My brother Theodore
always said he loved me more
than gold or silver.
Our bond was stronger than any
that i had in my youth.
I'd tell him the truth
of my thoughts about girls
and all the troubles with boys at school.
When I tired of this town,
he promised to show me the world someday.

When he went out to sea
he said he'd come back for me,
"In a years time. You'll be fine.
Listen for me in the breeze."
But that was three years ago
and mother sits out in the snow.
Thinks she sees him sometimes
in the streets after wine.
He didn't come back in time.
She drinks herself to sleep.

Oh Theo, I can't keep this up long.
Oh Theo, what am I doing wrong?
Oh Theo, your memory keeps me strong.

Last time he walked out the door
he was kissing on Eleanor.
She was full with his child
when he said he'd be back in a while.
But she died one winter morning
and I took it as a warning
to never love somebody
if I'd not be there to mourn them when they go.

Oh Theo, she held my hand as we waved.
Oh Theo, as the waves took you away.
Oh Theo, now I'm almost grown.
Oh Theo, and I'm feeling alone.

I'd lay by the water, let the tide pull me in.
In the waves I was swallowed, ready for my life to end.
Death comes in threes but I wanted him to take me too.
Without him I was nothing but a boy without a song.
In the breeze I'd hear him sing, "It's time for you to move along."

So I packed my bags and left
after mother took her last breath.
I wanted to believe
there's something better for me out there.
So I travelled through the trees
and up the hills and through the streams.
I sipped my flask in a tent next to the water
I called Whisky Springs.

paper waits to take a beating
from this pen, it's raging quest
to deeply drag and tear the meaning
for an unexpected guest.

black and blue across the surface
lines instinctively know their way
forming shapes she can't describe them
hurts too much for her to say.

when it's over hand is tired
smudged on side yet satisfied
nothing gained but something less
than what she'd held so deep inside.

red is the blood on my knuckles
when I get mad and punch
the wall.

yellow is what I see when I
close my eyes and listen
to a happy song.

green is when I'm jealous
and I have to bite my tongue.
and then we're back to
red, red, red
as I taste the blood.

blue is when
I'm all choked up
and trying not to cry.
But blue is also serenity-
the ocean and the sky.

pink is how I fall in love.
and how I dance and ride my bike.

grey is when I'm inbetween
the colors black and white.

black is when I've sunken deep,
and feel that no one cares.

and white is when I first wake up
and see you laying there.

"I need space" she said
And took away, in her eyes,
My whole universe.

Take the plunge
face your fears.
And through doing so
underlying courage appears.

And now you like simple girls
When I already combed my hair
Like the way your former girls do

When I already painted my lips
Like how the roses would bloom
In rows in the fields

When I already dressed myself
With how the pretty girls do

When I already turned into something
Your senses have been looking for

"I like simple girls"
And I never got the irony
Turned myself into someone I don't know
Because now, right in this moment

*You like simple girls...

he was an artist,
she was a poet.

he drew beautiful paintings,
she wrote melancholy poems.

he saw her, sitting outside a cafe,
quietly sipping her cup of coffee,
while gazing up at the blue sky,
occasionally looking back down
to write something in her journal.

later that night, he decided to go
for a evening stroll.  

he saw her sitting on a bench,
gazing up at the moon with
sad eyes.

he walked to the bench and
sat himself next to her.

she blinked once and looked
at him.  he smiled back and
silently nodded his head as a
greeting and she smiled back.

she looked back up at the moon
and said, "the moon is beautiful isn't it"

he looked up at the moon and replied,
"yes, i think it is beautiful how the
moon glows using the sun’s light
and the sun never asks for anything
in return."

she looks back at him again, and
smiles shyly while whispering,
"yes, i like it too."

he smiles back at her warmly and
looks back up at the moon.