Floating, drifting,
Slowly it passed from his hand
To the cold, hard sidewalk.
It once was a pretty flower,
With petals bright and cheerful
And a stem green and healthy.
Johnny’s night had not been great,
As was anticipated by his mom.
“You’ll have fun!” she said.
“But what about…” he trailed off,
Remembering the hulking ex-boyfriend
Of Lily, the girl he thought he loved.
“Just have fun,” she soothed.
Walking- no scuffling -down the street,
He remembered those last words she had said.
Even though this hadn’t been the night of his life,
He could still have a good time, right?
Five minutes later,
Johnny exited the nearby hardware store.
Four cans of spray paint in hand,
He drifted into the community center downtown.
All Johnny needed was a blank canvas
And about an hour before they closed for the night.
I thought I was going to get my first kiss.
I could have sworn she was going to be my girlfriend this time.
If only I wasn’t such a dork,
Then maybe she would be interested in me.
I hate everyone and everything!
The paint sprayed and splattered onto the canvas.
Johnny was breathing hard now.
Now he was ready, he was energized.
Ready to take on the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With a cover over the painting,
Johnny headed back to the dance.
He hadn’t even entered the building before,
Which meant he still had his ticket.
Johnny threw his ticket to the usher
And made his way over to the DJ.
“Turn off the music for like five minutes. Please.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ll give you three dollars
And whatever else is in my pocket.”
“Fine. Five minutes. No more.”
“Thanks.” Johnny smiled.
As soon as the music was off,
Johnny dashed over to Lily
And her giant boyfriend.
He set the painting on the floor
And grabbed her in his arms.
Johnny then kissed her
As passionately as he knew how.
Lily, stunned and confused,
Teetered back onto a chair.
Then, just when the huge brute was about to punch him,
Johnny swiftly clutched the picture and ripped off its cover.
The boyfriend gazed, along with the rest of the crowd,
At the beautiful ******* the canvas.
“You painted this?”
“Yeah.”
“You really love Lily, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you need to kiss her again.”
The ex-boyfriend smiled at Johnny and Johnny smiled back.
He looked over at Lily.
He handed his painting to the ex-boyfriend.
Johnny reached for Lily’s hand,
Wrapped his arms around her.
“Will you, Lily, be my girlfriend?”
Lily gazed into Johnny’s eyes,
Leaned in,
And whispered in his ear,
“Yes.”

Her hair flows behind her
As she runs in circles around me
I can tell she's breathing hard
Her heart's beating right out of her chest
Same as mine every time I see her
Once I tried to talk to her
And words just flew out of my mouth
Like I didn't have a brain and nothing made sense
But I kept on going
I know that I love her because
I want to kiss her in the rain
I want to hold her tight during the scariest part of the movie
I want to be the one she comes crying to when nothing's going right
I want her to tell me secrets, and whispers, and things hoped for
I want to hold her hand as we're walking along the coast
I want to be her first love, her first kiss, her first sitting together watching the sunset
And most of all,
I want her to know me as I am
Take me as I am
And if she must,
Leave me as I am

Mirror, mirror on the wall
I wrote a message on the bathroom stall.
Black, blue, white, red,
Who will care when I’m dead?
Mirror, mirror on the wall
I’m not the prettiest of them all.
Short, tall, skinny, fat,
Why should I care about all of that?
Mirror, mirror on the wall
I refuse to come at your beck and call.
Disease, abuse, hunger, pain,
There is nothing in it for me to gain.
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who’s the prettiest of them all?
Normal, average, simple, plain,
Is there anyone out there in the rain?
Mirror, mirror on the wall
I’m not willing to take the fall.
Born to lead, born to die,
Why go if you’re not willing to try?
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Please tell me why I feel so small.
I don’t stand out, I don’t fit in,
I don’t feel right in my own skin.
Come at me with your words and sorrows,
But I will not be here when it comes to tomorrow.
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Now it’s time for me to stand tall.

I like you.

I like the gold in your eyes,
The solidity behind your stare,
Soft, but knowing,
I like every strand of hair.

I like that you speak to me,
I like your sentences, phrases and words,
I like how you string them together so delicately,
Like a melody waiting to be heard.

I like our small talk,
Even if it’s cheap,
I like our conversations in class,
And how I think of you as I begin to sleep.

I love your voice,
How you say my name like a dream,
I love all of your truths,
And every smile in between.

So take all of my likes,
Put them in the palm of your hands,
Let’s spread them out-
Let us make a plan:

I can’t promise you much,
But I can promise you this,
I won’t try to steal away a heart,
But I might steal a kiss.

Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
and he called it “chops”
because that was the name of his dog
and that's what it was all about
his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
and his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts.
that was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
and he let them sing on the bus
and his little sister was born
with tiny nails and no hair
and his mother and father kissed a lot
and the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X’s
and he had to ask his father what the X’s meant
and his father always tucked him in bed at night
and was always there to do it

once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
he called it “Autumn”
because that was the name of the season
and that’s what it was all about
and his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
and his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of the new paint
and the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
and left butts on the pews
and sometime they would burn holes
that was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
and the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
and the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
and his father never tucked him in bed at night
and his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it

once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
and he called it “Innocence: A Question”
because that was the question about his girl
and that’s what it was all about
and his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
and his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
that was the year Father Tracy died
and he forgot how the end
of the Apostles’s Creed went
and he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
and his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
and the girl around the corner
wore too much make up
that made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because it was the thing to do
and at 3 am he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly

that’s why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
and he called it “Absolutely Nothing”
because that’s what it was really all about
and he gave himself an A
and a slash on each ****** wrist
and he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen-

Their eyes stare through my soul
As if I had one.
All I can think about is nothing.
Tell myself to forget the pain.
Once again,
I am alone.

I weep not only for you
But for the love
That I gave unconditionally to you
Of which you did not accept graciously
For my love is hard to come by
I don’t give it to just anyone,
But you are special
And unforgettable.
So I’ll cry a river of tears
For the lies you told,
The love we both lost,
The hope of a future together,
The life I no longer want to live by myself.
Maybe someday we’ll be together
Until then,
I’ll wait for you
Even if it takes forever
Because I will love you
Forever and always