Mangled pieces of paper
fly through this brain tissue,
swirling in a dirt devil.
They fall into place and
then picked up again
to fly inside this dome.
Who is there to collect these
pieces, but the hands
on the outside?
Oneself can only see indoors
but not reach the outside
once trapped in.
These pieces quarrel
to be put together
and to not be burned
in the fire.
Where is the water to douse
these flames
but on the outside?
No flesh
can properly reach in
and douse the flames
and still the storm.
Only the door on the inside
can let Him in.
On both sides He is
seen
and the heart invites
Him in.

Tears dance down
the facade and
flood waters swell up
these wooden beams.
They are heavy
and they bow.
The house tilts and
all the water
rushes
to one side.
No tree can
lift
nor bush nor bird
can put this house
upright.
All that is inside is
twisted
and mangled.
No fish can amend
this entangled reef
nor deer live
in this watery thicket.
Tears tear down this
house to dying pieces, though
no storm shall uproot
this foundation, if
it is built on rock.

Hold me dear
A mind unknown.
Laughing
Hard.
Stomach
-full of stones.
Empty sleep
morning sun
wake unto
a world undone.

Color in
my brittle skin.
Mi amor
expel my sin.
Rushing waters
upon a throne
wake unto
a world unknown.

Breaking music
playing dawn
tighten up
O' spotted fawn

Dear Lord
heal
my tired soul
lest I wake unto
a world of coal.

A thousand heartbeats
rest upon a pillow
racing
to no finish.
A pulse quickens,
a tongue
tied,
strained by veins.
Sleep is
LOST
in a dream
a haunted fairy tale
draining
my
bruised
soul.

The dirt in your toenails,
the sweat between your fingers,
an itch on your elbow,
the hair on your face,
a noise in your ears.
Now,
gaze into the paper
on the desk,
Hard, hard and wooden.
HA! wait...
A feather drags across your arm ever so delicately-BAM!
You broke dat vase. EAT!
A piece of apple gets stuck in your teeth.
Gradu,
all wet and slimy,
an imprisoned after-taste in your mouth. Now,
stare into your neighbor's face.
Lips stretched longways-exposed to the elements,
riding out the storm.
A warm breath invades your facade.
Board up the windows, now
Hide!
Outside, roses bloom and thorns
stick into your ankles.
You leave behind
a trail of blood.

We go out running around having fun. Sounding wrong and it is. Laughing at wonderful people wondering who wanders upstairs. Downstairs, inside, outside, we chuckle. Whole-heartedly snickering about how we are sneaky. Openly and closed. Up and downward. Motion stop and go. Away in a tower we play. Puppets moving and breathing. Deeply praying. Silently knowing that I have to go. From here, I have no control. Over and again feelings melt through laws written in stone. Cold-blooded people smother their shame. Less they seek the truth. Full of shame we are not. Falling out. Falling inside. Ways to fall in and under a spell unsaid but drunken. Again. Spell it out again. We see each other. Wise owls know. Nothing is heard. Sheep do not ponder the fate of their own wool. Spun webs spell out the sweet cruelty done. Over laughter, pain dies and thrives.

Hold quiet.
Hold quiet, boy.
Move fast.
Fast.
Fast.
Trace hidden drawings.
Secrets held twice.
Hold the leash.
Hold quiet, boy.