I crave
some new mistake
so you can see
i still need you
because
it seems we’re not through
if you think
you can fix
this
we can repent
but we know our sins
just please
please remind me
because
i thought
the caged bird sings

I awoke this morning
Face in the sand
Choking on the grains and
incapable of mustering enough
Something
to vanquish the apathy
that keeps me there
and now
i sit here
alone in my room
thinking horribly false
unsupported thoughts
that rattle my heart
until it shakes my bones
I don’t know
from where
these thoughts come
but I know where they go

Trees like capillaries
Rise and fall with each breath
Your breath passes over me
I breathe it in, making it my own
Recycled lines and images
turn over in my head
Day after day
Old experiences in new minds breed
fresh songs from innocent lips

I'm really trying
Honest
To stick to my guns
And not let
My heart get out
Of my hand
But like some child
Urging me to play in the rain
Your simple elegance
compels me
To accept the downpour
Weathering into a puddle
At your feet
I look up
I am the child
And I just want you
To hold the hand
Where my heart used to be
And not let go

There is something
Attractive about the life
Of hermits
Whether it's the
Courage or
The cowardice
I can’t decide

I don't want reality
Just
Some facsimile that provides
Me with the emotions
Necessary to write

Unfortunately
The reality
Of our daily experience
Is
Easily mitigated
By our ability
To infinitely
Filter and wade through
That which we prefer to avoid

No matter what happens
It's always life
And life is best lived
With eyes open

Insert appropriate metaphor here
some flourishing
elegant
representation of
whatever the **** is going on
inside me
because
god knows
if there is one
that I don’t even know
how to talk about
this
whatever
“this” is
maybe if I just put
another brilliant
and articulate
simile here
or maybe an allusion or quote
that perfectly captures
and labels this pain
and fear
yes
that’s it
I feel
better already
isn’t poetry great?

You ever think about
the vast nothingness
of space
or
the emptiness
between planets
and galaxies
I wonder
if the universe writes poetry

Line after line
Word after word
I feebly
and desperately
utter these simple combinations
like prayers
or mantras
hoping to infuse
them with some divine
healing power
wishing
completion for myself
and these poems
but neither of us
is ever finished
nor
will we ever be finished
because pain is a marathon runner
and I
can guarantee you
he is better conditioned
for the trek
than you
or I

You’re at a party
and I'm here studying
by myself
wondering
what the threshold is
for trust
in a relationship
because there is a part of me
that knows
it’s already over
you’ve found someone else
you are dancing and happy
and the ****** atmosphere is quickly becoming too much for you to endure
and another part of me
hopes
that you are sitting alone
sad
unable to enjoy yourself
because I’m not there
I hate both versions of me equally
and they seem to hate each other as well
as they refuse to bear some sort of reasonable offspring
capable of interpreting the situation
with tact and logic
no
instead they will continue to bicker
and I will sit in the middle
like a child of divorce
stuck in the squabble
with my heart in my hands
slowly pulling it apart
while you dance
or cry
wondering why I can’t seem to do either

What is this love
That rises
From such fleeting encounters
And
Don't you dare
For a second
Say that it's infatuation
It was not
The shape of your body
But the sanctuary of your gaze
That causes me to lament
What we could be
Our paths bend
Touching at the elbows
Then parting sharply
What form of matter
conjured by your stare
Is capable of affecting me so?

I'm too far away
from those summer nights
when we would just sit
and listen
to each other
breathe
i don't remember
i think you tried
to change me
but
i know
i tried to change
you
if I remember
you said I wasn't
there for you
but the face you put on
is turning old and gray
and my sympathies are withering
maybe one day
you'll see
i was the shoulder you said you need

Beneath these grey skies
Our thundering heartbeats find their rhythm
A tender contradiction
to the chaos above
This tune
Novel but familiar
Finds its way from my heart
to my hands
My love, place your heart to mine
And your hand the same
So that
The syncopations of our existence
May beat together

I keep thinking about you
Fear overrides my patience
I wish life were lived on
The surface, sometimes
I wonder if everyone
Else feels
The same
Or maybe the subtle
Communication
And
Bravery of relationships
Is some form of currency
For a country I
Haven't heard of