I am learning how to smile and mean it.
I am learning how to say I miss you and not let the desperation choke me.
I am learning how to cry less in dark rooms, and laugh more in sunlit rain.

  I am learning to catch myself before I fall --
I am learning not to fall.

And most of all, I am trying, overall, to be  b e t t e r.
(please, please - let it be enough.)

I named my flowers
After you.
After all, there's strong resemblance -
Both of you are made of plastic,
Colorful and fake.

I named my onions
After you.
After all, there's strong resemblance -
Both of you had made me weep,
Blinded by the burns.

I named my scissors
After you.
After all, there's strong resemblance -
Both of you have torn apart
Endless hearts of paper and people.

I named my coffee
After you.
After all, there's strong resemblance -
Both of you held my consciousness
Captive in your hands.

I named my one-night
After you,
After all, there's strong resemblance -
Both of you took what you wanted
Then took off and never looked back.

I named my poems
After you.
After all, there's strong resemblance -
The amount of pain that you both made me go through,
Is just how far
I've grown.