you snapped a photo
that forever sits on your bedside,

we kissed in front of a church,

and I floated away.

Where did I go?

I lived peacefully and quietly
amongst the cool shade of banana trees.
I would glide gracefully through old, dark corridors with squeaky, wooden floors
with dark and dreamy purple walls and spaces filled with echoes.

An ancient iron gate swings back and forth, signaling spontaneous visits from smiling friends.

I want to continually reward myself
with new experiences,

wake up each morning to sounds
of birds chirping at dawn,

and rise to liberate my own inner warrior.

My eyes shined like diamonds,
and my hair was longer and stronger than rope.

“One day,” I would say,
“I’m gonna grow it out down to my knees.”

Lifetimes like mine have given me knowledge that my skin is solid
and my soul is tough,
but I want to FEEL it.

Moments soaked in passion,
vibrations between our hearts
felt deeper than the marrow of my bones,
and unforgettable memories of your smile
still bring me to my knees.
A part of you will forever glisten upon my lips
just as a part of me will upon yours,
and despite you having shattered my dreams,
let me say
the lights in Paris were never as stunning
as the stars I saw twinkle in your eyes.

My father was born a man of the earth,
I refuse to wear a bra,
and I shake off like a dog after every shower.
So why is it that I roam this sacred beach
cursing at the sticky layers of sand,
searching for a single slab of concrete,
a place to call home?

These feelings are so loud
I cannot hear anything else.
Determined to drown them out,
I dare you
to do your damnedest
to demolish my eardrums
with decibels meant to devastate.
I want to be crushed
by a falling wall
of bone-breaking,
soul-shaking
sound,
please,
surround me
with suffocating blankets
of sonic booms.

As a pandemic spreads across the globe,
we realize more and more
about ourselves
which we once did not know.
Extroverts transform into introverts,
introverts into extroverts,
finally, a revolution for the mind,
an extraordinary, cosmic show
of divine and unprecedented kindness.
Externally and internally
we will continue to grow.

His smirk erupts into a robust guffaw.
I hear a laugh that could save the world,
a catalyst for an astounding explosion within me.
My heart gushes with a kind of pleasure
that few have ever known.
My cheeks, feeling as if they’ve caught fire,
turn rosy and inflate to their fullest.
As my smile extends from ear to ear,
my entire body radiates endless warmth,
emanating what can only be described
as the purest love,
unconditional and eternal,
throughout the Universe and spreading across all space and time.

Distant train horns roar
through ripe summer air,
shaking some last scattered pieces of a society disintegrating,
silent reminders of spaces once shared.
Amidst Mother Nature’s reckless reclamations
two tired souls remain.
They both slowly soften and unite,
hearts beating wildly in each other’s hands
held tight,
reverberating raw emotion across all realms,
pulsating with a palpable sense
of pure unbounded joy
felt deeper than the marrow of our bones.