you are the madonna among us,
the shining ray of light that stabs
us in the chest and rips our hearts
out only to make them better, less
crusted in the black mess that's
always being left behind when
our beating vessels are smashed
to bits, you hold our very fiber of
self in your tiny hands and throw us
up into the universe until we've
gained enough perspective to float
back to earth and live as the humans
we were meant to be upon birth

what i mean to say, is that i don't
know you, but i love you, because
you give me more than the people
that leak words into my skull day
after day, i find myself inside of
what you create and then i throw
up on the page, or snap my shutter,
or doodle a dream from deep within
the impulses that barge around bumping
into my eyelids within the darkest depths

tonight, i will rip resin and spin off
into a place where nothing can touch me,
i will stare at the universe upon my ceiling
and imagine the dazed look upon your
face as you do the same, tonight, i will not
lose myself inside of the thoughts that may
or may not belong to someone else, instead,
tonight, you and i, will set me free

in a world
where we
all crave to be
understood,
but different
and complex,
all at once
i was left
feeling as if
i were in
a cat's cradle -
undeniably
wrapped and tangled
around myself

for many moons
i tried to
believe
that it was me
and my lack
of an explanation
that could not
be translated
to the language
you had begun
to speak
that was quite
different
from my
native tongue,
but i began
to realize
that speech
had nothing to
do with it,
and it was
your refusal
to open your eyes
fully and drink in
all that i had
laid out
before you

i contemplated
myself often
and the idea
of change
flitted around
inside of my skull
like birds trapped
in a cage -
i knew i had to
set them free

it's been said to me
and i've said it
to myself,
i will find the one
who wears no
blinders,
who speaks my
language,
who wants me
fully

i will find that one
in due time,
when the timing
seems wrong
and i haven't
the time,
he will show up
and drink me
in and fill
himself completely,
and snip away
the strings
that have rendered
me useless
when it comes to love