you took everything from me
i can't even enjoy writing anymore
it's as if the ink in my pen is filled with poison

The calligraphy brush my grandmother gave me, the quill
given unwittingly by an idol at age fourteen. There was no ceremony
no reverent handing over, just a slip under the table
late in the evening as I read with wide eyes

They took the deep blue font of a bare bones site
stealing the dim light of a computer screen glowing long after curfew
where words slowly learned to weave together and tell stories
that had never been told before, yet their heart was old and familiar

I begged them not to take the journal, royal purple
and covered in golden characters. When I pulled it back to my chest
the stick of cinnamon tied to the front was broken in two
and the silken cord holding it together was frayed
I salvaged what I could

They left me a broken quill with no ink, candles with no match
the bristles of my brush (forgive me, grandmother) cut short
and a journal where the smallest movement caused another page to flutter
uselessly, helplessly, to the floor

What could I do but start from the beginning
take back what they stole, the ink and paper
cut new bristles from my own hair
and write on

Under the naked tree
They saw each other drenched in silver moonlight
Revelling in a mad dance of love
Echoing moans through the night

Two lost souls
Had found one another
To lose themselves
To each other

They'd found their spot
Where not a being would intervene
So there, they reunited, each night
Sparking a silent fire, in this place so serene

Under the naked tree
Revelling in each other's sight
Began a mad dance of love
Echoing moans through the night

Tides rose, and winds spooked passers-by
As from him, sweet kisses, she stole
A soul, free from the binds of its corpse
Had just found another, to make her a whole

I've met Sapphire -- she was like the sea. She could appear as a raging storm or the complete embodiment of tranquility. Graceful, calm, comforting and yet at the same time tempestuous, untamed and misunderstood. Those who wade in the shallow would never know the unfathomable depths of her being. For beneath her unstable surface lies untold understanding, wisdom, and a love that is both unimaginable and sincere.

I could have laid there in the sand for Eternity, enclosed in the gentle hush of her misty words, letting her waves crash upon me in hopes that I’d eventually be pulled under.


I've met Ruby -- she was like a wildfire and I the dry tinder, all too eager to satisfy her audacious passion and unquenchable desire. I was the moth; the unshakable temptation of her aura's alluring danger was too tantalizing, too enticing to resist. Bewitched by her crimson lips, sultry figure, blazing eyes and seductive gestures, I was foolishly fanatical to be her dancing marionette, my strings effortlessly compelled to be wrapped around her finger.

Yet I could never find contentment in feeling her warmth from a safe distance. I yearned for the uncertainty of smothering the flames for a chance to be engulfed in the immortal inferno of reckless devotion.


I've met Topaz -- she was like the sunlight and the stars. Joyous and blindingly shining with youthful exuberance, her childlike innocence was a boon that beamed upon every soul she touched. Spirited and seemingly teeming with a never ending supply of infectious laughter and a smile that could melt even the most frostbitten heart. Hopelessly trying to keep up with her fervent spontaneity proved as futile as trying to catch a shooting star with a butterfly net.

I am forever blessed that she shone upon my life. A single day basking in her radiance was worth more than the perpetuity of a solitudinous existence.


I've met Emerald -- she was like a lush forest. I sat beneath her trees in the shade of her leaves, embraced by the gentle caress of her touch. Her serene ambrosial breeze carried soothing whispers of kindness and compassion that were unrivaled by any earthly delights. We planted seeds that took root in our hearts and entangled our souls with the everlasting abundance of euphoric elation, harmony, and deliverance.

Yet every flower that flourishes in the spring will willingly wilt in the fall, and the seeds that lie dormant beneath the snow bear no commitment to bloom. What we hoped would blossom through the passing of time would only amount to us growing apart.


But I've never met anyone like you -- You are a Diamond. Given just the smallest glint of light, you shine with the complete spectrum of incomparable quintessence. You encompass the entirety of all the different colors and hues of every jewel I have ever known. Unparalleled and peerless in your very nature, unprecedented and unsurpassed in your beauty.

You are ineffable. All my attempts to describe you will only prove to be ultimately inadequate, but you are the most precious gem to me and I will be, forever and always,
yours.

I’ve been there and I’ve seen that.
Whatever seems new, to me it’s old hat.
I’ve heard some things that you wouldn’t believe--
I took the Devil’s confession, and I’ve seen the martyr bleed.
I’ve been up on the mountain, seen the clouds below;
I’ve gone down to the river where the strong currents flow.
I’ve listened to a demon whisper sweet nothings in my ear.
I’ve heard the angels call me to take one step nearer.
I rode the horse that threw the other rider;
I steered the raft through the rocks in the wild white water.
I walked into the ocean under the cold moonlight
and swam on my back in the star studded night.
I’ve washed the stain of guilt off of the criminal’s sleeve,
and dried the tears of the people who were stricken with grief.
I’ve asked the one question that unlocks the hidden door,
and heard secrets that the prisoner never spoke before.
I sat silently, listening, when there was nothing more to say.
I’ve walked miles through the night, until the break of day.
I’ve been in the forest, I’ve lived in the town;
give me one good reason I shouldn’t burn this place down.
I’ve done some taking and I’ve done some giving
and I’ve got some errands down the road before I’m done with living.

with water color ink
made permanent with a pin
an emerald garden grew
from the surface of her skin
the sight was divine
the branches aligned
& through the cracks
poured sunlight in.
the honeysuckles oozed
the hollyhocks seeped
as chartreuse hummingbirds
dank nectar through their beaks.
by her favorite birthmark
hanging from a tree
was a silver web of silk
gossamer and dazzling.
with each image set,
pressed onto her skin
her flesh turned bright red
like the rosehips near her ribs.

You could call it an ethereal feeling
Painting my heart a Cistine ceiling
Your presence teaches new meaning
I see the light in you true beaming
Pinch me dear for I must be dreaming
No I don't forget that we just met
Though I desire to know thee if you let
I know I am forward but please don't fret
Just trying to spread love no cheeks wet
Get ready get set let's go out on the town
See a show how could I ever frown
At you on that intoxicating night 'round
Tofino with the tide low and sky a glow, now
You give my heart butterflies
Smile shine clears my grey skies
Your presence doth baptize
My eyes with your guise
Of beauty, and warm grace
Annoints points of your face
Rushing red my heart race
Whenever you step into my space
Won't make a move just in case
You would choose me not to chase
Don't want our friendship to erase

There was an Old Man of Cape Horn,
Who wished he had never been born;
So he sat on a chair,
Till he died of despair,
That dolorous Man of Cape Horn.

The burning poem it's words burn like flame
I hold it my heart but it burns all the same
I tried ridding myself of the fire
But the flames spoke to me of my muse
Aspiring me to choose
To love and lose the game
Loves painful consequence
My hidden shame
In desperate longing the poem was a light
Showing me a door and a key
Life is nothing with responsibility
In darkness of fragility
I hear a voice beckoning me
To hide my muse's secret
and yet it flows through me like the fiery flames
I try to retain the pain and burning
My heart is alight with yearning
So with the key I lock the secret poem in a room
It stills burns shining with the truth
Yet I feel I have hidden a fragment of my soul
That still burns to this day out of control.