I saw you in a way
that I’d know your playlist
in any lifetime,
any universe,
and even in the ones
where you break me,
I’d still press play.
That’s how our souls
speak in the silence.

I try my hand at fitting in
But miss most of the time
It could be worse but here's the dirt
I've been a misfit all my life

When you try and take a square peg
In a world that's spinning round
You'll soon find it doesn't fit
If there ever was a doubt

Like a fish out of the water
This pig that has no wings
My life is one big falter
If I'm at fault of anything

If it's even the slightest bit odd
That is where you will find me
Being where I ought not
When you pull back the curtain of reality

I find there really is no choice
Or to what degree
As I raise both hand and voice
A misfit it will be

my phone was on silent,
and i missed his call.
“i called you by accident,”
he said, when i rang back,
“i have nothing to say.”

nineteen minutes later,
his sweet sound of nothing
was still on the line,
untangling his day.

I am a vulture
and time is my prey
If it flies, I fly

faster, if it's past
I devour it
in my mind

digesting the flesh
of my experiences
and wearing out my body

until my beak is too weak
and time escapes
to its final ending

darling,
it hurts too much
to watch
as you chase
someone else's dream,
as they chase
someone else's dream,
and no one's
chasing their own.

darling,
it hurts too much
to watch
you pass through
the valleys of life,
as the shadows
stretch further
with every step,
and the valley
stretches too.

darling,
it hurts too much
to hear you
say to me,
in that crystalline voice
that warms my heart,
"the only way
is through",
while I stare back
and whisper to you
"the only way
is through".

darling,
it hurts too much
to look up
and face the sunlight
with eyes
that've only
tasted the dark.

darling,
you love
sunlight.

We have mined our mountains,
we have fished our seas,
we have felled our forests,
we have gathered our grains,
but we have not yet embraced
the infinite energy of our souls,
which is love.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS

I have lost her love.
I look for her in words—
the words that fill pages
of my stolen diary.

She has a few good days.
She fell in love.
His honey words
made her forget her fear.

He left.
And so did she.

I have lost her love.
I see glimpses of it
when I cook pasta.
In dance, in sweat—
I see it in my eyes.

She seems so far away.
I have lost her love.