Fly across the parallel sky... rejoice as you dance
on broken arrows that plunge inside your feet.

You’re bumbling about,
breaking your legs on blades of grass.
Bogged down by savage winds, then
swallowed by some nocturnal beast.

(maybe they won’t find out).

Plastic wings beat as one,
yet you remain stuck to yourself.
Grayscale blood comes gushing out- watch
as you bounce around the jar.

(maybe it’s better off this way).

A thousand beady stares.
A thousand judgements pouring down.
Pollinate to purify,
scrubbing until your bones are raw.

(maybe they will cheer my name).

Your head’s a honeycomb,
sweet daggers dripping from your eyes
like rain.
Like pain.
Like a suit of skin that tears and bends.

(maybe my scream will split the sky).

Wrap the night around your waist... wait until its
blackened stripes have seeped beneath your hide.

Blissfully wading, anxiously waiting
for gentle waves to lay in each other’s lap.
I swirl my finger in playful circles; the water
softly grips, an infant’s hand that *****
with a toothless grin.  

I peer through ripples at the skyscrapers
below, stretching to feel the warm air blow
against their brittle faces. Why did they make them so
tall? The towers then fall, two by two, gradually drifting
besides those who once leapt with terror in their eyes.

Lying back, I witness the ground and the sky become
one ocean, an azure canyon with no walls. I fear if I stand up it
would hit me like the deepest note on a piano, leaving me to drown. I reside myself to a life spent on my stomach, greeted only by the water that kicks me in its sleep.

A beam of light shoots up across the way, like the dawn
breaks the day, like memories distort my reality. Could this be
someone like me? Someone desperate for the touch of flesh, to
remind them how easy it used to be. Back when the sun tickled your nose and the grass stained my skin a sickly green.

No, maybe just a mirror, a reflection. A window to a universe where I am just as lonely; lonely and tired. What would I do if this
was the case? I’d tightly smush my face against the cool glass.
I’d see myself wave goodbye and dive beneath the foamy tide, where I search for a sandy beach to hack up my sodden lungs.

I'm being attacked
I'm under siege.
I hideaway in Daddy's castle, where
monsters can only tickle my feet.

I'm running away
I'm distancing myself.
I hideaway in Daddy's castle, where
pictures of sunshine sit on a shelf.

I smell blood in the water
I see it drip on the moon.
I hideaway in Daddy's castle, where
scaly dragons help me lick my wounds.

I'm losing my mind
I'm not keeping pace.
I topple inside Daddy's castle, where
layers of dust lay caked on my face.

Did you hear, Magic Mirror?

My best friend said she suffers from depression.
Last week, she slit her stomach and tumbling out came a pile of ribbons.
A glittery red, spread out on the bed, they slowly melted through the floor and sank beneath the boiling surface.

Did you hear, Magic Mirror?

The boy across the street says he models for fun.
Except, he doesn't wear any clothes.
Except, there isn't any show.
Just a camera, his stepdad, and four carefully shuttered windows.

And did you hear, Magic Mirror? About the man they found sprawled face down in a ditch?

His skin a soft white, lips a blood red, he'd laid there quietly for a couple of days.
Maybe three.
Maybe five.
Carved jaggedly into his pale forehead: ******.
In fact, all over his mangled body, like a demonic chant that hisses and wails.
******, ******, ******.

Did they ever consult you, Magic Mirror?
Longing for answers of identity and love, you spat in their vulnerable face, cutting them with your vicious shards.
Like soft ash, harsh gasps of air blew them away into the deep blue night, where they gently landed in unrequited tears.

A secret, forbidden.
Lurks through alleys,
hidden.

An icy breath tickles your chest, while
cerulean flames engulf the night.

A cancer, spotted.
Carves a pathway,
clotted.
Jaundiced rooms ebb and flow, purple
tide pools that dejectedly erode.

A pariah, banished.
Whispers to loved ones,
vanished.
Cannot ignore this chemical *****, golden
glitter still speckled throughout her hair.

A human, forgotten.
Splayed on couches,
rotten.
A look of surprise in his childlike eyes, milky
white oceans that lull him to sleep.

Empty boulevards, redolent of scorched tears, stretched out
Across miles of broken backs and good intentions, and
He recalled times of parades, all before
This singular day, which had lasted decades.

His feet, painfully blistered, throbbed like a broken
Heart across mutilated streets lined with
Crumbling mansions that stood vacant, looking down
On beggarly widows absorbed by hot pavement.

The sun bore down on his dark brown brow, while
A bouquet of needles dangled from his arm, reflecting a
Message across the sickly sky:
“How young is too young to die?”

Then, as fiery dusk hurtled towards Earth, he wandered
Slowly towards the edge of the world,
Curled his toes in the dusty sand,
And threw his body into the Rio Grande.

There once was an
awkwardly boyish man who
liked to pick his nose,
especially in public.

One day the man, upon encountering
a monolith of residue, picked too hard
and scratched the inside of his nose, which
began to bleed.

For the entirety of his day, he smelled
the gooey metallic substance swell
throughout his nostrils and tighten
into a scab.

Spot the Dog

A man's best friend,
A playful little fluff whose
Love knew no ends.

A wild and crazy pal,
His paws dug trenches in the yard
And his saliva carved deep canals.

An excitable little pest,
He once bit my mother, but
I still thought he was the best.

A conniving pain in the ***,
He always too extra care to make
Sure the carpet stained of grass.

A real sack of ****,
He died the way he lived.
He choked on his spit.

Good riddance. I'm getting a cat.

Tumbling up and down the aisle,
Idling in front of the ice cream.
Crying about how that one flavor left,
Letting you hang and dry on a bucket of ice.

Ask yourself, "Is it really worth going through?"

Turn the corner and plunge face first in
Fishy residue that kinda tastes like glue.
Glacial grandmas clogging up the aisle,
Eyes subdued by pretty colored boxes.

Nod yes, "This is what my momma says I want to do."

Hurdle over tantrum throwing toddlers,
Tell yourself how they'll never be like you.
U-turn into some pickled shallots,
Shattered shards ticked gently between your toes.

Ask yourself, "Shouldn't I expect more?"

Slip and slide past the yellow caution sign,
Sigh and shrug as your feet begin to leave the floor.
Fly over registers of frustrated heads,
Heading towards the front door and into the trash can.

They say, "No, no. This is what living life is for."

Dumped properly in a swamp on the corner.
Corn bits and bran flakes filter through your nostrils.
Nothing's been gained from this whole ordeal,
Or maybe you're not destined to enjoy it.

The polish dripping on,
Spreads its wings like a swan.
Flash that skirt,
It doesn't hurt.
Looking so pristine,
Independent queen.

Face lays brightly bare,
Concealed by pithy hair.
Don't you shave,
It's what you crave.
Looking rough and mean,
Independent king.

The lines begin to blur.
Rigid roles grow dimmer.
Epicene,
Tear down the screen.
Authenticity,
Who you want to be.

I idle in the shower.

Outside my window, bees are dutifully
Assisting flowers in their seasonal ****, carrying
Loads of dusty ***** to potential mates.

A little girl walking to school trips, the sound of her skin
Slowly scraping against the aged ground touches the edges
Of the Earth, and falls into nothingness.

A swallow, keen and alert, quickly gathers brittle
Twigs for her three eggs, and, upon finding only two
remaining in their nest, she quietly sits and sleeps.

My face erodes in the shower.

In the end we remember what we
want,
We forget what we
need,
We mold the world around us,
And do so
Impulsively.
†

How I miss that spontaneous smile, and
The giggle that echoed off the walls
Of the universe, permeating every hopeless
Crevice and spawning endless joy.

How I long for the endless conversations
About boys, movies, and ukulele chords.
Your shoulder to cry oceans on, while your
Baby smooth fingers run through my messy hair.

How I wish his potent spell hadn’t
Sunk into your heart, meticulously *******
The bliss from life, and leaving you
Shriveled and somber.

How I cry when I see those speckled eyes
Flicker with tears, while you gulp down
All the pain, all the grief, all the anger
That festers inside your entire being.

How I love this gem, this rarity in humanity
That engulfs the world like a supernova of
Wonder and zest; and while the clouds of perdition
Loom overhead, your light will never snuffed.

I see the world in bombshells.
I see the world in pastels
Dripping down the stairwell,
Feeling bittersweet.

I bargain for my time awake.
I bargain for the past mistake
Clogging up my mind’s intake,
Feeling obsolete.

My plans were lofty, my plans were grand.
But now I’m drowning in a sea of hands.

I **** my idols because I can.
I **** my idols to be a man
Shredding my hopes inside a fan,
Feeling incomplete.

I see the world in pastels, bleached and beautiful.

My soul hung upon the rack,
Naked and damp.
Give it a good shake, open my cage,
And drift bitterly into the chilly breeze.

I zip up to the horizon,
The vicious orange glow
Maniacally frying the gentle blue.
I can’t feel my toes.

Waywardly traipsing on the edges of earth;
The dripping ice marks my path.

I promenade through tired crowds,
Whizzing around beaten heads,
Playfully clipping sweaty legs.
Their heated anger tickles my nose.

A hot pink sea lay blushing below.
Glossy white pearls rain gleefully from soft clouds.
They pelt me down to the surface, which smiles back.
My hair glitters like notes on a piano.

The eager pearls tug at my burning skin,
Giggling with me towards the core.
Cough up ice cubs to mark the trail.
My soul is on fire!

The city is dead.

A meandering guide across the sea
Of slick and slimy metallic beings,
Inching into the fire.

The house is dead.

All of the fore fathers and poor mothers
Lurking slowly like festering lepers
And melt into the walls.

The sky is dead.

Denizens of the rickety prison
Flooding toward a decaying vision
That evaporates into night.

The buzz of the TV
Echoes off the drywall.
He lands on the floor like a stone.
Alone, he is left to crawl.

Skin becomes an ashtray,
A gray and ancient fossil.
Lifetimes are spent in bed.
Dead flies on the window seal.

Dreams are created
On ***** soaked mattresses.
He manages a single tear
With fear it will be his last.

Cast away from the herd,
Sheltered by the thickening trees,
His damaged soul must endure
A ***** among amputees.

Bright lover, sun bather.
Your soft glow hums, shimmers
Like a flickering fly as it plunges into the light.

Low whisper, dark corner.
Your walls, bruised by the
Aching cries that reverberate throughout
The valley, moan and groan.

Cold shiver, wide river.
Your rushing currents pull and
Tug at my body, naked and afraid,
As moon beams bounce off of my startled eyes.

Hot fever, sweet ginger.
Your smooth figure exhales and
Melts on the linoleum, and I slip and fall,
With little desire to rise.

Silent and alone, I solemnly gaze at the aged court.
The hallowed roar of a steady stream
Suffocates the atmosphere

Like decrepit statues, they silently stare

The deflated and beaten sphere in my tiny hands.
Bitter tears, from the blackened surface
Prickling my bare feet.

Swish, thump, swish, thump.

The rickety backboard half-heartedly
Gives off a rattling cry.
It's tattered net cannot take much more.

An ashen pit, with stale passion

Surrounding bushes gag
On bleak sunlight.
I dejectedly make shot after hopeless shot.

A taunting figure cackles and booms.

Two yellow lilies in a sea of black berries.
Fighting off hordes of danger and strife.
They caress to fight the cold, smile to fight the night.
The bitter thorns cannot touch their lovely patch of green.

Two autumn leaves floating dangerously over the eaves.
The jealous wind blows with all it's might.
They cling on tightly by their fingertips.
Their hearts plead for mercy.

Two tiny turtles listen as the fearsome wave curdles.
Madly sprinting for safety; flat feet sinking in the sand.
The wave hits my face, but never touches yours.
I won the race, but I lost the war.

Two yellow lilies in a sea of black berries.

In my dreams,
You look just like your mother.
Your curly locks bounce softly against the summer breeze,
And your face is flushed with hope.

In my dreams,
I see you in a sparkling white gown.
Your gentle arm around mine.
Tears flowing from our eyes.

In my dreams,
You bring meaning to a sad life.
Anger and desperation do not touch you.
Golden forever, golden for me.

In my dreams,
...you'll remain for eternity.
The countless whys and ifs
Do not do you justice.

I'm sorry-
Love, Daddy

I painfully squint at
The pale, breathless light above.
Youthful hands caress my withered body.
Children incessantly bicker in the corner.

I feel the gentle warmth of his chest.
Erotically, he kisses my neck.

The deep breathing and trembling sorrow
Surrounds me; I feel I am drowning in oblivion.
I pray for this melodrama to cease forever.

I erupt with joy at his electric touch.
Lovingly, he kisses my brow.

Generations line the medicinal bed.
They weep and hold my wrinkled paw. My mind wanders.

I slowly run my hand across his divine face.
Tenderly, he kisses my lips.

Darkness, a piercing scream, a single tree. Nothing.

I see him quietly waiting by a rumbling stream.
Eternally, we are together.

I'm sinking, like a boat
hurtling towards an eternity of darkness and rust, washed beneath the tide.
I'm falling, like a scream
echoing throughout the chasm of my heart.
I'm sobbing, like a puppy
whimpering woefully at the imperial moon, longing for a home.
I'm waking, like a train
howling ferociously down the slippery tracks of life.
I'm rising, like a man
no longer hiding through the facade of a self-induced coma.
I'm fighting, like a snake
cornered by those who cower in the wake of its beauty.
I'm yelling, to silence
the preaching demons that cause me shame.
I'm smiling, to show
that my love for another man does not wallow in sin.
I'm singing, to allow
the joy I feel to bounce playfully off the valley walls.
I'm flying, to dance
among the white clouds that greet me like lovers.
I am a man, no longer ashamed,
no longer afraid, ready to love.