe
People will always, and only want more
Time between us grew older
And my love remains
But I wish to tell you
Addison, my friend
I have loved you since fifth grade

Light brown, dusted with specks
Of mischief and kindness.
I don’t dare blink.
Soaking in every second
Our gazes continue to meet.