Unannounced love seems to be the best
The gold of your earrings, the puff of your vest
Little things remind me of why you’re so special
Let me count the reasons, I know there’s several
Smart, kind, intellectual too
This sets you apart from the others I knew
When I say SMART-- I mean more than just books
Your knowledge is vast, you can even read looks,
Your KIND-- without needing acknowledgement
It’s just in your nature, passing no judgement
And don’t get me started on our INTELLECTUAL talks;
Your words touch my soul, they penetrate me
Parts of myself I never truly thought I’d see
You have an abundance of qualities I’ve come to admire
But how could I confess--  love has made me a liar
BUT-- we don’t speak of the past, we’ve moved on from it’s hold
Breaking our chains, for new lives we are told
Will make the best of you and me
I’ll never put you in a cage love
You’re perfectly free

Mountains, glaciers, redwoods alike
Hiking, running, going by bike
Shiver, stumble, gracefully aware
Wind, sand, snow in our hair
Stories, laughter, sadness take hold
Seeing, learning, making our mold
Life, happiness, too vital to deny
Quails, sequoias, untouchable skies
Shades of blue, green, colors surround
The Earth, spinning, not making a sound
Quiet, serene, clouds moving slow
Strong, silent, peace we would know
Unexplainable, these scenes make a person anew
Breathing in and out, these universal truths

anxious
surgery

waiting room
tic tac toe
winning
losing

waiting

can't
help
but
notice
not one
but
two

"Top Rated Doctor"
magazine covers
hanging
right
in
front
of
my face

waiting
still
…
called
back

disinterested
nurse

*****
-yet brisk-
cavalier
surgeon

cutting
sewing
apologizing
plainly
unemp­athetic

couldn't
help
the
tears
that
followed


and
for
taking
the
*******
time

to write
about
this
****

I believed in every word you said
How could I doubt
  But somehow I feel that even the smallest
   Anemone at the bottom of the sea needs
    Some kind of love to sprout


       And this sums up what we are
        Human beings on a mystical, spinning star
         We can't explain
          But even after the longest journeys around the world
            Traveling through space and time
              I'd still remember your name

The hustle and bustle is not for me
I want to live a quiet life, enjoy my own company

Forget the noises of the city
I'll sit here, make a drink, tell myself I look pretty

I don't want to take a bus, a taxi, or a train
I want to walk along on foot, even if it's in the rain

I don't want neighbors that I can see
Just a private backyard, fulfilling my own destiny

I want to hear the sounds of the great outdoors
The birds chirping, leaves falling, and begging for more

I don't like sirens or obnoxious parties
Rather play my guitar and write sad stories

I want to breathe deep, that fresh mountain air
And have no ones worries but my own to care

Some may call it selfish, this life I lead
But in this heart will live no greed

Only opportunity for learning and self growth
Live on, my child, let your feet feel the earth

The time is right
All is now
Simplicity and love
Will show you how

I have someone I love,
but they are far away

So I'm going to try and live like Horace, as well as many others said
And "seize the day"

He's a poet and I'm a poet
Living and breathing as one
When we're together and when we're apart
Missing each other like the moon and the sun

But our words keep us going
Without seeing each other's faces
I long to be with him more than anyone else
To travel all different places

My love, he's genuine, and kind, and sweet
Brings me flowers on days I oversleep
Promises my heart a place to keep
And meets me at the end of the road in bare feet
With nothing but a smile,
And a warm
White sheet

I think it's better that I write when I'm happy
Than to write when I'm sad
When I try to write something I just end up mad
Cause nothing comes out, nothing sounds good
I can't compose like I think I should
My mind wanders, but is more often blank
I consider, reconsider, and then over think
Well, it looks like I can write something after all
But most people, including myself
Conclude it's not any good at all

Boots laced up
Time to go
Out in the woods
We walk in snow

You look at me
Don't speak a word
In the silent thicket
Our voices heard

Keep trekking
We find our way
Our little adventures
Make my day

Forget the birds
Forget about doves
Forget about the things
That make you feel
any kind of love

Love poems are great in number
Rather than contributing, though,
I'll take a nice
long
slumber

I want to write about
more worldly things
Stuff that boggles the mind,
Perplexity it brings
Something that makes
you think I'm the best
poet of my time
Day and night,
I'll keep writing these lines
But
**** it,
I'm done this time

I am walking on
hard stones
Looking for
open roads
But there are no neon
signs lit tonight
Nothing to prepare me for
this inevitable flight
Up, up, up
I go
On the way,
in the air to roam
No longer seeing road…
Bring me down,
Pull me back
Head strong and looking
Avoiding the circular track
Nothing to better me
but myself and my own
and this life, for now
I'll call my own

When I think of you I think of spontaneous poems

Because when I think of you
I think of how god ****** artsy you are
and how quiet
and how gentle
and how intelligent
and articulate you are
and how you love coffee
and books
and how
you get my undivided attention
with those eyes

And I can't help but write poems
about that kinda ****

Are you sleeping now, love?
What time is it in France?
I've no idea,
but I know with you,
I long to dance
You make me want to dance, girl
We have danced before
That was the same night you told me
"whatever happens in the room stays in the room"
Next your clothes on the floor
But then
You went to get someone,
Someone else was at the door

Anyways, love
That was a long time ago
And I've known you forever
But I've never known your hold

Hold me dear,
Please,
Watch me cry
Your heads in my lap
And I'm looking in your eyes

It is you, darling, it has always been you
And I couldn't tell you when these feelings
Shown through
But they're here now, and you have
Always been gone
Come here love,
I don't play for everyone but I'll sing you this song

I don't know many chords and
I don't know how to sing
But for you, sweet one,
I'll let my little voice ring

Come back from France
Come back to me
Come back soon
So I becomes we

I really don't know
Where I should go

I believe in a few things
Never know what life will bring

I'm too tired to think
My eyes slowly blink

Time seems to stand still
Not even sure what is real

Looking for something I can't seem to find
Discovering myself, losing my mind

My footsteps disappear the further I walk
My voice drowns out the more I talk

Lost in myself, there's no one around
Just the Earth and I, tightly bound

I went to the bar
that Monday night
in hopes that it would be as good as Sunday night,
it had snowed
and that was my excuse for staying

(The truth is I didn't want to be alone)

Drunk Tim watched me as I ordered my drink
I had no idea
I thought he was some business man
Dressed in his suit
and tie
Drinking his cranberry & vodkas
with his coworkers he pretended to like
but he was
                       a l o n e

He came over and sat with us
made himself comfortable in the booth
this old perv...
he had a ring on his finger
and was obviously drunk
and he seemed to have this look in his eyes
like he was
running away from something
or someone;
maybe life or
sadness

Drunk Tim got behind me
like they do in the movies
to "help my form"
in hopes to sink that last pool ball
so I could be proclaimed
                                               w i n n e r
Guess what?
His perverted tactics
worked
and
I
won

And  I didn't really feel like a winner
But I laughed
and smiled anyways
and ordered another drink
as I sat down
alone
with Tim

I told him about books I was reading;
Slave narratives
and what they meant to me,
and he told me about a manuscript
he had written on racism
in America
And I thought he was full
of ****

And finally,
he told me
I had "depth"

And it was then I realized
that maybe drunk Tim
wasn't
such a dumb,
sad
drunk
after all

Or maybe,
he is all the more

I was running along the highway today
Downhill, I felt
Fast
And
Swift

I saw something
In my peripheral
That looked
Smashed into the ground
It was
White,
Familiar looking,
Like
Someone's
Pet

A
Fluffy,
Friendly
Dog
Rotting in the
Ground. Its head was
missing
It had already decomposed
It was part of the Earth, and
Its
Body
Was
Next

Poor dog,
I bet someone loved it
A lot

I bet they're smiling
I bet he's smiling

I don't know any other languages
Besides  the  one  of
                                        my
                                                    heart

I  hope  that  is
             enough.

Just like the past we wither away
All caught up in a world of grey
We don’t know why we’re here but we keep going on
...
Something around us is happening
The sand is counting itself
Hourglasses are frozen under the illusion of time
Poetry isn’t taught but we think it has to rhyme
All it boils down to is the conception of lines
On paper, creating shapes from thoughts
Abstract ideas, perceptions being altered;
In front of the altar
Everything we say can be turned into something else
If it's not happening to you it's happening to somebody else
Words on paper to stay true to ourself
Can burst into flames if you over think
Concise, precise, simple, plain
If you don’t go by these guidelines, expect to be put to shame
We aren’t all different but we aren’t all the same
To expect nothing is the hardest game

I can't read contemporary poetry anymore
I always see the words
"love" and "fire"
strewn together somehow
and it seems like everyone is always connecting
the two
or dissecting
what it means

And I can't read this contemporary poetry
because it reminds me of you;
fire
always will,
for you were burned without a cause
and your life forever changed
and I hope you know
you changed mine

And even though I don't have the scars to prove it,
you
burned
me
too

all these people
sitting around me
talking about what they had for lunch

and i could care less
and i don't listen
and they don't look at me for my input
because they know
i'm not engaged

and where i really long to be
is in bed
quiet
and comfy
listening to no ones
dumb
stupid
thoughts
but my own

I
still
have sand
in my gum
from when I
went to the beach
with you

the sand,
grinding against my teeth
feels a little like
what you
did
to me

One day
I woke up
and my
whole
life
changed

Bukowski,
I didn't like you at first
nothing you wrote stuck out to me
or tugged
anywhere in my body

But ****** if it wasn't so
you got me when I was truly alone
and now your book of poems
"you get so alone at times that it just makes sense"
is starting to make perfect sense

Sure enough,
you *******,
you are right
and
we
are
all
alone.

I've been in a haze
for a couple of days
(longer)
I stumble into bed
fall in and out of sleep
and wake up to
messages from you

and you've been in my dreams
(and I've been dreaming)
and I'm starting to feel
real good
about you and I

and I will never tire
  of our
    2:30 a.m.
   conversations

I don't go to church
and I don't know if I believe in the things
that go on in church,
but I do know
that when I
randomly
happen to hear
those
church bells
on Sundays
I
feel
alive

and maybe
it is in
those
moments
that I realize
what church is
supposed to
make you feel.

I
have this
friend,

she will
tell you
nothing
but
the
truth
(which
is too
truthful,
most of the time)

she is
the
type
to know
the code to
the printer,
and will
print off
75
pages
just
because
she can

she is
the
type
who can
make up a
story to
get out
of
anything,
and she
will,
too

and scarily
enough,
I feel
safe
when I'm
around her

and I
find myself
wishing
sometimes
I was
more like
her

and
when she
is not
around,
I'm wondering
who she
is
tantalizing
now

it's probably
some old
*****
who is
just as
uninterested
as she is,
but
he wears
expensive
glasses
and a
fancy necktie
and
this fills
her
void

and yet,
somewhere
in my mind
I know
my friend
will
not
get away
with living
her whole
life
this
way

someday it ends
and
then
what

Sometimes I can't take it
Sometimes it's all too much
The beauty of holding on to the world
Leaves me feeling out of touch

Sometimes I can't take it
Sometimes it's not enough
It's like the waves just keep crashing in
Beating you down so rough

Sometimes I can't take it
Sometimes I think I never will
But then I remember the sun
And how it's you, gleaming up over that hill

Sometimes I can't take it
Sometimes I know that it will be okay
It's usually when I look at you
And remember that these are just days

Just days passing by
No reason to get caught up
We can all take it
It will never be too much
and it will always
be
enough

You
eat
your omelette
like it
will be
your
last
one

You
remove it from
your
fork
with only your
teeth
(loud, metal
clashing
bone)
into your
mouth
much
like a
barbarian, ******
off at
the
world

You eat as
if to
send that
protein
right
where it
needs to be
in order
for you to be
strong
enough
to leave a
mark
on
your next victim

But
alas!,
you are just
a young
girl
and no
amount of
forceful,
angsty eating
will
change
that

Let's see…

There's one who likes to smoke
Just as much as me
Curly brown hair he wears
And quite the beard has he

Theres one who likes to ride bikes
Just like I do
He's small, he's sharp, and a handsome one
But something doesn't do

There's one who dresses like I dress
And likes to read, too
That makes for quite the man, you know
You should see his blue suade shoes

There's one who says few words
Similar to I
He looks, and smiles, and when he laughs,
God I want to cry!

There's one who says too many words
He's a mess, a know it all
But something in the way he moves-
Stop!-
Why must I think of him at all

There's one who likes to climb mountains
And look off in the distance
Some might say he lives like me
To create a beautiful existence

There's one who is scared to dive in
To a world he doesn't know
I want to hold him, tell him it's okay
Being scared is how you grow

There's too many options,
And there will only be more to come
So how am I supposed to choose
Out of six billion, just one?

You tell me I'm lovely
You tell me I'm thin
You tell me to come over
But you never say when

You tell me I'm different
You tell me I'm pretty
You tell me to get dressed up
You want to take me to the city

You tell me I'm quiet
You tell me too much
But you never did tell me
You were feeling out of touch

You told me to go
You told me to stay
You couldn't make up your mind
So I decided to leave anyway

You told me you were sorry
You told me you were dumb
You told me that you over think sometimes
And that it isn't any fun

I told you I would be here
I told you I would stay
But don't think that you're my lover
We couldn't last a day

Now you're broke and sorry
Wishing it was better
But "sometimes things happen that way"
I wrote you in a letter

I miss you everyday
I miss you all the time
If only you had known our love
Was always first in mind

I think about you
and I think about me
and I think that we both think too much
And I know that you'd agree

You told me you were happy now
You told me you were having fun
You told me to come visit soon
I could even meet your son

I was ****** and I was tired
I was sad and I was cold
This life just flew by us both
Too fast to grab hold

I am happy too you know,
I never needed you
To tell me that you needed me
I'm a shadow, I'm anew

You won't find me around here
Don't even come and look
"I'm long gone away somewhere"
I wrote you in a book

Now I only see ocean
I can't remember land
For time has passed and I am just a soul
Holding life in my hand

I want to remember your laugh
And the way you look when you walk away
I want to turn back the hands of time
In hopes that you choose to stay
I want to know how you're feeling
But I know that's not fair
I want you to hold my hand
Although I shouldn't care
I want you to see the clouds
The way I see them
But I know this can't be so
For I'm the flower, you're the stem

I'm sitting in class daydreaming of you
How the freckles on your shoulders used to smile at me
How your eyes look in the morning time
And the sound of your voice when you're serious
And all of these things flood my mind
Over and over until I am lost in your sea
And suddenly
I shudder
Thinking that one day you might not remember me

Light it up
On top the rock
Climb in there
Warm wool socks

Smoke and shiver
Feel relaxed
It's not so cold
Here on our backs

Walk the trail
Covered in snow
Slide and laugh
Our smiles grow

We lose our path
But find a new one
High in the mountains
So much fun

Close your eyes, tilt your
head back. You won't remember
That your life's off track

The leaves are starting to change colors,
The wind is turning cold
Fog is lurking late and early
On the autumn roads

Midnights here, in all its glee
The night has come so gracefully

The shadows of the trees tiredly dance
While the moon smiles and takes its chance

There's nothing more beautiful than the moment you see
That the world is crumbling, it's growing, it's free

Wondering about
All you are seeing tonight
Will you think of me?

I'm not so good at naming things
I don't see the importance or meaning it brings

I'm not very good at creating titles
I think too much, my brain goes idle

It's just something I'm not good at
I realize it, and embrace my flaws
It takes time and patience
To be good at anything at all

One day, perhaps, I will come up with something great
Until then, I am going to just keep writing and wait

My mind is always running between first and last,
Highs and lows
Trying to discover the secrets of life,
Secrets that no one else knows

My mind doesn't know when it's made up
Or when it's undone
Always searching the depths of forever,
And forever it'll run

My mind is in constant wonder
Looking for messages where no messages lie
I don't suppose it'll ever stop,
Not even when I die

But death is a funny thing, you know
We think it's here, then it goes
Coming much too fast, coming much too slow

My mind is always running between first and last
My mind knows nothing
My minds forgot about the past

My mind is made up on me and you
There's no changing it, it'll fight till its blue
My mind is a quiet and crazy place that I wish you could see
My mind is a master of fools
The biggest one being me

We are animals
Look in our eyes and see fear
We are all the same

You say I've changed you,
well,
you've changed me too.

Can't sleep, for I'm thinking of you
And all these feelings
You've put me through
I just want to write poems
In hopes that you will too
And one day we will show each other
What we stayed up late writing
While we were apart
From each other's aching hearts
We will laugh at the silly lines
And the metaphors that don't make sense
But we couldn't help but try
Just the thought helps us get by
You held my hand as we looked up at the sky
And once again, we said goodbye

I could love someone,
but not
like
I
do
you

From atop the roof I see mountains, rivers, side by side
I sit here just looking, the clouds act as a guide

I notice the beauty, even without you here
(don't confuse this for meaning I don't want you near)

The trees, tall, beginning to shed their autumn leaves
looking a little like you, and a little like me

For now, we're apart, and this is all I need
Here, alone, in quiet company

There sits a yellow
Bird on a branch. Hurry, look,
You might miss your chance!

Some things along the way we'll forget that we've seen

Look up, look how tall
The tree reaches. Look here, it
Even grows peaches!

Look up you fool,
there's a beautiful sky up there.

I bet you don't even know
the lengths I go.

Grab the vine and try
To swing. Hold on for dear life -
For gifts it will bring.

Why do you write
If you don't say what you mean?

Why do you keep growing
Even though you're green?

Why do you criticize
When you don't know what to say?

Why won't you look at me?
You look the other way…

Why do you question me
Even though you know the answer?

How do you get me to dance?
When you know I'm not a dancer

Why do you come around?
Even though its out of your way

Why do you leave so quickly?
Doesn't a part of you want to stay?

Why do you laugh at me
When I'm trying to be serious?

Why are you sometimes so quiet?
I know we're both mysterious…

Why do you have trouble
Saying what it is you mean?

Don't you know you can tell me
Absolutely anything

I am not sure of what to write
For these words are only fleeting
I am unsure of how to talk
For my voice has no meaning

I am not sure how to learn
For it requires time and patience
I am unsure of where to go
For I lack judgement and common sense

I am not sure how to walk
For it takes strong legs to endure
I am unsure of how to read
Although the words - from my heart - they pour

I am not sure of how to breathe
For my lungs are flowery bruised
I am unsure of how to see
You took my eyes, you took everything, you took it all with you