your voice is a
low rasp
disguised as ambiance
you're a
wasp
and I’m the nest
you loud
little
pest

“It’s there.”

“It’s where?”

“It’s there.”

She’s pointing at my
hair.

“What’s there?”

“Your fear, it’s
hiding behind
your hair.”

“I do not fear.”

“Yes, you lie.”

“I do not lie.”

“It's there, hidden
behind
your eyes.”

Set the doll
aside?

i sent a leaf
down the river
it was easier than
folding paper boats
and
swimming
upstream

i watched it leave
down the river
it said goodbye
father rock
mother tree
and
cascaded
downstream

And she fell,
into ice-cold water.
Her legs kicked,
gasping for air
that once suffocated her.

She didn't scream,
reached her hand out,
not for light, but to bid goodbye.

She looked around,
to realize the dark
she had walked into.

Fate laughed,
as she closed her eyes.
Oh, what an irony,
she couldn't swim.

Some people laugh,
but they’re hurting inside.
They say, “I’m fine,”
with tears they hide.
So always be gentle,
you never quite know,
who’s faking the light
while feeling the low.