little dancing puffs of smoke creep out of
a sturdy vine-ed house with a slanted facade.
the dandelions mingle amongst the uglier weeds
under the porch that splinters from too great a weight.
from the cracks in the rooftop
dangle the last of adolescent hopes
which trickle down into the sodden foundation.

in a universe of vast nothingness,
sits a speck of a nimble some-thing
both unremarkable and pleasant.

You don’t fall
Not at first, at least.
Not all the way down
You can't count on that luxury.
It's like walking down a flight of stairs
For a glass of water between terrors
And thinking that there’s one more stair
Than there actually is.
That gust of panic,
That moment of throbbing silence,
As you try to paste the world back together again
And settle that quickened thump in your chest-
That’s the love as best I know it,
Exhilarating.
An upwards-bound roller coaster.
And there’s happiness in there somewhere,
I’m sure.