if i could meet myself when the demons started whispering in my ear,
i would tell myself that they’d been there all along
and that i am strong
that i have been walking through hell since the day i was born
that my bones are made of iron
and my veins are filled with lava
i had been walking through hell and giving it a run for its money
and those demons can’t have me anymore

Your face glows brighter than any star
and words are just letters on a keyboard
and the road we’re on will take us far
but that’s the story I signed up for
Queue the lazy mornings and soft piano
that plays behind the soft sunlight
whose only sadness is the death of the moment
as it fades to dream on the wings of a butterfly
But the stars are still behind your teeth
and there will be mornings to come
where my sun rises when you do for coffee
and the music rolls off your tongue

I am the devil with kind eyes
and good intentions
I am the demon determined
for joy to hum on my lips
while I lead you to slow sorrow
I am the blackened water
that closes every throat
and still hopes to bring life
The only possessions of mine
bigger than the burden on my back
are the denial on my tongue
and the blood beneath my nails

Kind little creature grew claws
to keep away the fangs sinking into its skin
Into scars where skin had been

You nod your head, yes you understand
You can feel my pain like no one else can
Next day, nasty words, I’m stupid again
You grab my hand and lower your tone
I shake my head, I’ll just walk home alone

There will still be music amongst my ribs
when the drum is broken and ripped open.
Flowers will still sprout from my mouth
when I lay amongst velvet and wood
I will have made you feel my power.
My magic will build a home in your walls.
I will lie beneath your memory
and your eyes will cry my tears
while your heart beats my own song.

Whispers scream into her ears
as her CD player goes quiet across the room.
The dry tide against her hair fans a flame
of longing and happiness and content
that pushes her cheeks to her eyes.
She feels every drop the sun has to give
within her. Inside each inch of her skin.
and the only shelter to be found is hidden
behind whispers, bed sheets, and the steady breaths
that push and pull her into open arms.