i am in awe when i look at you
not at your flame and your feathers
but rather the way you choose to sever the tethers
people tried to use to bind you to the idea of who they thought you were
and rather than get caught up in their perceptions
you chose instead to rise from the ashes of those misconceptions
alight and alive with new purpose
without a trace or shadow of what you left behind
the old you was incinerated, turned to ashes in the fire of your passions
as you recreated yourself
a man of ambition
whose intelligence and tenacity
veracity
burn so bright you can't even look right at him

you remade yourself into who you wanted to be
did the thing that so many others strive and fail to
and somehow it's like you forget how far you've come
because the man i'm talking to, he has no idea how to be kind to himself
how to silence the voices within him that lie
and tell him that he is not enough, doesn't do enough, will never be enough

remember whenever those whispers start up
that say you're a loser, a disgrace, not enough
that when i look at you i am truly inspired
by the events in your past that i know have transpired
leading up to this transformation that begs the comparison
between you, my friend, and a mythical bird
both reborn from a ghost of who you were
into a fiery beacon of hope, inspiration
remember that it was all you and your ambition that led to this recreation

if an inalienable sky
in Sochi bid Rasputin
and this heartsick river meander their menagerie
that tears have gulped there afield but his unfolded fox
to envision inland still dies in repose
and their dire exposé
only mischievous pleasure
now a junta on Capitol Hill

****** your gods and let them die and fade
paint the sky red with their blood
and their books
and their fables
break down the walls and the gates
that separate heaven and hell
and plant seeds of hope
in the destruction
where there ideas once bloomed
and rebuild the world
in the image of love
let love be the only language you speak
let kindness be the action of your breath
let generosity be the blood of your heart
help those in need
as a gift and not a burden
and in the face of truth
what good are gods
that don’t believe love is all we need
to die
to dream
to live
to hold heaven in our hands
empty of the need of prayer
or redemption
for if all we do is love
what could be found as sin
as we ****** our gods
and give ourselves to love
and only love

Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.

my eyes are open
and it hurts
every time I breathe
the air is a little broken
all my emotions
frozen
yet the pain remains
going through the motions
grasping with fingers
gasping for oxygen
a bitter corrosion
the rain comes
falling
I can't hold on
and refuse to
let go

She was the art of beauty
perfected in human form  
and I was a helpless wanderer
lost in the pages of her fairy and magic
and her name was the birth of poetry
and her kiss taught flame and fire
how to dance
and her smile was the moon
and the sun and the everything
and the heart of love
beat in her chest
she plucked a black feather
from the night
and taught the raven how to fly
and the humming bird how to sing
she planted the first tree
from the last tear of spring
and carved the first leaf
from autumns skull
while telling stories to dragons and their young
and gave them a butterfly
with a map hidden in its wings
should they ever need to escape
to the safety of dreams
where she would be waiting
to teach starfish to fly
and planets to swim
and sculpting hearts
of wonder and clay
for whomever may need
something new
for something broken
and it would all be a dream
of a dream
and in the end
it would still be a love
of a love
as we all get lost
in the art of her beauty
perfected in human form