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When I say irritated, I mean it prickles my skin.

When I say sore, I mean it stays red and puffy.

When I say annoyed, I mean it furrows my brow.

When I say displeased, I mean my mind is tangled.

When I say provoked, I mean I long to strike out.

When I say I’m angered, I mean it fires my heart.

When I say enraged, I mean it curdles my soul.
Thinking, expanding, feelings
She asked me
If I had ever been
In love

Then I
Realized that I
Had never not been
In love

I realized
I  wanted
Nothing  
Other than love

I think there is
Only one
Off-ramp
From the journey
Of love

That off-ramp
Is judgment

A critical heart
Combined with
A critical eye
Fills one with
The opposite
Of love—judgment

Judgment colors
The mind with
Negativity

Until the sin of
Judgment
Is displaced
By a lust
For love,
One will not find peace

When love invades
One’s heart
The body finds peace

When love is abundant
And bountiful
There is no fear
Of wasting love
Nor spilling love
For love can grow
Anywhere

So am I
In love?

Yes, I am
In love
Excessively
Wastefully and Willingly
love, questions, judgment
The psychic tattoo
of paternity
darker than
fate’s blackest ink

The guilted knife
of maternity
cutting you
near to the brink

A prodigy alone
in the shadows
offspring of
scorn and disdain

Begging for love
and acceptance
from parents
— called heartache and pain

(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)
I said
what I had
to say

And did
what I had
to do

While asking
no one
to care

And seeking
nothing
from you

I went
where I had
to go

And saw
what I had
to see

To get
where I had
to get

And be
what I had
— to be

(Bryn Mawr College: June, 2025)
Do you write
pretty words
with a message
unchanged

Does intent
leave you vacant
the darkness
sustained

Do you ponder
and flirt
in a language
affair

Do you kiss
and then tell
without promise
or care

Do you vow
to do better
with love
on reprieve

Does your heart
leave you jilted
next breath
— to deceive

(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)
One
I’d gladly take
one verse
ill written
Than a tome
explicit
with words
unfelt

I’d gladly take
one moon
still distant
Than a sunrise
hidden
by rain
that pelts

I’d gladly take
one real
good tiding
Than a score
of praises
that slap
my back

I’d gladly take
one heart
on fire
Than a million
minds
no souls
— attached

(Villanova University: June, 2025)
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