BIRDSONG
like a half-formed thought
like a
half-heard word
at the edge
of awareness
like a voice that called your
name but no one was
there
a mocking ghost of sound

BREATHING
In.
Out.
It's fine, then—
the air is too thin
can't breathe
heart trips
can't see
you're dying, then—
You're fine.
In.
Out.

MY ROOM
i feel like a stranger
sitting on my own bed
an intruder
an unwelcome guest
my gaze alights uneasily
and flickers away
why am i here?
i do not belong

SUNSHINE
Warmth hitting your back
Heating your skin
But there is ice in your chest
Untouched by dawn

THE COLOR BLUE
the sky is clear
unlike
your foggy mind
the sky is empty
unlike
your cluttered thoughts
the sky is blue, blue, blue
the color of this thing growing in your chest

MY EYES
unfocused
will not focus
blurred edges
vision, dark
vision, wandering
vision, gone
uncooperative
i will not cry
i can't

CLASS
the teacher's voice buzzing, buzzing
over your head
why can't you concentrate?
you look at the writing on the board
it is in a language you have forgotten how to read
time is a loop, this minute this minute this—

MY HEAD
stuffed with cotton
stuffed with useless facts
'thought' is wading through
a rotting marsh
as my mind
falls apart

MIRRORS
You look through
a window and see
a stranger
but the glass is backed
with silver.
The stranger, then
is really you.

MY HANDS
trace the blue veins
under skin of the wrist
the back of the hand
like a map to a strange place
knuckles as mountain ridges
palm-lines as valleys
a land that i am not sure that i can traverse
i know the stars better than the back of my hand
my hands, limp and empty

THE CITY
normally roaring with life
it feels muted
distant
this isn't your home
this isn't your home

EMPATHY
you feel numb
you don't feel at all
you feel angry
you feel wrong

WORDS
your only weapon
your last defense
stolen out from under you
like a
rug
these syllables turn to
ash on your tongue
before they can pass you lips
you cannot speak

SUNSET
the day
is over?
the day
had begun?

MY GUT
hollow
hungry
no, not hungry
but something close

maybe it's not any of these that are wrong
maybe it's just me

h.f.m.