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Nov 2016 · 342
ajk
Riley OKeefe Nov 2016
ajk
I fell in love with the morning, how you stumbled out of bed when you first woke up, and how your eyes groaned with exhaustion.
The way your hands grasped my hips while your lips stole the ending of my sentences. Every day with you felt like a month of Sunday mornings with white bed sheets and lazy smiles.

The walk home from your room made me remember what Monday mornings feel like.

Somewhere between falling in love with our midnight conversations that were interrupted by soft kisses and pokes in the ribs, and reading the love notes you wrote on my skin.
I realized,
I am in love with the presence of your words and the feel of your existence.

I am in love with you.
Nov 2016 · 248
untitled
Riley OKeefe Nov 2016
I watch the sun rise and I watch it set

beautifully at rest

I watch the dark clouds set over me

I watch the moon light upon me 

I count the stars above me 
gazing at the beauty that lays in front of me

I look over by my side and see you next to me

and I realize 

I love you more than the stars that shine through my eyes
I love you more than the moonrise 

I love you more than the sun that lights up my day 

I love you more each day
Oct 2016 · 324
Should I
Oct 2016 · 268
Untitled
Oct 2016 · 269
Untitled
Riley OKeefe Oct 2016
I want to know
about every time you've felt invincible and why.
compare and contrast who you are and who you wish
you were. tell me,
what does the voice in your head sound like
and could I meet him sometime?
I want to hear your thesis statements
when you're afraid to tell anyone else
and I want to read your body,
paragraphs. to understand your figure,
figurative language.
to borrow your hands
in writing a haiku, because my ten fingers
can only count syllables into the second line.
let me add you to the list
of times you felt invincible,
until you can't count how many times you've felt so strong
with your fingers toes or freckles.
Oct 2016 · 246
and
Riley OKeefe Oct 2016
and
when the tiny
plane landed
it sounded
like my camera rewinding

i thought,
this is a
perfect picture.
Oct 2016 · 207
Untitled
Riley OKeefe Oct 2016
I find your mother
in every ******* person I see son.

her smell and skin and eyes and bones.

every single face is perfumed with her laughter.
Oct 2016 · 183
Untitled
Riley OKeefe Oct 2016
"I like you"
you said, and I waited for a "but..."
instead came your arms and
"no matter what"
Jul 2016 · 262
leave me alone
Riley OKeefe Jul 2016
U.
You.
Hue.
You.
You are the reason why I can’t write anyou
it is taking me so long thinking ofyou
styles, figyoures, metaphyours,
I can’t even finis-
any sentenc-you
Stop.
You’re the reas-you
Youarethereaso-you.
****. Even if I think faster, you can still keep pace-you.
You are a mountaintop between dawn-you.
I can’t write anyou.
How you can you I you write you any you poetry you
make you art you you you-
if there’s always you slipping between my wo-you-rds and thoughts.
I can’t you
You.
You.

Now I know why poets can’t write when they are in lov-you.
You.
You.

Sorry love but how can I make you a poem when there are no words
I can think of that can describe you except …
You.
You.
*You.
Jul 2016 · 461
Character Exercise
Riley OKeefe Jul 2016
i want to embody every girl.

i want to be a sunday school girl in the ‘60s, red ribbons in my hair, two neatly tied plaits the color of wheatfields, riding my bike down cobblestone streets, sunlight kissing my neck.

i want to be a tattooed punk rock worshipper, electric blue hair and ray-bans, fishnet stockings and the city a blur of entangled lights in the rear-view mirror of my motorcycle.

i want to be a venice girl who reads valentines for a living, rapunzel hair all soft sculptured ringlets, a pet blue bird and summer dresses in floral prints, long eyelashes and sowing glitter.

i want to be a french artist and revolutionist in the ‘90s, **** paintings and led lights, portraits out of beer cans and pencil shavings, a student of the fine arts falling in love again and again with the light and how it falls on the sidewalks & people’s faces & the trees.

i want to be this girl and that girl, a romanian princess in her 20’s, an old witch with a grisly past, a gypsy on the run, a victorian model, a historian with an appetite for gardening, an archaeologist who nicknames all her finds, a singer who grates her guitar on boulevards in italy and cafes in paris for the spare dime, an english man’s favorite daughter. i want to be a struggling ballet dancer with an emotional dependency on poetry, an astronaut who discovers a parallel universe, a noir film actress who smokes too much and has eyes like diamonds, a fortune teller, a vigilante, a musician. every girl’s soul whispers to me.
Jul 2016 · 384
4am, fireworks, and bacardi
Riley OKeefe Jul 2016
you want to know how long it took? i knew before we met. there are words and then there are your words. your words made you mine long before i held your hand on the cold uphill dash to the gin bar. i was late and breathless. you broke the ice.
you broke my ice.
i couldn’t eat for making room for you inside of me. i can still see your eyes gazing over my head. i wanted so badly to be every idea you've ever thought. when you realized what had been done to you had been done to me. when the stars refuse to align, over and over, i see the patterns repeated. in your mind, i am always in a state of panic. in my mind, we are never apart.
“and yes, i do believe her mouth is heaven. her kisses falling over me like stars.” and yes, they brought us together. and yes, they keep us apart. i am still so grateful to them for everything. to you for everything. you can view me next to the art as long as you’re still in my eyeline.
you want to know how long it took? the time it took the first grain of sugar to fall.
Jul 2016 · 231
tell me
Riley OKeefe Jul 2016
how long do you think it takes someone to recognize a soulmate? two hours? three? when I was sitting in that train station, did you know I never thought once that you might not show up? did you know you’re the reason gin keeps sneaking into my poetry? and how come we both need to write poetry to feel clean? and can we go to the coast again so I can view you next to the art that is the rolling tide? and is it too much for me to book a plane ticket just because you’re sad? is it enough? should I be doing more on the bad days? what good intentions don’t get swallowed up by distance? do you remember when I wrote all those poems for a man in Colorado, while you loved a woman in California?  how I watched the girl I loved get on a plane and go, then six months later, you did the same thing? how we’re always just out of sync with each other? one move off or three steps behind? do you really think it’s true, about the stars and how I found you? did you know I’d ***** them out if I could? if it meant there’d be nothing star-crossed about this? tell me again how long you think it takes someone to recognize a soulmate? one night? two? the amount of time it takes you to buy sugar and run home to put the kettle on?
Jul 2016 · 172
A warning You need to hear
Riley OKeefe Jul 2016
I’ve never been a home, only a hotel.
I have graffiti lining the walls of my own heart;
the warnings portrayed by those who have
stayed there before those ahead. Every last
piece of furniture inside has been upturned in
a desperate attempt to find where my own
pride is stationed. This room is a ****** scene,
you know. My collarbones have reached up
and sliced through the jugular of those I’ve kissed.
I’ve dug my fingernails into the stone spines of
those who never deserved to be engraved with
my false passion. I’ve injected heartbreak into the
arms of those I was fully aware would become
addicted.
And yet, I have the nerve to place flowers upon
the graves I dig for those I promised life. I have
the audacity to expect to be treated like a queen
when all I have known is the reign as a dictator.
I apologize to those I’ve given roses and left
thorns on the stems. I apologize for the promises,
and lack of following through. I’ve for too long
pressed my burdens to those who carry their
own. I never meant to become one myself.
And honestly, I apologize for what you’re about
to leap into.
Nov 2013 · 453
Dreams are Myopic
Riley OKeefe Nov 2013
You were a piece of me

I never knew was missing
—
a piece yesterday lost,

a piece tomorrow

was grateful for,

and I wish
 I’d known then.


I wish I’d known then


about the night I spent

shaking shaking shaking

and I said “don’t leave me alone”

and you said “Never.
 I’ll never leave you alone.”



I don’t think I made you promise;

I don’t think it would have mattered.

We were mending the roof

in the middle of a hurricane;

calm curled in clear skies

with clarity promised by

unseeing eyes,

and I wish
 I’d known then.


I wish I’d known then


silence is only uncomfortable

when we don’t want to face

the truth it holds.



I don’t think you ever loved me;

I don’t think you understood.
Nov 2013 · 441
Wallpapered
Riley OKeefe Nov 2013
always the best ones 
fall away

like paint peeling off 
a hot, warped wall

what’s left are the ugly
 ones,
the 
wallpaper covered up in

winter’s cool glow.
Nov 2013 · 374
Glorification
Riley OKeefe Nov 2013
How much
glorification,
can one

person endure

before becoming

the person
everyone

wants them to be,
instead of the person

they need to be?
Nov 2013 · 641
Once Bitten
Riley OKeefe Nov 2013
I might be a shameless flirt
But I’m stingy
 with my heart

Twice shy and all that jazz

so when you have a chance
 too hold it
For however long I might allow
Don’t tuck it in your back pocket

Don’t slip it into your wallet

Don’t place it upon a pedestal

I’ll come slipping back

One hand on hip

Hand outstretched
Return to me what is mine
I won’t let you hold it
 long

I fear your careless glances

your slippery hands
Nov 2013 · 514
White Lie
Riley OKeefe Nov 2013
Tell me something 
I want to hear —

like

She 
is still here

in our world 
laughing 
with that tigress grin

an infectious echo 
of character and grace

resonating in that spaceto the left of my chest 

where something 
used to hover between 
each ribbon 
of breath

Please?
Nov 2013 · 313
Our Four Seasons
Riley OKeefe Nov 2013
Spring


We melded like

fine wine and

flushed kisses.


Summer


We dipped low

and ached for

so much more.


Fall


We were as

deep as the

Northern Sea.


Winter

**
(You were 
much too 
deep for me.)
Oct 2013 · 419
P.G.B.
Riley OKeefe Oct 2013
Hello darling
Its been so long
Since you were gone
Just thought
You ought to know
I am fine
Even better than before
Learned a lesson without you
Let the little things make you happy
And you’ll never have to worry
Again
Darling its been so long
Things went down
When you were gone
But now I’m better
Than before
The little things make me happy
I don’t have time to worry
I know we’ll never talk
But I’ve been so much better
Its been so long
Been awhile since you were gone
And now I’m fine
Even though you aren’t mine
The little things make me happy
Ain’t got time to worry about anything else
I’m so much better
So I wrote this letter
To you
To show
I’m no longer blue
I am
So much better
Don't you see?
Oct 2013 · 1.1k
Brazen, blazin sunshine
Riley OKeefe Oct 2013
Brazen, blazin sunshine

and exposed lines

of joy on each other’s faces:

Smiles too wide for our lips.

May we brighten the world;

We will brighten this world.
Oct 2013 · 709
Untitled
Riley OKeefe Oct 2013
Rain

It was so cold, We wandered through the woods to seemingly nowhere. Just because. Not even talking, just walking. It was raining, it was a nice feeling. My sweater was soaked, pulling me down. Although my mind felt weightless. My makeup ran down my face into mascara tears. We looked lovely. We walked along the train tracks slipping on the little rocks. Our silly laughter of nothingness ringing in our ears. Over the white sound of the rain came distant screams of a train. We held on to each other oblivious to our chattering teeth and shaking fingers. We waited. Its blue front came around the trees, its lights caught on rain drops one after another. It flew past our faces; a passenger train, the people it held gawked at the children standing in the cold. From inside they watched our faces fly by theirs, and in a second they were gone. We were robbed of our breath, forcing us back. We burst. Everything was wonderful. Our smiles, not for a second slipped from our cold washed faces. We were so content, with everything, everyone. For a moment perhaps we were in love, with life, with being a teenager, with each other. Our eyes wide with amazement.
We laughed.

That was the happiest I’ve ever been
I was in love with everything
Oct 2013 · 329
Framed
Riley OKeefe Oct 2013
I am a picture without a frame,

not hanging on a wall

but my image still remains.

I am matte not glossy,

postcard size for convenience.
You can have me with you,

take me wherever you wanted to.

I am a pretty picture honey,

a picture without a frame
Oct 2013 · 1.0k
Love as a Bird
Riley OKeefe Oct 2013
Love as a bird flying free

dying daily to un-cage 
attachment.
Snipping
 cords binding unwinding
 expectations
only hold
 a box of memories,
only
 those moments to sleep more on satin 
sheets in cotton thread.

Im not sure if he loves me

or if I read, a reflection
 in the mind of me
love
 as the bird flying free.


Come what may as 
it leaves the warmth 
of winter awakening 
spring.
Till summer 
speaks from my window 
to the bird thats flying 
free.
Detaching the cords
 uncage my soul, his soul
, our soul.
Upload to cloud 
in memories.
Moments.

Quilted in the silken sky.

Love as a bird flying free.
Oct 2013 · 551
My Muse
Riley OKeefe Oct 2013
I haven’t been writing much lately

my muse has gone with a flutter 
and flourish of wings

a post-apocalyptic shell of a writer

left in the dust, feathers falling like 
snow like a mini avalanche

word to the wise: 
don’t get too attached to your muse.
Oct 2013 · 434
fine gravel
Riley OKeefe Oct 2013
I have been walking

for a very long time,

but it doesn’t matter

how far away I travel

or which path I take
-
every now and then,

I still discover bits of

you in my shoes,

like fine gravel that

I just can’t seem

to shake out.
Oct 2013 · 409
We're all Forests
Riley OKeefe Oct 2013
We're all Forests
We all grow into 
forests one day, 

songbirds in our branches 

and children hopping from
root to root shrieking and 
our toes will still know the earth.

This is certain:

the sun rises, magenta and 
orange at seven oh two
am on the dot and

the gala apples are 
ripe red and round in 
our fists, fingers.

The air we breathe is 
entirely composed of stories 
and it settles around our ankles like

fresh spring mulch
Aug 2013 · 414
I Still See Dragons
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
The status quo declares

that fantasy is the realm

of lunatics and children

and not for the likes of

so-called “mature adults"

but I fail to understand

what exactly is desirable

in a lack of imagination.
Aug 2013 · 442
Fill in the Blank
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
and me, we as good as can be.
totally hates me now.
I had a dream about last night.
never sleeps.
and I talk like every night.
I want to talk to
.
doesn’t like me anymore
.
wrote back.
hasn’t replied yet.
I’m pretty sure
regrets me.
I miss _. (Hint: this one's you.)*
(the end.)
Aug 2013 · 3.2k
Robotic, Platonic.
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
totally platonic,

inadvertently robotic,

sitting on chairs two feet apart.
i am not noticing your mouth

i am not noticing your mouth
**
i am not noticing your mouth
Aug 2013 · 2.7k
The Ice Cream Parlor
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
at the ice cream parlor

some middle-aged man 
is scraping 
dregs of summer love

from the bottom of a bin


for a peach-faced girl

and a pear-shaped boy

twelve dollars fifty

for a sit and a lick

and to watch the rest drip
Aug 2013 · 955
Country Rhythm.
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
The buildings stand

Too close in the city

Heavy hot breaths

Breathing down your neck

Snapping pictures 

Of your periphery


The country life

Is more of a slow malaise 

Sitting back on a rocking chair

Steadily swinging at your own pace

But you must understand your tempo

To find that steady rhythm
Aug 2013 · 417
Boston.
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
Through sun baked window

I see the world in nightly splendor

Pockmarked by the evening stars

Adorned with the mournful call of a distant how
l
t is quiet

It is terrifying

Yet it is deafening and beautiful

A canvas made for open minds
Aug 2013 · 1.6k
Memory Lane
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
So I took a walk down memory lane
And opened too many doors.
Met too many demons,
I'd rather forget.
You were there
With your sad sad eyes,
And your beautiful soul,
And I fell
Down
Down
Down
To places best left behind.
Aug 2013 · 370
Mirrors.
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
Without you
I'm broken
I shattered my reflection
And isn't breaking a mirror seven years bad luck?
Aug 2013 · 423
White.
Riley OKeefe Aug 2013
I painted the insides
of my mind white
so that maybe I could erase
the memory of you
but as days
turned to weeks
the idea of your fingers
laced in mine grew
and soon the paint
began to chip
and soon my stiches
began to rip
and I broke apart into pieces
once again
with fragments of my heart
scattered among the shore
and as the salt sunk into my skin
stinging the scars on my soul
you watched with open eyes
then turned around and closed the door

— The End —