as the gray scale pictures appeared
i saw you bring yourself near
and the blackness so well hid your face
even with the red lights filling the space
you were in the back corner i was across the way
making masterpieces after every mundane day
with my hair in a braid clipped up on my head
and your hands in your pockets when you scared me to death
all those photos of yours, like the trigger of a gun
i held my arms wide and smiled with the sun

now you wont even hold my blank canvas eyes
and yours smile to me on the stairs every time
but you wont say a word nor make a sound
you won't even blink while my soul hits the ground
i guess all the chemicals made me insane
and my dream didn't help, you pressed to my face
in a blue plaid shirt, i see you across the room
i guess i was the only one to feel the fumes
but somehow i know that's not true

there were the days of just you and i
and the world around us-where are the lights?
i remember awaiting my pride to take form
and trying too hard and feeling so torn
and holding so tightly to the print you made
for no real reason besides the look you gave
showing off to you for no purpose at all
i know it meant nothing, just a cushioned fall

now you wont even hold my blank canvas eyes
you know yours strung me in a web of lies
you walk away when my skeleton comes around
do you see this smile? it's sinking to the ground
i guess all the negatives inverted my view
and this nightmare rewired the image of you
in a blue plaid shirt, you wore it yesterday
i guess i was the only one to see it that way
but somehow i wanted it to fade

how could you look in my eyes
and know about the scars i despise
how could you see into my heart
when i never saw you coming from the start
how could you sever that broken touch
without even asking me what i want

but today you looked into these blank canvas eyes
and yours, hidden by glass, were the first to shine
and you quoted a movie and laughed with me
and pulled me towards you, my smile you didn't see
i guess your arms are strong as the walls
the hidden room that was home to it all
in a blue plaid shirt, i see you across the room
but i still won't admit that i felt those fumes
even though you know the sad truth

We're breaking the rules
One judge says I'm wrong
That I'm the evil mastermind concocting our crimes
One tells me it's your fault
You're the one with something to lose
but still making the mistakes
(Is it even a mistake?)
The jury stands watch from the sidelines
And they whisper the questions amongst themselves
("What are they doing?")
We stand in the center, undivided by blame and fault
We're in this together
Fingers intertwined (behind our backs)
Because the third judge is watching
Eyes like slits, she's reaching out for your hand
("Childish boy, I don't care what you want!")
But that hand, the boy who tells me of his love for October and how bored of people he is, it's all mine
You hear that? You're mine.
The judges' decrees don't mean a **** thing
When each silent look we exchange gives me more reason to fight
("Nothing, just glad I have you.")
I may have broken laws with you
but it doesn't feel as wrong
nor as beautiful
as breaking the rules

his world
is a whirlwind
and i just want to get twisted up in it with him
i would hold his hands in mine
in the midst of every record-setting storm
and, by god, i'm going to

i am not passive
i do not fear the volume of my voice
i do not shake when i state my opinion
and i do not whimper when someone disagrees
i was not raised as a lady
but as a dragon
forged in fire and taught that
genius is ingrained inside the marrow of my bones
and there isn't a human alive that could take that from me
i do not sit back
and allow another to take from me
what is rightfully mine
i will fight with every fiber of my insides to remain whole and unbroken
i will not succumb and i will not falter
i am small
but i can move mountains

don't let yourself fall in love
with that boy who plays bass
whispers jokes that make your face go red from not being able to breathe
and immediately holds you the day you come back
don't hang onto his every word
nor take note of the way his eyes catch fire
like a sheet of paper over an open flame
every single time he tells you how much he adores to make music
don't let his mannerisms dictate you
when his arms find you on a daily basis
when you ignore the teachings about diffraction and ray diagrams
just to listen to whatever is on his wonderfully, woefully confusing mind
because soon enough
you'll be writing him poems online using a fake name
and staying up till four am
thinking about how his voice cracks and quivers when he sings seven nation army
about how excited he gets to play you something he has written
about the sideways glances he gives you when you try to get his attention
about the places his hands reside every single time he touches you
and about the way his lips tasted like starburst jelly beans and cherry pepsi on that sunny wednesday afternoon
he completely inverts your perception of the world
and now matter how much you want to
don't
fall
in
love
with
him.

i am the mundane
i feel so many things
but i spend my days attempting to conceal it
i have wings upon which i am sure i could fly
that i compress under the pressure
of my pathetic, self-inflicted inferiority complex
i am the mundane
i am not the spoken about
nor am i the one occupying any one person's thoughts
i may not be invisible
but i do not linger
the walls surrounding me are closing in and
my stomach rejects any thought of nourishment
my dreams keep shocking me awake but i cannot scream
i have so many stories to tell
but they all seem to pale in comparison
whenever someone else speaks up
i am the average
i am not ugly but i am by no means pretty
(although you would say "no, you're breathtaking" with a warm smile that would melt my frozen heart)
my words are by no definition astounding
but i thrive on them
(however you said once that my words are beautiful and therefore don't deserve to be read by unbeautiful people)
I have no quirks, nothing unique that I can boast about
(i wonder what your argument against that might be)
i stay idle in the same place
for hours on end
(but you give me validation because i am not lazy and i accomplish more than i give myself credit for)
i constantly find myself trapped in this hole
knowing full well that I dug it myself
but now, i can claw myself out
because i am not alone.

I am average (you see me as amazing)
You are incredible (you see yourself as sub-par)
I suppose we are two sides of the same self-loathing coin.

it's a game of cat and mouse we play without any reservation at all
we always had nothing more than the space between us, so small
our shared breath on the frigid air spoke dreams we'll take to the grave
i so desperately wish i could for once be even a little brave
when i glanced your way i could see your disappointment in me
the armrest we shared that morning was a battlefront only we could see
i sailed a beautiful sea of blue for months in fear of freezing to death
but your arms kept me safe and every time I held my breath

take a deep breath and swallow the lump that's found home in my throat
and eventually i'll probably come to peace with the words I wrote
all those years ago

what do I do with all these memories?
one day i'll be able to set them free
oh won't you come swim away with me
for you it's way too easy

the night i chased you down forbidden corridors is burned inside
with all the rooms they should of locked where we tried to hide
i still remember the way you fell asleep in the backseat
it was just you and i, and the lights reflected on concrete
everything just feels so melancholy tonight
especially the reminder of you in my life

take a deep breath and swallow the lump that's found home in my throat
and eventually i'll probably come to peace with the words I wrote
all those years ago

what do I do with all these memories?
one day i'll be able to set them free
oh won't you come swim away with me
for you it's way too easy

there was once a crooked smile that kept me alive
and i used to adore two shining blue eyes
it was never to be
you wouldn't float away with me

what do I do with all these memories?
one day i'll be able to set them free
oh won't you come swim away with me
for you it's way too easy

i will gladly give you every word I wrote
all those years ago.

the sanctity of a perfect saturday
the taste of a sweet, sugary dream
the feeling of hands that caress me
and the fortress of a home we built ourselves

a sea of memories floods my sanctity
that of which is no longer yours
because a summer's lost daydream ripped it apart
even after the winter's necessity brought it together

your lips upon my hands
your hands upon my face
an illusion of unforgotten flutters
and the most beautiful feeling a human can know

a cafe stained with recollection
and abandoned hope tucked away next door
your strong arms, the towers of refuge
are the long-lost haven i seek to this day

and as this thursday's hell rolls to a close
i feel the love i always have pouring through my bones

the world around me is *****, clogged up, and foggy
the life i've come to know is hopeless
and you remain in that place, immobile
a hell filled with false proclamations of love
and lies of a place where freedom lays
they just ran away and happened to take you with them

and now that you're seventeen
and i am too
i wonder what type of world we will form with our words
if any at all
because we're still too young to control a **** thing

the postage runs slowly, society runs incessantly
people change, mistakes are made, and we claw at the exits
we sail vessels of loneliness on seas of discontent
and we just want the lovely horizon we can see
for years we've paralleled each other
but i hope it doesn't go too far

so reach through the keys
and let me know you're thinking of me

i know how many smiles
must be shining over at that house
(good god, yours better be one of them. it's a perfect smile.)
while i sit here singing pop punk and indie songs
to myself, wrapped up in a blanket that still has your scent to it, and imagining
that you would harmonize these words with me
and you'd sit on my floor
churning out random chords on my guitar that you said was
"perfect for indie music."
i haven't eaten a ******* thing in six hours
or so and i don't intend to
because i'm getting that rush again and my brain might be
rolling to a stop on the treacherous slopes of my anxiety and
the silence of my house that is its breeding ground.
i believe that we are something astounding
and inside these rewired bones of mine, i feel
that you and i could do anything
so long as we had one another
but you're five minutes north of here
as you should be, giving thanks with a family that loves you
(i know they're overbearing, darling, but they only care for you and want the best for you.)
(and i love them too)
and isn't broken apart,
forgetting about the sad 18-year old's existence,
or dead and gone,
like mine.

you always hear the metaphorical question
what if the walls could talk?
i strongly believe that if walls were sentient and receptive and could converse,
yours would whisper
"****, that girl loves him, doesn't she?"
but mine would lean in, smile, and respond
"yeah, but it's alright, because he loves her too"

it's just biology
this hold you have on me
the way my stomach flips
whenever you look into my eyes

it's just chemistry
this electricity we exchange
the way your fingers graze my skin
and your words tickle my ear

it's just physics
your arms wrapped around my waist
and your hands constantly on me
whenever we are together

you know it's just biology
this chemistry
between you and i

if i am a goddess
you are a ******* galaxy
with eyes like clusters of stars
that i could get lost in for centuries
and i nearly do
i want you in the simplest of ways
i want your entire presence
i want to kiss you but i still want to hear those beautiful words you say
because although you doubt me
you do articulate like a master
i want to hold you and fall asleep on your chest again
with your arm lazily draped over me and absently rubbing circles in my back
but i also desire sleepless nights
and barely audible conversations about love and music and happiness and life
laughing way too loud and have to quiet each other as to not wake anyone
i want your body and your mind
but if i could only have one
i would always choose your mind
and that is why i think i'm in love with you

the chill of winter's wind
it crushes me smaller than i already am
and for you -- it's like magic
how you can relish it, revel in it
without a flinch or a shiver on your spine

the way you can move your hands
ever so gracefully to rearrange your hair
and the youth that consumes you
when you push it from your eyes
the eyes that reflected my silhouette in perfect clarity

the passion that absorbs you
when you tell me stories and dreams
and wishes and memories
makes my heart break and swell all at the same time

your arms encase me
even when the world exiles me
and you coerce me into smiles
in a manner to which no one can compare

your voice sounds every single day
in those words that i am careful to toss about
but you remind me
that i don't need to chase it to the ends of the earth
like i always do
and i suppose i always knew
that someday, something would lead me to you

his crown is nothing more
than a head of messy brown hair he obsesses over
and his throne is just a desk that is always right next to my own
or the driver's seat of a silver honda civic, depending on the time of day
i twist words for him in every single waking moment
with pen in the margins of my philosophy notebook,
with the little voice in my head in the crevices of my mind,
and with my fingers on all my favorite spots of his skin.
i stand at his side, day by day,
simply observing, taking note, remembering the words and the gestures and the glances
so that future generations will recall the story
of his gloriously troubled beginnings
this king, this boy that you all write off as a pretender,
a usurper
he does rule
one kingdom
one tiny, minuscule, banal, five-foot-tall-redheaded kingdom
me
and one day my king will rise
he will rise, he will conquer, and we will be victorious
he will lead this kingdom that adores him so
and i will follow him into the war
that will either break us or entwine us
because i know that his majesty won't let
his kingdom fall

you make me question everything,
i thought i had it all figured out inside my little red head,
and i absolutely adore it
what takes me by surprise
is how much concern you show towards my tiny existence,
and the world has its own agenda
you hold gently onto my hand
and show me i have worth when my eyes get foggy
and i can barely hold myself up
your laughter is my medicine
sweet and sticky like cough syrup from childhood illness
but a remedy for my twisted thoughts
and when i see your face
cast down, in thought, in sadness, or just in exhaustion
i'd sell my soul to take it away
so don't let the words escape your lips:
how me simply speaking to you is more than you deserve
because you deserve, in abundance, more than the galaxy can provide

please take me away, or let me be
should i truly be asking for a release
from someone who can look in my eyes
and see the stress i'm holding in
oh my take it away please
im begging you to rescue me

and i know its a bad decision
the sight of a smile i shouldnt crave
what are you doing to me
take your eyes off me but wait
i really cant make up my mind
but it's already been made
so i'll sever our touch
although im not sure its what i want

take yourself away
my dreams are not a place for you
jealousy is a cruel mistress
im searching for answers
but i already know where i stand
i cant shake the feeling when you take my hand
it's shameful i even know that rush
sit here recalling the moments of touch
between you and i
broken worlds collide
i see you and i beg you take me away

what should be a nightmare
i find desperate longing
and the gap of time is prolonging
and creating daydreams
that a girl should never see
not a girl with ties like me

what the hell are we thinking
i know i'm watching it sinking
my heart drops to the catacombs below
a tomb for the wicked and restless soul
the soul inside my pathetic chest
hidden by a hand you should take from my neck

just take it away
you'll realize it'll collapse someday
is that what i truly desire please tell me how i feel
i can't be trusted to make that up for myself

i know that we shared those scars
that hour that seems to be only ours
comprehension mixed with apprehension
and a touch of alcohol we alluded to
i can feel the flush of my cheeks
and the breath i forgot to take
oh please take it away

proximity, it means nothing to me
on a wednesday or a sunday it doesn't mean a thing
that red on my face it doesn't mean a thing
not a **** thing to me

her heart is out at sea
but her hands are busy at work
things that she really couldn't care less about
things she "needs" to accomplish
complaints are voiced so often
about how unfair and cruel life can be and
the inferiority clawing through the minds around her
but she battles her own demons
day by day she struggles but she still rises
and she puts on her armor and she charges at it
she isn't one to hide because she isn't the one to give up
she has always been enviable
but what about admirable?
there's a castle in her mind
with candles lit in every window
and the wind can never take her light away
she is beauty in the making even as she sits idle
she attacks the world around her and comes out victorious
with flying colors
her words are magnificence and her heart is determined
she has always been enviable
she has always been admirable

you caused an array of natural disasters
to rage inside me and ravage my bones
the tiny ghosts of your hands
won't stop dancing across bare skin
that has never been seen by anyone but you and i
even with all the time i waste away focusing
on the scandal that has arisen from the two of us
all i really desire is you
in the simplest and most complicated, paradoxical way

My heart
Is stitched together with your beautiful name
And for that
I'm so sorry

I had a vision: something I never truly expected
A flash of something I wasn't sure I wanted
As I noticed the speck of green
that was you.

I saw your face against my own, no space
Between our breaths, between our eyes
Those deep brown, almost black
that are yours.

I imagined-or maybe not-returning here
Two hands entwined as they should be
One dark, one light - contrast -
that's me and you.

I swore I felt the rain against the window
In an apartment near a coffeehouse
With arms, strong, eternal, on me:
they are yours.

Then, I glanced up from my beautiful reverie
To a pair of eyes twin to mine, tossing coins
My heart, it plummeted alongside,
straight to you.

my insecurity exploded like the sounds from the speakers we set up together
i wandered out the back door into the bitter cold
still wearing your red plaid button-up over my dress
the snow was coming down in flurries when you ambled outside after me
"there you are, i was looking for you"
please don't notice the tears freezing on my cheeks
you stepped up onto the concrete slab i was calling my home
"hey," you looked at my face "are you alright?"
****.
just tell him you're feeling faint. he'll believe it
"aw. i'm sorry."
you are so clueless. you never know i looked up at the sky and the snow fell onto my lips and melted instantaneously
"well," your arm weaved its way around my waist "would you like to go back inside?"
of course i do. i know how much this means to you and i cannot take it from you
i nodded and you hopped down, offering up your hand to help me down
then lacing your fingers with mine
your eyes shine brighter than you'll ever know
when you are so much as in a room with music that you love
i held your hand and leaned on your shoulder as we swayed together to the rhythm
you placed your lips against my hair and i swear that everyone else disappeared
i could have died in that very moment because ******
i have let myself fall in love with you
around 10:30 you set up your bass
a lonely speaker and your newly written lyrics
three people around you, and i, over in the corner on the couch
staring at you and knowing that if any of the others were to look up at me
they could see all the simple adoration pouring out of me
afterwords you told them about the story behind the song
the boy you wrote about and i wonder if any of them could tell
that the boy is actually you
because i knew before you even told me
as we left, finally
close to 10:45 when i expected to be home by then
you drove me across the street to where i was parked and i told you
i feel like a nothing
i love you with every piece of me yet sometimes you leave me in the shadows
and i know it's ******* pathetic but it's how i feel
"oh," you said my name, a beautiful noise in your breathtaking voice "you are everything"
everything? EVERYTHING?? how the hell could i be everything, even when you are that to me?
your head on my shoulder "you are my best friend. you are more than you could ever know"
it's the same for you. because you will never see how much i truly love you
"in the past few months, i have felt like ending it. more than once"
no.
"i just... i very much wanted to die."
no no no. holy hell, no
"and i would go to sleep on those nights... after, you know, chickening out"
and thank every god in every religious philosophy you woke up and came back to me
"then i'd wake up in the morning, come to school... and see you"
i am so glad you did. god. i couldn't do this without you. and i hope you know that
"and i would tell myself: 'hey. there is one reason to stay" you paused, and i was crying already. "for her.'"
oh god. oh god. oh god.
"so in many ways you have saved me. and you keep doing that. you never give up me even though you probably should. even though mostly everyone else has."
don't you get it? i would never give up on you. because there is no way i would be alive without you
and without you there is no me
"promise me something." your arm was around my shoulders and i was leaning into your chest, staining your t-shirt with eyeliner-soaked tears.
anything
"if i do end up..." you stopped. "you know, if i'm gone, i need you to keep going. continue, for both you and i."
you are the stupidest most wonderful person i have ever encountered in my entire life
i screamed at you, tears like a waterfall, streaking my face black
and you stared into my eyes, you brave soul
never would i be able to go on without you! never!
you are my lifeline
"and you are mine"
don't you dare leave me
you closed your eyes and nodded. "okay" you said, on the verge of crying yourself
i grabbed either side of your face and brought you closer to me
kissed your forehead and wrapped my convulsing arms around you
you can never leave me. i won't allow it
"see?"
see what? see that you're stupid because you don't comprehend your magnificence? see that you are clueless because you do not understand that at least someone in this world is hopelessly devoted to you?
"you are everything."
*no. you are.

curl up on my floor with me
and tell me who you want to be
and wish that you and i were eternal
like we did once before
curl up in that chair with me
and hold onto me while i read
about the problem i cant rid myself of
like we did once before
curl up on my bed with me
and make me to feel endlessly
with the magical way you've taken me
like we did once before
i hate to miss you but you know how much i do

you're the only reason i even want to write
and you're the only reason i even want to try

and you know you're the reason i wake up
and you know you're the reason i get up
and you know you're the reason i'm sitting here
and you know you're the reason that i smile

but you don't know exactly how many times
you've been just stupid enough to save my life
and, darling, i love you over a billion times

i forgot how much i love
being in a loud house
where everyone runs about
taking care of their own business
your brother weaves in and out of your room
where you and I curl up on your couch
playing video games and howling like hyenas
your parents' voices sound
footsteps resonate from above our heads
as your sisters arrive home
and start their respective afternoon rituals
and i hear your mother's voice
and the pipes creaking as someone runs a sink upstairs
and your doorbell rings and it doesn't echo
all the sounds...
i stand off near the door
when you tell your father we are leaving
because this isn't my world anymore
but for some unknown reason
i feel at home

they don't mean a **** thing
it's just words, decisions
made outside of my head
which, interestingly enough, is where the problem is rooted
these "risk factors" i supposedly show
what do they really, honestly signify?
that i'm mental, incompetent, a danger to myself?
words that a man in his fifties can scribble onto a piece of paper
and hand off to another man in his fifties
and it means the same thing across the board
because they apparently know what i'm thinking
how i'm feeling
they can see by the fact that i can't get out of bed most days
that i'm depressed
they know that because i hyperventilate over due dates and social situations
that i have generalized anxiety disorder
they conjecture that because i don't hesitate before crossing the main street on campus
i'm at a very high risk for suicide
i suppose none of these are far-off guesses
but my brain is not a textbook
and my thoughts are not teaching material
i am not a simple headcase!
i will not be simplified and generalized into the little boxes you've charted out
"here's where the depressed kids go"
"bipolar disorder falls here"
"eating disorders go in this corner to the left"
"watch the ones who want to **** themselves closely"
"it'll probably be a big show"
my thoughts, feelings, actions are not so easily categorized
yes, i've taken psychology
i know that freud claimed we're all acting on pent-up ****** rage
i know that skinner put rats in a box and thus proved behaviorism
i know that all of these men, they wrote papers and did experiments on how it's all inside our unconsciousness
my unconscious
i am not so easily uncovered
i refuse to put myself in a tiny box and let someone else dictate what is going on in my head just so he can receive a paycheck
i won't let someone pump xanax and prozac into me like it's nothing
i want to know that i'm not just going through a rough patch
i want to be certain that something is broken before i start fixing it
**** me or repair me
all i know is i won't go down without a fight

you teach me on a daily basis
that i do not have to chase perfection
to the corners of existence
to the places where reality and dreams mix and mingle
and that beauty is present
even where the mirror on the back of my door cannot show it
you laugh when i criticize myself
because you do not understand where i derive these insecurities from
you simply say,
"but you're beautiful"
and i offer a small smile in return
that stare of yours pierces me to the very core
drags me by the forearm, dances me around, and devours me whole
all i can see are your hands and i find myself retracing the paths they have taken across my skin
and im grazing my own lips, trying to recount every single time they've come in contact with yours
you may not explicitly create a sense of self-worth
inside my twisted little head
but you remind me with every passing day
that i can find it somewhere deep inside myself
and so i do

home, home
what is home?
where do you go
when you've got no real home?
when the tears block your sight
the interstate stretches to your right
and it's blocked by the lights
and you pretend music soothes your hands
and your feet that drag you between lands
acting like you've still got a hold on that band
like you're something grand
like you've got it planned
like it'll work out in the end
when all that you love just breaks and bends
you think you've got one real friend?
yeah, you say you're on the mend
god, you're just a worn-out trend
little girl with no hope
at the end of a noose-shaped rope
claims she can't cope
claims she ain't close
to finding her home
home, home, what is a home?
i can't say, i've got nowhere to go
is it this house where i've grown?
the words of a song in my bones?
the heartbeat i've come to known?
the blood in my veins,
the quake in the rain,
weakness in the chain
of a life gone insane
too much pain
not enough power
is it my hour
to stop where i cower
and take back who i am and who i wanna be
it's time for you to see
what life has done to me
1 AM scrambling up trees
a bunch of kids who don't mean a thing
looking through the darkness searching for the king
god, i wonder where he could be...
we could be arrested for trespassing!
but, *******, no one thinks these things but me
i'm screaming!
but i'm silent
no use trying to fight it
standing in the quiet
brain wants to riot
drenched from the rain
crawl back to our rooms not knowing our names
you'd think we're insane
but i'm the only player in that game
home, home, what is a home?
is it where i go when i'm all alone?
or i come in silently
the girls trying to follow me
boys running far from me
roommate's asleep
tiptoe to my sheets
ain't no point to weep
honey, i know i'm in too deep
wake up, sunshine
tell the girls i'm fine
downstairs, where we dine
new meals all mine
sunday mornings smell of wine
but i'm too good, no, i stay in line
one more week, closer to home
but i'll still be lost, no one knows
home, home, what is home?
who is there when i've got nowhere to go?
with the stars in his eyes and the songs in his bones
yeah, he's the only one who knows
home, home, that's my home
the only one i could really know
and it's dumb and it's wrong
i ask him "where do i belong?"
he says "i know you can't stay long"
sings and plays all his songs
then we dance like it matters
the kids all scatter
we sit alone til the midnight shatters
dressed up in all red like i care
the silence is more than i can bear
on my skin the chill of the air
"i'll be here for you, i swear"
he swears, he promises, his heart he shares
but no, i don't believe he really cares
home, home, what's a home?
a boy in a plaid shirt, he's my home
maybe it's wrong, but it's what i know
and the gunshots, they just go to show
no one on this ****** planet knows
maybe no one really has a home

by your side
for hours at a time
and i don't know if there is actually a ceiling
or a floor

hear your words
ignore the endless hurt
and i can't see anything but your radiant eyes
shining green

feel your arms
your undeniable charms
and i wouldn't dare let go of that warmth any time soon
you're safety

say my name
just fanning the flame
and i cannot begin to touch on how i feel when you
call me love

steal my heart
ripping me apart
and i don't even see the sick world around you and i
i love this

his voice is a calming ocean
but his touch is a raging hurricane
god, i can never find peace when it comes to him
adrift on his words, his melodies
his very existence takes me by storm with every single second
i adore him so and i swear by every god every worshiped
that i would tell the entire world
"hi, nice to meet you, i'm scarlet and this young man captivates me"
"and i know he'll do the same to you too"
i am so baffled by those around me
who see him as an enemy, a traitor, a devil
when the sunshine only peeks through the clouds when we're together
i am taken aback by this
how can you be so blind to his magnificence, bordering on perfection
and how could you not see the starlight coming from this boy?
he likes to think he could be jack white
without knowing that he's better
he would never tell me that he loves being in front of my camera lens
but i know
he tries so hard to be at peace with everyone in his world
in order to be at peace with himself
his music is magic and i will never recover
from falling into his strange little world, his strange little mind
his strange little heart and mine are part of one another
both adrift in this uneasy sea, looking for dry land, side-by-side

the darkness of your house
this evening when we drove slowly down congress
it pales in comparison
to the shadows dancing inside my head
but the clandestine memories
of the earthquake caused by your hands
is enough to shine light
on even the darkest corners

i'm too young
to know
to understand
a ******* thing
i'm just wandering blind
as if i might just run into a solution
i'm 19 years old, for ***** sake!
shouldn't i be to the point where i can reach a revelation about who i am?
should i not be past the point in which i spend countless nights crying
wishing that i could possibly slip out of this life unnoticed?
no,
here i am again
writing ****** poetry that i wish i could let someone read with my true name attached
no,
i'm stuck in a rut
stuck in a place where i will never change, never become more
although the entirety of my existence is wishing for that
every single cell inside this body is convulsing with the need to be something
more
than just me.

You can be my mouthful of pills
to which I’ll say: “One day, I’ll be clean”
Clean of you, clean of this
because I’m an obsessively tidy person

You can be the needle in the crook of my elbow
that pumps life through me while I lay comatose
Asleep, but awake; gone, but here
while my mother cries alone after the accident

You can be the crushed up aspirin in my palm
and I wait in the darkness for a summer sunrise
Rays burn flesh, fires on fiery hair
Maybe the drugs are enough to cool my skin

You can be a phantom limb, a phantom heart
and steal away my thunder, lightning, and rain
Take me: silent, fearful
drive me across the oceans in your Honda Civic

You can be the record that plays inside my bones
and the music the waves that I float upon facing the sky
The lake, the green waters, your green eyes
undressed in that car after we danced to the bass in our chests

You can be the cruel voice inside my head
that whispers secrets about prophets and flames
Day and night, sleep be ******
my lord, I would never take pills to rid myself of you

when i look into this girl's eyes
i see a reflection of myself
she just wants to be happy
but some days she would rather not wake up
she thinks she causes the problems
that rip her family apart
and she just wants to be strong like her mother
the woman that is the rock she wishes she could be
she lets the words of others resonate in her head
and haunt her dreams
she thinks she's a *****
because she was 16 and let herself be intimidated into loving a cruel boy
and everyone told her she was wrong
i want to teach her that there is nothing wrong with sadness
but there is everything right about happiness
i want to teach her that she can find it all inside her very soul
and that she can always find a helping hand
because someone loves her
and someone will find her in the darkness
and help her to realize that the ability to go on
is embedded inside her chest
i want to show her that death is not fantastic and elaborate
but that life can be exactly as beautiful as we want it to be
if we can just light the spark

There's a devil breathing down the back of my neck
Every word you say has me twisted
Where do you say we go from here?

Nothing we had will ever be mended
Don't you see the girl you've affected
and how she longs to disappear?

Where did that little boy go?
I remember, I used to know you.
But that's not now, look around.
The world has changed;
why can't I follow suit?
I've realized I know nothing about you.

Beneath this translucent skin
There's only blood, and, oh, it's thin.

i will never be remembered
no one thinks to include me
no one recalls that i exist
at least, in some form
maybe not in a place where they can see me
even the one person i trust fully
seems to forget that i am still here
and that talking to him is what keeps me grounded
but he is too far from me to see this
and i cannot blame him for that
everyone keeps begging me to stay alive
to keep fighting and to continue like i have so much potential
i have this incredible future in front of me and i'm here working towards it
yet no one thinks to remind me what that potential is
maybe my destiny is finding a way
to die without a big show
because, let's face the facts
no one would come to see it anyway

A pounding heart bangs against the chest that has it incarcerated
It screams and cries and begs for a swift and humane end
Ambles towards the edge of the cliff and awaits the moment it finally takes the plunge

Fingers shake relentlessly, an earthquake in the bloodstream
It animates bones and ignites nerve cells in the worst way
Evaporates only after it devours every last ounce of precious serenity

Tears cascade from eyes that threaten to burst from their sockets
They flow like raging rapids and slap against the innocent riverbank
Steal away every meager thought of calm that comes into contact with the waves

Lungs fill with lead and tighten around that choked breath
It constricts and confines the air that surrounds, strips it of life-sustaining oxygen
Creates a misty, obscure world full to the brim with shapes and outlines that confound the mind

Words tumble from quivering lips that wear false confidence and clatter against the floor
They fall heavy out of arms and scrape against bare porcelain legs and draw blood from old, scarred cuts
Break bones and ribcages and hopeless hearts and never stop to consider an apology

Anxiety assaults without warning, without trepidation, takes its tribute relentlessly
It crashes into the room, a drunken roommate draped in liquefied poise on melted legs
Pounds at the door, shocks awake, then leaves all possessions in disarray and never offers to help clean

we dine like kings
without eating a thing
when there are those little monsters
that lurk on the back of every package
in the back of my mind
every moment
of every meal
every day
numbers that most people don't concern themselves with
figures that terrify me if they're greater than 300

i am an eighteen year old girl
i might not be a child but i am **** well still growing
i am maturing and i am developing
my brain is not complete yet and i still at times act as i did three years ago
i know that i need a good night's rest
healthy exercise
and enough protein, enough calories,
just enough in general to maintain this gluttonous body's structural integrity

some days i glance into the glass
and see a girl that i wouldn't mind to be
see, i know i'm funny, kind (at least sometimes), knowledgeable, intellectual, cunning, brave, loving
and i know that there are a handful of sadomasochists who love me for that
but i can't help but notice
the imperfections of my skin
the way i wouldn't mind if that boy saw me naked again
if i didn't have so much for him to see
and how i know that i can make myself less
if i lessen my intake

written on my mirror in marker is "fall in love

with yourself"

and it is advice


i'm not sure i can take

you don't know your own power
when your hands are anywhere in my vicinity
or when your eyes are locked on mine
or when your words are slowly weaving through the air
from your lips to my ears
you have never understood
that you are magnificent
and i suppose i have to wonder why no one has informed you before
you have told me so many beautiful things
urging me to become a writer
saying i have a "gift" when it comes to words and that i need to pursue it
you told me that you love bodies like porcelain
"like yours," you added, which makes me ask myself
did you even look at me at all?
"seriously, i don't see what you're talking about at all" referring to my constant digs at my ****** state
how utterly unattractive i am?
"you are absolutely beautiful" your eyes are drilling into mine and i cannot stop my heart from swelling
yeah, well, so are you. more than i could ever be
you even used the word perfect
perfect: a term that, for as long as i have had the pleasure of knowing you,
you have abstained from including in your vocabulary
you told me once
(probably back in september when she was still around and
you were worming your way deeper into my heart)
that perfection doesn't exist,
not outside of the divine, of the god that you so dearly believe in
and i am quite partial to
so what does it mean when you tell me that i am perfect?
in body, in mind, in heart?
how could you think such pretty things of me and not see that it is all present in you as well?

Hearts don't beat out of chaos
And no one's heart beats alone
You are not fighting on your own
I know there are often days
in which you struggle to evacuate the covers
and you may feel lost and abandoned
But I will still be there.
This isn't one of those "when it's convenient for me" promises
because it is always convenient for me.
I will always adore you
and support you and fight for you
I am not one of your imitation friends
that do a complete 180 the moment you pass through the door
I am not one of the girls that haunt your heart
that could not see the magnificence inside its darkened recesses.
I would never see you as a bad person
because you are the sunshine that fills the sky today
and you are the reason I continue to wake up to see it.
You destroy any evidence of unhappiness inside of me
and replace it with pure light.
You are the most beautiful of melodies.
I know for a fact that I cannot do this without you
and maybe I'll end up a boring old housewife with two kids and an SUV crossover and no bestselling books
but you and I both know that future is not set in stone.
That suburban nightmare may come to pass and even if it does
I will still love you.
I will still adore you when the clouds take over the sunshine I cling to
and I will still treasure you when I can no longer see the sky.
You are not inherently evil
You are not a bad person.
You are mine. That's all you are.
And whenever I think of you I think of happiness and sunshine and warmth
and without that
I would be broken
I need your happiness to survive
so keep that wonderful smile on your face.

October is a **** terrible month
it's a bitter bile taste on my swollen tongue
ladies and gentlemen: gather 'round! see the horror film
it's about the play out before my eyes.

Cereal nearly drowns in a bowl and
I swear to God it tastes like tar
and ashes, but I didn't know that yet
not yet, I thought I'd slam that old broken door and
watch the sunrise.

My phone illuminates, you say
"I'm on my way to get you now"
Why? when I know I'll get there sooner than you
"Did no one call you?" you're outraged and
my ceramic breakfast bowl threatens to shatter at my feet
when you tell me.

Backseat of a car that was sold two years ago
my body smashed between my niece and
the door, I wish I could open it and roll out
while we're on the highway
because I know the hospital is close
too close.

I don't want to write anymore because the sun
mocked my emptiness with its rays when I just
wanted to see it climb the sky.

oh, i wanna be strong
and i wanna be right
and i hope all this **** wont
keep me up at night

and i wanna be tough
just want to be real
and i need to stop telling you
just how i feel

i wanna break free
from the chains on my wrists
and i wanna stand tall
be able to resist

and i wanna give up
and i still wanna fight
and i've got to stop writing
all day and all night

and i've got to keep strong
and i've got to stay real
and i've got to keep quiet
you know how i feel

cause my eyes they are bugging
my hands start to shake
and this ****** bottom lip
starts to quiver and quake

and i've got these demands
and they're too much for you
and i'm nothing but ashes
i can't follow through

and you ask me to dance
and you hold me so tight
and i've got to stop shaking
just put up a fight

and i know you're just busy
you've got too much to do
and i know i'm just me:
and i'm too much for you

and i've got to stay strong
to you i'm not real
and i've got to keeping fighting
you know how i feel

cause my eyes are too wide
and my heart is too fast
and i can't leave what has happened
in the ******* past

and i can't see the screen
and the words are all gone
and i can't take this anymore
i've got it all wrong

and my fingers are shaking
you know how i feel
and my heart is still breaking
i'll never be real

and it's too much to ask
too much for you
i'm just a reflection
with nothing to do

and the keys are all mixed up
the words are all gone
and i can't fight this feeling
i've got it all wrong

and i've got to stay strong
and just put up a fight
and stop feeling like my feet
can't hold me up right

and stop screaming in my sleep
like i'm four years old
and stop searching in caverns
like i'll find pure gold

and stop relying on words
that no one will hear
and stop screaming with silence
eyes brimming with tears

cause i know i'm not strong
and i know i'm not real
and i know you're at home
with no clue i how i feel

and i'm watching the people
the girls are all pretty
i'm inside my cage
in a maze of a city

and i just can't be tough
can't put up a fight
when nothing i ever do
goes any sort of right

and i sing to my mirror
and i hope i can hear
and i want you to hold me
strike away my fear

and i'm swaying to rhythm
that doesn't exist
and i'm nothing without
my dear suffering bliss

and my back is still breaking
my head is still numb
can you hear me up there?
i know it sounds dumb

we both packed up boxes
left our town behind
and are meeting new strangers
who are out of their minds

and i want to be skinny
i want perfect skin
and i want to wear dresses
i feel beautiful in

and i want to be strong
and i've got to be tough
and i need your strength
i'm sorry i'm not enough

i've got to stay fighting
i need to be real
come find me down here
cause you know how i feel

valentines day 2013
i was still engulfed in the darkness
that so much defined me for those months of junior year
before the spring showed itself and we danced and i fell in love
you spent an hour telling me about your plans with her
and then kissed my forehead when i told you
how much of a joke the thought of me actually having a valentine is
valentines day 2014
i curl up on your shoulder
and you rub your cheek against my hair
i wrap up conversation hearts that say "cutie" and "love you"
and hand them off to you in the hallway
like a little secret
this love is much more than a little secret
we share headphones in class listening to cute love songs
and talk about learning to play songs by the civil wars together
and i wish i could run over to your house
and we could lay down on your bed under your wolf blanket
sharing song after song with one another
but i just want you to know
you're my favorite song even when you're silent

i was shocked awake
4:45 in the morning
to the sound of my own screaming and sobbing
i dreamed of your brother
running up to me in the hallway
in hysterics
telling me what he found that morning when your alarm sounded
what you had done
and i cried out, i screamed and i woken already in a fit
it isn't real, it isn't real
you're going to see him today
he is alive
HE IS ALIVE. HE IS FINE
i reached over beside me and found your shirt
that i forgot i was wearing so did not return to you
i grasped it and pressed it to my face because it smelled like you and
the dream felt so real and so terrifying because just six hours ago
you had confided in me that you could do it
but i will not allow it
i solemnly swear i will not allow you to die
the tears and terror eventually faded
and i wrote you a letter about how incredible you are and how i cannot fathom a death so tragic as yours
you would not slip out unnoticed
there would be chaos and unrest for years
because after all
a king cannot die silently
in the evening you picked me up from my house
told me stories of your day and that your mom likes to hear your stories about me
i wonder if your family even likes me but i would like to believe they do
we greeted your father WHO WAS SMILING; WHO KNEW? before descending down into your room
i collapsed on the couch and told you how rampant my anxiety was running
you joined me and i buried my face in your shoulder
asked you to read what i wrote
"i would love to read it," you said, lightly kissing my forehead
and after, you wrapped both your arms around me
one on my back and the other cupping the back of my neck
i nestled into your chest and you put your face against my hair
"i believe you," you whispered
believe what? that i love you? do you finally understand?
i just muttered good and relished the fact that your thumb was slowly rubbing my neck
and i just hope that you understand
that i would have never let go
our evening was spent with laughter and cookies and
i love that your sister actually thought of me because
no one ever thinks of me
i was sad to go when you took me home but i know that
i will continue to wake up day after day
and you will be there
because
"wherever there is you,
i will be there too"

I could never be anyone's dream girl
because I mostly keep to myself
and I find comfort in that way of life
my world is an island
and people are the sea
true, it's lonely
but I know I am home

and I could never be anyone's dream girl
because the ferry runs everywhere but here
it brushes up against the shore but never stops
because no one desires to visit
I bury my head deep in the sand
and my heart deeper still
hey, sometimes clear blue skies warm my skin
they cut through the torrential rain and storms
and those skies and that sun belong to me
just like the downpour
it's all mine
it's all me

and I could never be anyone's dream girl
because I chose this life
I cut myself off from civilization
from humanity itself at a young age
I’ve removed it from my life like a useless limb
I’ve ruined those I might have loved
once upon a time
their lifeless bodies float out in the endless expanse of ocean
my kisses poisonous, my hugs constricting
but my departure and coldness held the blade
and I twisted it inside of each of them
like it was a game

and I could never be anyone's dream girl
because I **** my own happiness
and that of others
just by existing
and just by existing alone
I could never be anyone's dream girl

i know you're hopeless
i know, because i was there
because i've felt this emptiness you're now grappling with
i know how it feels to sit alone
on the floor of your room gripping tightly to the warmest jacket you own
sobbing silently into the fabric
for fear that your mother might hear you
but spring comes again and it will be just as beautiful
as it always is
don't accept that this is your forever
the sadness will linger,
but
you
will
recover.

You fall asleep knowing
How much I adore you
And I fall asleep convinced
There isn't a single person that wants me around