be still
until you feel the air
gently caressing
the nape of your neck

close your eyes
because no one else
will hurt you, there
is nothing more to resist

just listen
silence has a voice,
it is the loud ringing
when your ears
try to escape the void

breathe in
breathe out
do it again

put the blade down.

i exist in everything
but i am more saturated
in different settings

in airports
but people are always in a rush
for their check-in time
and i end up taken for granted

in sea ports
but people are sea sick
and i end up being disregarded

in bus terminals
but people are too busy
checking for the next bus
to come, they don't think
i'm there

i think the only place
i would be happy
is in a green meadow
but it's useless being alone
no one notices,
not even stone

you can't even see me
sometimes it hurts
when you breathe,
but i'm here because
you need me the most

*--love, air.

the scattered letters i know,
i turn into words
the thoughts floating in my mind
i turn into poetry
when vague, it becomes prose
when i can, i turn them into song

but, at all times—
they never reach you.

or hell or purgatory
i don’t mind

as humans,
we can only celebrate life
for we never see death
as something worthy of happiness

but i accept everything
that life and death brings
not because i have no choice
but because i can’t imagine
myself with you right here anymore

i may not have moved on
but i pray for you while i breathe
i just wish you could blow these candles
wherever you are—

in heaven, in hell, or in things too
beautiful i have yet to see.

your words
have always found
their way into me

i tried resisting
but then—
i couldn’t breathe.

time never helped me, so
i made my name permanent
on my bare skin
it was red and deep
and it reminded me everyday
that you weren’t worthy
of being permanent on my skin.

remind me
of prejudice,
unspoken judgment,
promises and hopes
that get severed by lies,
deceit and indifference

whether we like it or not,
we will be seen differently
under the radar
of discriminating eyes,
but--

if your love was a label
i'd wear it like my purity ring
and only remove it
when i find the right label
for you and me-- *us.