Haunting me in snow motion,
All on the breeze that set me free,
Floating, Drifting, Flipping, Twirling
All of my kinetic energy

Brings me to my knees
Taunting me, there's
no way to know if it's
Testing me,
I shouldn't be scared...
Should I be scared?

A Whiff of Candlelight,
Sulfur Burning in the Night--
The Shift in Shadows--Slight,
The Will of the Flicker
Getting Thicker and Thicker
Makes Me Start to--
Waver
Take that
Tumble
No Use
Aiming
Start Proclaiming
Your Name in
Reclaiming
the Energy
that Washes Over
Me--the
Potential,
The Reverie--
It's Potent--
It's Haunting Me.

Squishy fated
Topography
Meant to puzzle
Together,
the nexus of
Interlocking
limbs--
pulsing and
pumping.

The conductive
catalyst
the dazed hazy
Swooning--
I bite my lip
and you start to
give in,
I won't tell you no--
take a hit
to the bed
grabbing sheets
*******
air past teeth
no thoughts
just breathe...
or don't.

Choke
on the nexus
of firing synapses
the electric relapses
into shivers and moans--
****--
I need
to
feel you.

Your skin
lingers in
the shivers--
in the wake
of the day
my body
Remembering
that you
aren't there
and it aches.

Please--
Lead me there,
Take
Me
Please,
Let me
bathe in
your twilight.

I go out of my way
to make people laugh
Because
people
went out
of their way
to make me cry.

I Will Combat
belligerent
ignorance
Every. *******. Time.
In My Way.

Saying Nothing
Encourages the
choking vines
to thrive,
nurturing Silence.

I heal hearts--
Ignorance took
a running start
to push over
My resolve.

Rip up the page,
Start again.
Another person
Stopped Listening.

I go out of my way
to brighten someone's day
Shared Laughs,
Shared Smiles.

How
Someone
Made You Feel--
That
Is what
You remember.

Do I need to
Be Remembered?
I would like to be.

But
If I have only
ever touched
your life
Once
I hope
You Remember
How
I made you feel.

The gentle gesture
of a kangaroo eating
out of the palms of your hands
cupped just so,
hands beneath just holding
your hands there
trusting you to offer
a favorite treat.

I look over at you.
The look of adoration
stuns me.

It's not that I'm surprised,
It's more that you look at me
like I'm a wonder, an enigma,
Some precious strange thing
to be protected
and loved
and cherished.

A moment captured in time
You lean up behind me and
the picture is done and we
move on.

You are my gentle love,
the honey in my gaze,
the caramel apple of my eye
the happy ending of my days.

Your sweetest company
a mystery unfolded,
an adventure enfolded
into laced fingers
and bodies
folded
skin against skin.

I wouldn't change who you are
for anything.
You could never be anyone else
and I wouldn't want you to be.

That's what he said to me.
My love, my hope, my fluidity.

There is a stillness
In the deepest
part of the night
When everyone
has gone to sleep:
even the cat.
I can hear her
dreaming
in the silence.

Stretched out paw
She reaches out,
Knowing she's safe.
Knowing she's loved.
Knowing she will
Never be abandoned.

I changed to get here
Under the heavy blanket
of eleven thousand nights
of stars.

Did you see what they saw?

Why do you think it's red?

The silk I drape you with,
I forged in heat,
In fire. Blisters,
Boiling flesh
Give way to
Soft hands
&
timeless debts.

I will never stop
Struggling,
Reaching
Working
For Humanity
to be able to
Live Abundantly.
Live Fully.

Be in the Moment--
Wish I could erase the fear--
Bombs in the building next door,
Where the next meal will come from,
Medicine shortage,
Families torn apart,
Lives gone in seconds,
Contaminated water.

When someone reaches their
Hand out in a gesture of faith,
Of hope, of desperation,
Meet them with kindness.
Meet them with warmth.
Even when you don't have a thing to give
in material, it is immaterial
To offer a slice of the humanity
We have all been gifted.

Not all of us are safe,
Or have the comfort of love,
And many have been abandoned
By family, by society, by anyone
that feels
it is hard to look at someone
that you find pity for.

Look. That is where you will find
the deepest expression of humanity.

It's in the purrs.
It's in the exaltation
of the burden.
My people struggle.
But we have *******
Been. Through. It.
Let me take it on.
We know how to
*******. Thrive.
In. Struggle.

I swim with weights.
I have trained for this.
You wanna go toe to toe?
Let's ******* dance.

I give myself a cheery wave,
I deserve a good start at least.
This time is more confident, knowing, loved.

This time
The reflection stays and basks
in the warmth of the love reflected.
The smile is calm, accepting and comfortable.

What once was a shell
has cascaded as it rolled down the hill
gained momentum,
picking things up along the way,
gaining speed and ******* soaring.

Shell no longer, my bounty is full
and I couldn't be more grateful.
My insides are starting to match
my expectations of my outsides again
which feels good.
More than that--I feel like myself.

Heya friend!
I call to my reflection.
Her eyes crinkle and she smiles
throwing the peace sign,
Then she gives me a serious look
and points to our heart
and mouths:

"Protect It,
But Don't Waste Your Potential.
Go Love. Be Loved. Be Love."

She turns to go,
But over her shoulder she turns
and says:

"By the way, I'm proud of you.
I'm proud to reflect who you have become.
You deserve all the happiness life can bring
and all the sadness that sharpens the joy.
Now the goal is to experience everything,
Take it all in,
Don't take any of it for granted
and worship life.
Love and worship really living."

My reflection doesn't leave me,
Even when things are rough these days,
I have learned a lot in days numbered, years, decades,
I can't reclaim my youth
but I can avoid its mistakes for my own sake.

This world is scary enough right now,
People sowing the hatred that snuffs out light
That breaks the glass of shops and places of prayer
and homes of people
who just want to be able to live their best lives,
my hopes for the future dwindle low
but my candle still burns,
and with a thousand candles
and two thousand feet
and ten thousand fingers raised
maybe someone will see
maybe it will cause change?

What will it take?
I hope violence isn't the answer.
I have a family to raise.
A life to live.
In the community I want to make friends in.
I don't want this,
But I have to be a good example
To the generations who come and will
Need. Good. Examples.

I feed my reflection positivity now.
I feed my reflection ferocity and the willingness to speak up.
I feed my reflection hope with motivation to enact change.
I feed my reflection the willingness to accept flaws.
I feed my reflection patience to understand others' perspectives.

A few things have changed though.
We hardened up a little bit.
Around the block a little bit.
I don't put up with narcissist *******,
I handle myself with decorum but push me
and I bite back,
Verbally. Don't talk to me
as if you already know me

I have friends and you friend
are not a friend so go back to
Your friends, this conversation
Is at an end.

What feminine people go through
while you can come out stronger,
it takes a lot of tumbling to get that
gem nice and shiny.

Starting a new chapter,
Me.
I think we've made good choices so far
that led us here.
There are some weird bumps ahead,
But I think with the support of partners
and loves and lovers and friends
We will help each other get through this
Fighting when we have to,
Leaning on each other,
And never forgetting what we're fighting for.

The gilded age watching over
The laughs echoing from the stage,
The lights dancing as they turn the page
Transition to the next game, checkmate.

I've been here the whole time
We've been discussing the Bidet
And the cult following they accrued
A total of thirty followers ensued
Enough to make a documentary.

A burgundy suit all picked out
For a wedding in June to Jess and...Jess,
All ready in a chic black dress,
All the suggestions flow and go and know
And the audience rings with participation
With suggestions--with bait.

Hook line and sinker, baby,
Knock it out for the win,
Come on roll us the dice
And spin us some sin.

Back through the tunnel,
Lights through a funnel,
Guiding the way, pushing away,
Away from King's Theatre
Away from the laughs,
Away from Sam and Sam and
Jacob and Jeremy's spats,
Away from Lou and Kimia too,
Vic is left on the stage shrugging,
Away from them too.
Giavani, a ******* queen,
And Shutup! Kurt needs to say something...
I love you all and to thine self be true
There will be nothing like this performance ever again,
And that memory is thanks to you.

It was a sparkler,
Alone in the night,
With our laughter we held it alight,
It burned for longer,
Longer than eight nights,
The oil from the latkes
a bubbling, browned delight.

A moment in time,
A moment of laughter,
A moment of silence before the disaster,
A time and a place and a place for the memories,
Don't underestimate the time you spent here.
Remember everything you can and hold it dear.
Cherish the improvisation,
The luck, the dice, the trolls, the rights,
Let it all simmer,
Take it to a boil
Under these spotlights.