you're everything
you're the blankets that wrap around my body at night.
you're the moon and the stars and the earth and the sun, the reasons i'm alive.
you're the nightlight that keeps me safe.
you're the busy background noise that keeps me sane.
you're the moon and i'm the ocean waves.
you're that perfect amount of sugar in my morning coffee.
you're the sun that soaks up all of my energy, just to wake me up the next morning.
you're the music that plays in the car on the way home.
you're the shot of ***** on a friday night, keeping me on the edge, while pushing me to my very last inch.
you're the rush of adrenaline that pulses through my body as i sneak to your car in the middle of the night.
you're the low volume music that hums me to sleep at night.
you're the comfiest sweater in the long winter months.
you're the perfect summer storm.
you're the blast of caffeine that opens my eyes.
you're the imperfectly perfect painting that has always been my favorite.
you're my favorite song that comes on shuffle.
you're the mystery that i don't mind trying to solve.
you're the thing i'm most proud of.
you're the bustling city traffic during rush hour.
you're the sound of my heart beating.
you're my favorite movie, the one i love to watch on repeat for what seems like forever.
you're the goosebumps i get when you say my name.
you're the flicker of candle that i feel when you walk by.
you're the notebook filled with poetry that i carry, making your way into everything.
you're the perfect book on a sad day.
you're the nighttime darkness that keeps me from getting caught.
you're absolutely everything.

love is not a safe word
it’s one haiku revised 400 times
on cracked leather chairs in the corner of cafés

some of us love badly
she says as she kisses the rim of her glass.
some of us love stretched out
like pizza dough that rips when our rolling pin rolls it too thin.

some of us love in secrecy
we do not trust your hands.
you try to pull our scalp off and draw your portrait on our mind

some of us love clean
like bubble bath that smells like lavender from some fancy store in the mall
some of us love *****
we cant clean you off our skin

some of us kiss with our teeth
some of us braid our lovers into our hair
and when we remove the hair tie
it is crimped and messy and tangled

some of us love love
but only far from home
when we slip into bed we start thinking
and we can’t stay still

some of us wash our clothes even when they don’t smell
or aren’t stained
just because it feels like you are inside of our shirts and pants and sneakers

some of us walk alone past your house
on the way to ours
and stop at the front step
waiting for you to come out
and smile at us
the only thing we wait for today
are the smudged signatures of snails
scrawled across your pavement

some of us love to the bone
until there are no more “ifs”
just “is” and “are”
the collected poems of our fingers
swollen, bruised, red like a bouquet of roses

some of us love
and we regret it
we never get home in time for dinner because of it, we leak like a faulty faucet, we sleep with our pillows over our heads to keep everything in
but some of us love
some of us own a watch and know the time with a glance at our wrist, some of us own a sponge to soak up the water, some of us own satin pillows that feel like whispers on our cheekbones

Somehow,
it convinces you to swallow
a constant flow of
molten tar,
soon to blacken the pink
matter that resides
in you,
eventually oozing through the
pores of your paper-thin
skin –
and once you finally
unlock your jaws to
scream,
The ones you thought would
save you shove it back
down your throat with
laughter.

Saying goodbye
To someone you love
Is like reading the final page
Of an amazing book.

As the last chapter ends
You begin to notice
Just how beautiful
And perfect
The plot always was.  

You appreciate the joy
And even the pain
As you read and thumb
Through every page.

Finally understanding
The moral of the story,
You realize you've reached
The end of this journey.

Although the last sentence  
Is the most difficult to read
Another great book awaits
Once you turn the final page.

Eventually you may stumble
Upon yet another great find.
Or maybe you'll return
To the book you left behind.

You may just discover
Once all is said and done
That this particular book  
Was your favorite story
All along.