I'm nothing without
soft kisses in the moonlight,
bodies entangled
as lips trace constellations
made with freckles on your skin.

We sit by the pool,
staring at the bloodied sun,
and watch the ash fall.

I am dawn.
A rising sun, its rays barely lighting the horizon.
Gentle swaths of yellow illuminate blurry figures,
their shadows intertwined but their hands empty.

I am the day.
Golden hair cascades down like a waterfall, reflecting beams of light
filtering through rainbow-painted trees.
She wanders alone towards emerald fields still clothed with morning dew,
her only company the flaxen creature gently howling through the silence beside her.

I am dusk.
The sweet scent of roses mingles with the crisp air
as the last whispers of light fade from the sky.
Four people are silhouetted against the dying sun,
grass tickling their feet as their laughter fills the air
and sugar-sweet strawberries fill their mouths.

I am the night.
Light spills out an open window
and a small figure gazes up at the glittering sky.
"I wish..." she breathes so softly that her words are lost in the wind, "I wish."
Then the curtains draw closed and all that's left
is a handprint on the fogged-up glass
and the promise of tomorrow.

You are the wind in my sails,
the only thing that keeps me moving
in this vast ocean of nothingness.

You are my heaviest blanket,
something to hide beneath
when the shadows create monsters on the wall.

You are the rising sun,
reminding me that dawn will come again
even after the darkest of nights.

You are my old, worn teddy bear,
always there when I'm in need of comfort
in a dark and empty house.

You are the dandelion growing in a crack in the sidewalk,
showing me that life can flourish
even in the most desolate times.

You are not my world,
but everything worth living for.

So no, darling. "I love you" doesn't cut it.

I'm running out of time
running out of time!
running
out
of
time!!
Just one more line
one more line!
one
more
line!!

I'm running out of pages
running out of pages!
running
out
of
pages!!
Just a couple more phrases
a couple more phrases!
a
couple
more
phrases!!

I'm running out of ink
running out of ink!
running
out
of
ink!!
Just one last time, let me think!
let me think!
let
me
think!!

I'm running out of escapes
running out of escapes!
running
out
of
escapes!!
Just let me fix one last mistake
one last mistake!
one
last
mistake!!

I'm running out of time
running out of time!
running
out
of
time!!
Just let me write one last line
one last line!
one
last
...!!

Why does doing the right thing
Always feel so wrong?

WE CAN’T BREATHE
WHEN YOU COVER OUR MOUTHS.

Every child grows a pair of wings.
Some are just never taught to fly.

“I won’t lose you,” I say
as you slide through my fingers and fade away..

As sleep overcomes me,
my unsteady hands loosen their grip on the locket
and it slides through my fingers
and falls to the ground.

One.

Lost and alone
He gathers up his things
And disappears into the unknown.

Two.

Inseparable, like yin and yang.
They watch the sun set
As their bodies tangle together.

Three.

Best friends forever
And the third wheel.
Watching quietly, she’s alone in a crowd.

Four.

Laughing, talking, joking.
They form a tight circle,
Keeping the happiness inside.

Five.

Watching from the sidelines,
Waiting for an opening.
He wants to join in just a moment too late.

Six.

The light of my life
The bane of my existence.
She pulls out a knife to comfort a child.

Five.

He reaches out a hand,
waiting to be seen.
She takes it.

Four.

They’re closed off from the world,
blinded by reality.
She opens their eyes.

Three.

Wishing someone will truly see her.
She looks at her
And smiles.

Two.

Alone together,
They’re lost in their own world.
She gives them something to hope for.

One.

He’s achieving the impossible
But not the mundane.
She offers him friendship.

Six.

She means love.
She means life.
She means wild card.

And with just one word,
I watched as my dreams crashed down,
unable to hold
when life's harsh realities
beat down on their fragile frames.

Only the ingenuity of true poets
could describe the indescribable.

I lie on my back,
gazing at the vast abyss
stretching above us.

"I love you" is what
I want to say, but instead
I just walk away..

Will I ever be
the main character of my
own story? Or will
I always be stuck on the
sidelines, lost in the dark?

All I have ever
wanted is to have my own
love story... but I
guess even that one thing is
too much to ask, isn't it?

The words are twisting around me,
wringing me out like a wet towel.
The tune is stretched and thin
as if it's an ode to the last of my happiness.
It speaks to me almost as loud
as the ghosts screaming in my ears,
except the unprescribed medication
I drown myself in
doesn't keep it out of my head.
I have to remind myself daily --
they don't know you
they don't care about you
the words aren't sung about you.
But how could they not,
when they ring so true?
How can they not
when my stomach turns
to the time of the music,
when the tears leak out of my eyes
the same way the last notes
leave the guitar?
How can they not
when they're the only bridge to reality
I have left?

Laughing, we dare each other
to jump into the crystal-clear fountains
and gaze at the bright blue sky
obstructed only by the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
Our splashes alert the security guards and we run,
unable to keep from giggling as they yell after us.
Stumbling towards a field of lush green grass,
we collapse against each other and grin,
comfortable in our warm silence.
As twilight nears, we splurge
on freshly-baked pastries
and gelato the color of emeralds,
huddling against the cold
in our soaking wet turtleneck sweaters.
Fingers intertwined, we run through the city streets
until we don't remember which way we came.
We slow, panting through our smiles
as we take in our surroundings.
We're on a bridge, the dark skies and glistening stars
reflected by the rippling water below.
We stop a vendor packing up for the night
and write our names on a golden lock.
We hook it to the bridge and throw away the key,
watching it sparkle in the moonlight
before sinking into the water
and drifting to the river bottom.
She cups my face in her hand
and leans in close
so the swirling fog from our breaths meld into one
and warms our flushed cheeks.
I gently pull her against me and close the distance between us,
our lips speaking more than the most beautiful poems
and our love as infinite as the skies stretching above us.

When I gave you my heart
You lovingly cupped it in your palms
But I guess you got distracted
Because I watch it slide through your fingers
And shatter on the ground.

When you gave me your hand
I held it tightly in my own
But I guess I got distracted
Because our fingers are no longer intertwined
And our hands are empty.

I can practically see the sand
Slipping easily through the gap
Between the top of the hourglass
And the bottom.
Our once-forever friendship
Flashes before my eyes,
Its highs, its lows, my everything...
I had heard that good things don't last forever,
But I guess I truly believed that love conquered all.

As I stare into the night,
the darkness caving in,
I notice a lonely speck of light
flickering dimly in the sky.
And quietly, I make a wish
and wipe my tears away.  
Everything suddenly seems
a little less dark, a little less loud,
because I know
you’re looking out your window
under the same sky,
wishing on the same star,
and everything’s going to be alright.

"I love you," I whisper into the void,
but the only response is my echo.

The threat has gone away,
but still the fear stays..

There she sits alone,
silence in the night.
Her back's against the willow tree
and the moon's her only light.

The ground is cracked and broken,
the tree's leaves brown and dry,
but despite the death surrounding,
she feels like she could fly.

Above, the stars are glistening
like her earth-brown eyes
because what she just has realized
is that she can see the skies.

Though the city's crumbling
as the virus spreads,
she rejoices in the living
while they start to count the dead.

As fear holds down its victims,
keeping them inside,
Mother Earth has been spring cleaning
and soon she’ll be revived.

The once-black air is crystal clear
and the mountain range stands proud.
It’s a sight to see for miles around,
no longer covered in dark shrouds.

Beside the bright blue waters,
deer come out to play.
As they romp around the stream
fish quickly swim away.

The sky is bright and beautiful,
the water’s clear and clean,
and the animals are all smiling
because we're nowhere to be seen.

So as you leave your houses
one fateful summer day,
remember that we’re temporary
while Earth is here to stay.

Blood runs down my blistered fingers
and my hands are cramped and shaking.
My pen runs dry but still I write
yet my resolve is slowly breaking.
If I give up, just die alone
and drown in my thoughts tonight
would anybody care enough to notice,
would they wish I'd put up a fight?
I was told to write out my emotions,
that they'd dissipate like lost love,
but instead there's been a monsoon
that I never will be free of.
Instead of sticking to the page,
the ink is raining down
filling even the vastest oceans
in which I'm going to drown.
So if I am gone before the morn
just know it wasn't you.
It's the ink that got the best of me,
and so I say adieu.

My heart once drummed a steady tune
Thump...
                 thump...
                                 thump...
Like a contented wanderer it continued on,
s l o w
steady
repeating, repeating, repeating.

But like the wanderer, it sensed you
a disturbance in the equilibrium.
The drum solo arrived, a fast-paced melody

         p
     a     i
  e          n
l                g
                        racin­g
                                      beating
                 ­                                     singing.
                   ­                                                   And then...
                                                         ­                                   stopping.
Only to continue again,
just as quick, throbbing just the same.

But.

This time...

The wanderer sensed danger.

This time...

The adrenaline filled my veins
as you filled my gaze
and it was too late.

Symptoms?
Heart is racing!
Chest is aching!
Pits are sweating!
Hands are shaking!
Breath is heaving!
World is swaying!

Diagnosis?
Love.

My heart is beating in my ears,
racing, chasing, my rolling tears.
Do my eyes deceive me,
or is that really you?
It's as if my most desperate dreams
are coming true.
We haven't met face to face
but there's something about you
that I can't quite place.
You make me smile
just by writing,
"It's been awhile."
It makes me wonder --
is it your talent, words,
or personality
that make me feel this happily?

I lie awake in my bed
all these uncontained thoughts
running around in my head.
Color and light,
ideas that are glaring and bright
seep into my head during the long nights.
But I'm restless, dark thoughts
pulling me down
and making me breathless.
So I take a sleeping pill,
wait for it to lift the weight
of the desperate dreams they ****.
But along with it,
the rainbow dims and flickers,
becoming a monochrome
that reminds me all to much
of the world we call home.

I locked my lips
And threw away the key
So why is it
That you still can't put your trust in me?

Gently, gently,
pick up this dying child.
Gently, gently,
caress this soft cheek.
Gently, gently,
sob as her skin pales.
Gently, gently,
rock her back and forth in your arms.
Gently, gently,
set her cold body down to rest.
Gently, gently,
wet this corpse with your tears.
Gently, gently,
stroke her blonde hair for the last time.
Gently, gently,
kiss her forehead and say goodbye.
Gently, gently,
weep as her body disappears beneath the dirt.
Gently, gently,
caress the worn image of her laughing face
and smile.

I raise my gaze toward the pale blue sky,
staring out my window as I watch the world go by.
Pale cheek pressed against a ****** hand,
I daydream of travelling across unknown lands.
Fantasy worlds and magic forests tug at the back of my mind,
things that only characters in books could ever really find.
But always stuck in my room, nothing around,
how can I truly know what wonders abound?
To a prisoner, fiction is being free --
something that I know I never will be.
My frail fingers trace the words engraved on the window's wood --
"Your mind will let you be what no one else ever could."
Except how can it really let me live
if life is a present that no one will give?

Under the pale blue sky
A small bird chirps softly as it watches the world go by.
Soft green grasses wave in the breeze
As the rose's heavy perfume tickles my nose and makes me sneeze.
Your eyes dart toward me, a dashing golden hue
And I stand stalk still to study you.
Long ears flick back and forth, covered in waves of silk
And I can make out a small cotton tail the color of buttermilk.
You glance over your shoulder, wide eyes studying me
before you spring across the meadow, happily free.

"Pretty girls don't smile!"
Those are the words of wisdom
fake soothsayers preached,
not thinking that she'd listen.
Alas... now she's cold as ice.

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
you found someone special,
who's perfect for you.
Now she's number one,
and I'm down to two,
I'm glad that you're happy
there's not much I can do.
You do things without me,
don't think to ask,
If I'm feeling lonely
is it that hard a task?
I just need a friend
I don't need any more
So please don't ignore me
I feel uncared for.

I know that what goes up
must come down.

I just didn't think that our love
would decline so rapidly..

Every day, her smile greets me
as she enters the house after work.
Every day, she talks to me
until her mouth runs dry.
Every day, I walk by her side,
stopping only to smell the roses.
Every day, I follow her around,
waiting for her next command.
Every day, I put the light in her eyes
and the smile on her face.
Oh, how great it is to be a dog.

Hold me tight
So that I don't lose you, too..

Clouds billow around us
as the zephyr gently ruffles
your red-brown hair
so that it falls in waves
across your bright almond eyes
and hides the light freckles
dappled across your forehead.
As you reach out to fix it,
another gust shifts it back
and your laugh is like a magician's spell,
banishing the last few shadows lingering
in the cobwebbed corners of my mind.
I brush the strands of hair
behind your ear,
one finger lingering
to trace the spots where the sun kissed
your caramel skin.
Your lips tug into a smile
and you squint your eyes
so that long lashes hide
all but the swirling royal blue
of your irises.
Head tilted back, your long locks
tumble down to your waist
before everything fades
except your blissful smile
and contented gaze.
You open your sunset-colored lips
but I silence them with my own,
warmth flooding our bodies
as the sky howls around us.
Its salty tears begin to fall,
but your giggle is soft and bright
as you pull away to dance under the stars.
Our fingers lace together
as you tug me towards you again
and we twirl and spin as the sky cries.
Bodies moving as one,
we dance and laugh and smile,
bracing ourselves against the harsh winds
trying to break into our euphoric oasis.
Our fingers and fates were tangled together
as we watched the whole world
fade away in front of our eyes.
Standing in a beam of light,
silky white fog rolled over
the lonely cities and dark alleyways
until they were obscured in a ghostly veil
and all that was left
was us.

Did you know
that if you text yourself
you both send the message
and get the response?
It's nice to know
that at least one person
will always respond.

I love rock and roll
but the video killed the radio star
because no one lives forever!