What keeps us standing and not a pile of bones? Is it air
or water or muscle? I let it out sometimes, slowly, like a gas fuse. But I know I won’t blow. I just like the smell, like underground car parks: the rubber and gasoline. A dizzy spell like those in the movies but in real life there’s no fall. Maybe tears and lights too bright, but the string is tight. I sway and hope the friction from my feet isn’t enough to set the whole house on fire. Dance with me and the friction between us can’t be a match if there isn’t enough gas left to
explode.

I did everything right
said the right lines

1.2 million in diamonds and I didn’t bat an eye
I hide them under my pride
Worth more than his ego
But I swallow
because he is more than the man he is

He buys me porcelain plates everyday
to show he can
I know he can
But I don’t tell him because he gets offended

Every night I smash them to sweep them up
I’m getting better at the smashing
My hands familiar with the motions
Mapping out each broken shard before my face shatters
I don’t miss any fragments

I stepped on one once
Sharp blade on soft skin
Ruby on opal
Maybe I’m not made of ice

They say there is method in madness
But what if the method makes me mad
The slip of sanity must be planned
An hour before the charity ball
2 after the guests leave
30 minutes after dinner
5 when he comes home
A lullaby of broken promises ringing in my ear  
An indulgence

He said there was another woman
He said I wouldn’t care that he was leaving
He said I could afford my own diamonds and more ******* plates anyways

But that’s not the point
The point is to suffocate in silence
To let him buy what I can afford
To swallow what he can’t

But who is the trophy
When you carve me I spill out jewels

Don’t fall for me,
simply because
I will turn your kisses into similes
kissing you is like watching a sunset; slow, and beautiful.

Don’t tell me you love me,
simply because
your words will form metaphors in my mouth
you are a thunderstorm my heart is not ready for.

Don’t fall for me,
simply because
I am selfish,
every breath you take, every word you speak
I will find a way to turn that into a composition of letters and sounds
for my own purpose.

Don’t try to be with me,
simply because
I will try to trap you with my words
every space in my broken sentences will be filled with thoughts of you.

Stay with me,
I’ll turn your existence into a poem
stay with me,
I’ll engrave your name into my verses
stay with me,
stay with me,
stay with me,

so I don’t have to turn my heartache into a poem of sorrow once again.

I have not felt at ease with the world in a while,
but that has changed,
simply because
you are my world now
everything I do,
I do for you.

So this is a warning;
don’t fall for me,
simply because
I am a thief who is good with words,
*I will steal your love
and turn it into stories of malignancy and almosts.

Look like a fading flower and you'll win his heart
Quiet suffering is exquisite on a maiden's face
Pale cherry blossoms drift in autumn winds
The branch will lay bare when winter comes

You will thank the white blanket
that covers your frozen pallor
When he passes by your bareness
with another in tow
When the frozen tear streaks down
your cheek finally melts into spring
you wonder if your flowers could
still grow

I used to love you
Now I forget how
With fresh flowers blooming
And teardrops melting in little ponds
I used to love you
Now love dissolves
Like sugar in lemon water
It isn’t even your fault

My heart isn’t broken
No fire burns within me
You’re just a person
I used to love
I guess one day it just decided
To stop beating for you
Heart and mind agreeing
I used to love

What I used to do
Now you do
When you stop chasing
They start thinking about you
Without the curse
It’s surprisingly painless
No tides swallow me now
I used to love you

With words that flow from an extension
of me
of blue and black ink
stains on my fingers
every loop every letter
it carves a record on page
each stroke opens wounds
delicately stitched now spews out
beautiful red ribbons
blood runs thicker —
thicker than water —
between the lines
it stains
blurred out by drops of tears
each one melts off like rain
pooling in the crevices of cuts
sliced open by the pen
this mixture of red and
sparkling concoction
stings,
         hurts,
                and heals.

Soft yellow moistness
leaves nostalgia in my mouth
Little seeds that get
stuck in your teeth
that your tongue
struggles to get out
When you use your
fingers your mother
chastises you with a soft smile
Sweet and tangy
You lick the crumbs off your plate
“Another!” you say,
but you already ate them all,
too late.