Writing is safer, I feel

Because letters looped together can flow fluently

Through pens, not speech

They can stand their ground when my legs give way

And words written down don’t get stuck in my hand

Like they do in my throat

They can’t stutter, can’t stumble

Like my tongue when I try to steady my breath

And no one can tell if I’m laughing

         or crying

                     through written words alone.

I am made of saltwater and glass
and I am a hundred years old.
I breathe in your cigarette smoke
for a minute, you are in my lungs.
Stockpile warmth,
winter is coming to crack our hands.
The light trembles and dissolves
we are now in darkness.
When you left our eyes were still layered with sleep.
My fingertips still hum from the realization
that we are made less of flesh
and more of electricity.

Standing at a towerous 6 foot one
I bared the strength of my ancestors.

Tell me how I sweat determination,
Bleed desire
and dream of Success.

I've isolated myself from distractions,
lust, and the sins of this
dredging world.

I bear the weight of the universe,
upon my shoulders,
back strict, and
knees taut.

Yet when I find myself staring into your eyes,
they buckle,
and my throats tightens.

I find myself,
staggering.