His fingers move like lies over the rough spark wheel
of his lighter, the sweet release of nicotine
in his hands - trusting as a lover.
Sepia tones drift over his head,
addiction pulling him place to place.
Hopscotch.
Dancing under trees in the sunlight,
dappled shadows warp across the smoke
engulfing him. Laughter,
the promise of friendship.
Hand-holding by chipped letterboxes.
Inhaling and exhaling
an ideal world.

Words float in lost eyes,
broken veins are calling me.

Don't you dare lose hope
After making it so far
This step matters most

Where dawn meets the sea she lies, broken,
her laugh echoing the moon
and pouring with salt
across the morning waves.

I am halfway to becoming an artist,
someone who will have the power
to weave beauty at her fingertips
into true masterpieces.
However, the journey
is no longer one I can enjoy
as it has become a race;
I am halfway to becoming destroyed
and what scares me most
is I feel as if the killing
will happen sooner than the awakening.

It's strange how I didn't even know
I missed you until I saw your face
from the other side of the crowd
and my heart knew it all, instantaneously.