I love to photograph
the wild things in the land
If it weren't for the finned and clawed creatures
We wouldn't understand the
technology in our hands

Sonar is what we use to get a glimpse of pre-born babies
We have sonar from dolphins and bats
and yet we scream, "Rabies!"

We wouldn't understand infrasound if it weren't for
the elephants
But we only see their ivory, not their intelligence

Tigers and leopards are born to be trained assassins with
their patterned camouflaged coats
But we make them our trophies because humans need to gloat

We owe omega three's to the schools of fish who gave us healthy brains and hearts
But instead we fill their bellies with plastic and tear their reefs apart

Savannas and forests are turning into deserts because of climate change
But we insist it's just a theory
Who cares about polar bears anyway?

Yes, I love to photograph the wild beasts with
fins, claws, and tails
Because I'm afraid that someday
future generations will ask,
"What was once a whale?"

He asked, I said yes!
Oh, what joy!
Mama, I knew he was the right boy!
It's going to be work,
all marriages are
I know patience and love can go far

I'll take him with his flaws, his baggage, and quirks
Maybe even do the dishes when he's at work
I won't complain about the socks on the floor,
or shavings in the sink
I won't nag him when he comes home and he's too tired to think

As long as I have my cup of tea and a kiss
As long as I have my paper and computer to write
As long as I have my paintbrushes
Forever with him is not long enough of time

Changes are bound to happen
changes are all we see
changes turn a caged tiger
into a refugee running free
Changes are what happen
to your hair roots as they turn grey
Changes are what happen to our same sky everyday
Changes turn strangers into beloved friends
Sometimes changes make loved ones disappear
I've learned, however,

that changes happen when something good is near

I love you
Your eyes
Your heart and how it smiles
I love your sense of humor
Your empathy
And how you make it all worth while
But I'm toxic, a problem
I'm like a disease
And some how you still share your romantic ecstasy
I love you but I'm disgusted by you
In all the petty ways
I'm learning how to control the lust that burns in my veins
Temptation is strong but I work so hard to walk away with it in stride
From the things I could give in to
like pleasure and pride

time to time it haunts me,
The memory of us in North Carolina
I remember it perfectly
His blue eyes staring into mine
His red hair contrasts against the white hotel walls
His naked back points to the ceiling
And I'm gasping for air from what we've done

I always remember this when "Fade Away" by Rebelution plays
I don't miss the heartache of wondering if you ever truly loved me
But this moment was perfect
And now is only a memory

"Clemit? Like a clementine? That's your middle name?"
....A small moment I'll never forget,
I fell in love that day

I've fallen in love many times,
And then a surplus amount
But each time I'd break or break the heart of another,
It'd leave my soul with doubt

Just when I started to believe that
No man would pour himself into me
And open his heart to a triumphant romance

You entered my life with gentle eyes and a yearning soul
That I swear, by God, was not just by chance

Sometimes I feel like Alice
Falling into a looking glass
Where I get stuck between the shimmering images of lovers from my past
But now they have moved on, and have found new lovers too
I've moved on twice or three times since then,
But my looking glass offers a tempting view
Jealousy is no wonderland,
Just a forest of broken shards from your past
Beware of its shiny glimmer
Before it drives you mad