when I was six,
I always asked my mom
to check under my bed
she'd smile, tuck me in
and say, “it's all in your head”

the monster—in my mind
hid in the shadows
and kept me awake
left me with an uneasy feeling
I just can't seem to shake

but when I grew up
I didn't fear monsters
not anymore
so I got on my knees
and laid my head on the floor

the monster stared back at me
its eyes colored crimson
but they were meek
not scary, not daunting
just a little weak

it gently reached out to me
with slender fingers
sharp claws in its end
it didn't feel like a foe
but almost like a friend

I found comfort
within the darkness
made peace with the unknown
the monster—wasn't so much of a monster
on the days I felt all alone

sun-kissed hair
seaside air
living life
without a care

soft gaze
September haze
a peaceful state
to spend my days

the journey is long
the road is unfamiliar
and the silhouette of trees emerge like beasts

my car is shabby
and the nights are rough
as I navigate my way through rugged streets

I find myself
in a different scene
in a place with faces so strange and new

and home may seem
miles and miles away
but home is never too far with you

Stifling. Silent. Still.
No footsteps down the aisle
No bells. An empty ring.
A warmth I haven't felt in a while

I broke into them in our living room
"They're perfect," you said
With a gentle caress to my knee
And a delicate kiss on my forehead

But now they're collecting dust
By the mirror, where they sit
The laces have worn out
And the soles barely fit

I had it all pictured in my mind
The vows. The kids. The locks of gray.
Like a dream so close to my reach
But I just couldn't make you stay

Stifling. Silent. Still.
Like the heels I'll never wear
Empty. Eerie. Erased.
It was like you were never there

how wonderful would it be
to be an iris near the sea
after I have laid to rest
with the earth covering me

to sway with the rhythm of the air
to not feel alone, to not feel despair
to hear the crashing of the waves
separating the silence that once was there

need not to worry of the passing time
nor life's complicated design
for I am a flower amidst the fire
and somehow, I know I'll be fine

after I have laid to rest
with the earth covering me
it's truly wonderful to be
an iris near the sea

I once built a house with bricks and stones
Poured my blood, breath, and my bones
The walls were painted marble white
Not a stain or mess in sight

I once built a house with my heart as a door
With all the love and memories in its core
The rays of sun, through the window they stream
I feel as if I'm in a dream

But the big storm came, and it all broke down
The sky cried tears, and the leaves turned brown
The cracks traced their way onto the wall
The eerie silence settled in the hall

I once built a house so full of life
But now it's tainted with venom and strife
The wind blew out the remains of my home
Along with all the love I've ever known

letters that blur in my mind
syllables I can't seem to find
three words I once held on my tongue
so often, from when we were young

and it was like a stranger I once knew
so different, another version of you
or what is it just the same?
I just can't remember your name

A touch of warmth lingering on my hand
a missing footprint on the sand
was it or was it not,
a name that I forgot

and time is a cruel mastermind
leaving fragments of a memory behind
of a love I cannot bear
of something—someone—who was once there