reaching for the stars
my fingertips grazed the milky way
grasping formless spheres
subtle, undeniable, divine;
luminous flames & shifting
patterns shriveling, expanding,
bursting into brilliant supernovas
surrounding & consuming
me; I’m awash in half-baked light,
wisps of nebula purple, fragmentations
of fantastical celestial cosmos
colliding, collapsing, stumbling;
i'm lost in their luster, their unwitting
instability drenched in calculated recklessness
but the stars seem to elude me
for i come back empty handed

(n.) an utopian concept we desperately strive to achieve but never quite get to reach

tireless ocean eyes
read syllables bouncing into oblivion

in a dreamy state
i seem to store words away
one after another
shelving the crisp cool breeze of candor
next to the cacophony of collusion
love’s shameless rebellion
& the ideologically lovely
multiplicity of you

my sense of self is blurred
lost in the plumpness of passion
charm’s blushing softness
& the three blackberry scoops of Galway's
“squeeze, squinch open, & splurge”

though needful seems to fail me,
leaves me awash in melancholy waves
the struggle of demoralized
tussles with dismayed

fog whirls around your mutilated carcass
I have been in this state for too long
brittle nails & worn hair, drawn-out smile

I open your grave to find Pandora's box
your words choke me
turning my teeth a deeper shade of red

scarabs escape
bore into my face
& infiltrate my deepest memories
I surrender

I sit next to shadows
on the bus
tomorrow
and as the Q lulls Us to sleep
I ask Them
“what time is it?”
Their voice runs vertically
“shard by shard We are released
from the tyranny
of so-called time.”

I got out and walked
to the next stop
I think I’ll choose the escalator
over the stairs next time