in the morning i put on my war paint,
conceal the blemishes so i won’t be blown away,
bronze and silhouette, so i will ignite like Athena.
the eyes, the eyes, the eyes
are my favorite.
eyeliner to smolder, to create fear, to cause your mouth to overflow.
mascara to pop, to outline, to appear innocent (which we both know i’m
not)
lipstick.
orange, if i’m feeing flirtatious,
pink if i’m feeling like *** packed in a case of cigarettes,
red. red if i’m feeling like dancing against walls that are
graffiti stained.
red if i want to kiss you senseless.
but, darling, do not be confused.
i do not dress for you. you may gape, you may whistle,
but this war paint is for me.
because everyday is a battle, and i must be ready,
with weapons blazing

and some wonder, why I am amazed
when I look up at the night sky and
see a blackness that extends far beyond
what we can ever reach, and even farther
beyond what I can possibly imagine.

some wonder, why it can bring me to tears
when I think of all that we can and will do
and still see so many, never even beginning.

it’s no mystery, why I am amazed,
at all that is and all that can be, and
do not wonder why I stare at the night,
frozen in awe at the beauty of it all.

I found myself, today,
surrounded
by human trash

piling
higher
higher
higher

everywhere

in the streets
in the stores
in the houses

inescapable
undeniable

everywhere

and as I looked out
at the
human trash

piling

higher
higher
and
higher

I began to see

myself

in the trash

and

I
was

afraid

of what sort of man
could see trash
everywhere
he goes

upon departure,
we discovered that home
was not a singular place
as we had been taught.

upon leaving,
we understood that home
was anywhere where we
could be together again.

and we were just realizing
we would not be home again
for a very, very long time.