words aren't an end
just a means and a way
to tell all the things
one never could say
blacken the pages
with ink from the soul
nobody is pure
light to behold

Cream and Red striations
wind along the wall
In places dirt obscures them
still I heed their call
to follow twisting passages
unending canyon hall—

Yet parched map lines waver
heat bends and turns the air
here I am left breathless
and thirsty in my stare.

Smooth sun slides across the cerulean sky
And reaching trees drip gleaming arias
Into wilting snow.
Tears of winter course down channeled trunks
As snaring frost recedes into time
Memory still aglow.

purple skies,
moonlit fog dances
silhouette trees
she stands, poised
cliff’s edge,
dropping
whipped
on silver breeze
turns her face,
soul flying
quiet, alabaster disc
reflected—
still waters
she steps away
the air
serenely flashing
sliding from the sky
moon twin
disturbing.

They bustle, hustle
like ants in a box,
going nowhere, nowhere,
pop up to my counter top
from their semi-ordered line

I take their orders, same as last time:
Venti-turtle-soy-sugarfree-latte-extrafoam-nowhippedcream
a­nd I swipe their plastic cards through my machine.
What a dream, a dream.

Chatter, swipe, shout, sign-here-please
And scatter on out with marginal ease—
hands full of coffee cups, bagels, cream cheese
Calling a boss, late again (I laugh,
I’ve been here since six,
and they think they’ve got a tough schedule to keep?)

When it’s finally time, I take my break,
stare at the syrups, the powders, the cakes,
and pour my coffee black
with nothing that’s fake.

Effortless gaze, turned upon
varnished wood and open keys;
A perfect melody ringing forth
never drew me in like that night, when
I discovered that
loneliness really was
oppressive, and my
Vermillion lips shaped words, an
elegant, beautiful declaration, like
your hands
On black and white, dancing,
Unleashed.

Vertical majesty unfurls
across the sky;
so many green dreams blossom
to gently sift the wind.

These, new—
born from age and cracked brown skin
gaze upon withering cities
that sprawl out from the earth,
rooted in foundations of steel
instead of life.

Their silver trunks echo mine,
but are devoid of the lilting dreams
that begin to flourish in my arms
only to fall away.