looking into your eyes
i see the pain of our past
and the pain
you are experiencing now
i wish i could turn back time
to the moment i last loved you
but with you having witnessed
a bleak future without me
then maybe
            maybe
we could comfort each other
now.

you were given life
but you don't have to accept
the initial terms

you can take it
spin it around
turn it on it's axis
and start in a new direction

you're not happy
   change it!

risk making enemies
& losing friends
that probably never were

grab sadness
& depression
by the neck
and choke the life out of 'em

never give up the search
for happiness...
  contentment
     peace

it's all there if you'd only look hard enough.

show your strength
by admitting your weakness

standing only
   on the bus
being jostled about
   my footing is lost
and i fall into you

   sorry

but turning to look
   and smiling
i know that i am not.

this time
i let the rain
wash over me
feeling delighted

and looking
in the mirror
instead of seeing
a drowned rat
i saw a
fluffy kitten.


*"rain down, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds pour down righteousness..."

begging for understanding
without saying a word
reaching for an illusory hand
feeling an ethereal embrace
holding onto illusive happiness

all in my imagination

i stand above you
watching you struggle
desperately trying to get a grip
grabbing at earth
that crumbles away
   from your grasp
the more you try
the more you are obviously
losing
for it is too late
   for you
i am, for once
on solid ground
it took your falling
to get me here
i can't help you
not that i would
if i could
for your sinking
into the depths
of blackness
is what brought me
to the light of being
my salvation
is your purgatory
                  so be it.

a heart that's never been broken
is a heart that's never felt love

a kaleidoscope of images
flash before my eyes
becoming embedded in my brain
what i need to see
   what i long to see
is the perfect you
constructed before me
every piece fitting
just right
turning slowly
you're displayed
for my approval
my heart beats
in anticipation
and the lifelong search
begins...

again.

the years are passing
and my aloneness
seems permanent
but i do question myself
i probe my brain
and decide that yes,
this is my choice
my desire
my hand slap on the table
for it's been so long
my trying to convince others
so i've finally accepted it myself
the fate of being
so very much
alone.

a friendship ends
when you're no longer cool
but an embarrassment...

clandestine arrangement
                            planned
               prepped
  cleansed
                          scoured
             scrubbed
shaved
                       powdered
fragranced
practiced
                     and pretended

to end up




home alone.

the sky is brighter
   today
the colors more vibrant
   today
things i look at seem clearer
crisper
the edges sharper
   today
     i will enjoy today
i will swallow it up
and gorge myself on it
because this amazing intensity
might not be here
   tomorrow.

he looked up at me with pleading eyes
rheumy eyes,
while his breath came out in short huffs
and puffs
i looked down at his hand
and it was shaking slightly
i reached to grab it
but stopped myself

looking at this man
he was hardly the beast of the past
the dark, sinful eyes
were blank
the mouth that uttered profanities
and evil laughter
was silent
the hands that triggered so much pain
were weak and still

here lay a stranger
feeble
old
powerless
begging me for mercy
asking me for forgiveness
willing me to set him free

i bent down lower so we were face to face
gazing intently into his eyes
looking for some truth
trying so hard to find sincerity
trying so very hard to find love
just a small trace
a hint of...

i took in the vacant stare
the emptiness behind it
and shook my head

when i stood up and started towards the door
i heard him whimper quietly
i hesitated
then continued on

it wasn't enough.

don't agonize
in desperation
about what could've been
   between us
don't dwell
on what you could've
   done different.
what is
   can't be changed
words spoken
   will not be forgotten
actions taken
   will continue to hurt

me?

i chose the path
to recovery

and you ?

continue to labor
in the past.

years
being built up
but
one word from you
and i'm
extinct

the longer you allow
the storm to brew
the harsher the thrashing
when it arrives.

stopping mid walk
and glancing up at the sky
i wonder
where does this all lead
   to keep pushing on
struggling to get through the days
and not seeing advancement
is disheartening
i cry to the sky
   the universe
to show me something
give me hope
   a reason
to keep moving forward
the loss of friends
   family
   myself
makes this day drearier
than the day before
it all seems so senseless
   ignorant even
to keep going
going and going
continuing the mundane
for nothing

somewhere, somehow
at sometime
there has to be a light
there has to be a reason
to continue this struggle

sing a soft melody
straight from the heart
watch the music
float through the air
looking to land
on worthy ears.

i wait for you
   in the dark
     expectant
       anxious
         prepared
but as the darkness
fades into light
a single teardrop
tells me you aren't coming

my heart is offering me
the comfort of my tears
until the next time.

she stumbled over her common sense
which she thought she had lost
many years ago
                       to her first love.

seems it'd been borrowed out
to every love thereafter.

if i push, you pull
if i give, you take
if i talk, you listen
but if i love...

will you love?

...scattered thoughts
explode from my brain
in a medley
of intense sparks & colors
to burst from my mouth
in an eruption of profanities.

the joy
has been ripped from her soul
and sold to the highest bidder
she looks on
in bewilderment and shame
collapsing in her lack of strength
crying for someone she wishes
she was
not fighting
for what is rightfully hers
standing alone
in a life
she doesn't want
weakened
by her own sense of self

being cradled
in the arms
of depression.

skipping through life
following the
ordinary
riding the waves
of normal
cashing in
on what's
expected
a life filled
him
      her
the added
              2.5
BA
BS
MD
   SUV
RSVP
        FYI
ASAP
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A-list
who cares!!!
we are flesh
meat
bones
grey matter
that twists
turns
vibrates
to the emotions
that we feed
nurture
shape
mold
and           encourage

live it
love it

BE

climbing the rickety stairs
i keep my eyes
on the worn,
wooden door
just ahead
reaching for the ****
it turns easily
for something so old

opening
   i see you
for the first time in years
facing the window
   rocking
the floor creaking
beneath the chair

you don't turn
you don't acknowledge me
but i know
that you know
i am here

i search the scene
outside the window
trying to see
what you are seeing
but what i observe
is what has always been there
   aged trees
swaying gently in the wind
   a few birds
calling to one another
   farther off
   a hilly horizon
where blue and green
                                kiss

as i approach you
i think i sense a
hesitation in the rocking
   but i'm not sure

i place my hand on your shoulder
and you gently place yours on top
of mine

and together we stare
at an unchanged scene
through a dusty window
dismissing years
and having our hearts embrace
once again.

a black soul is not evil
it's a pretense
of a pulsing heart
waiting to be exposed.

we are born wanting
   needing
expecting
                something
   anything
that will fill the emptiness
the emptiness of hunger
  of comfort
security
we immerse ourselves
in the warmth
of our mother's arms
we are cradled
and soothed
until we feel secure enough
to drift
               knowing
that when we awake
those same, soft arms
will be there to hold us
assure us
that we are loved
taken care of
protected

and then life pushes us away
away from the protection
and security
of all that we have known
since birth

and we are left stranded

alone

and longing for the comfort
of those strong arms
that soft voice of reassurance
that we have come to crave

but

we must be strong
we must embrace our independence
we must take all that we've been taught

and let go...

freeing ourselves

and at the same time
allowing ourselves
to offer protection
   and love
to what that has yet
to come.

i like it that he keeps my mind
   occupied
i like it that he's here
   for now
i like the plans
i dig the compliments
i can't wait for the touch
but there's something nagging at me
   pulling my mind into the realization
that this may just be
another huge disappointment.

i can yell the loudest
   should i prove it
i can laugh the most boisterous
   should i prove it
i can cry intensely
   should i prove it
i can love the deepest
   should i prove it
i can hurt immensely
and i think you've proven *that

you offer yourself
to me
and as tempting
as it may seem
i balk
at the suggestion.

winter
why so serious?

i sense you
   staring at me
but when i turn
   you quickly look away

aren't we way too old for this?

sitting
contemplating
considering
what is
that what
that's in front of me
just doesn't jive
i want more
i deserve more
i've been promised
more
by me
as the years pass
i see my dreams
slipping away
following the unending
current of time
glancing back
with a wink
and a dejected nod
suggesting
time's up
how long
can a clouded soul
   a disappointed heart
continue to thrive
when all that's placed
in front of it
is more sorrow?

i want to spit you out
like you're infected bile
that collects at the bottom of my stomach
making me sick.

you leave me desperate
for a good cleansing.

standing close
until our heartbeats
collide
beating frantically
combining the two
into one
clutching desperately
reaching for anything
that could possibly
bring us closer
a passionate kiss
that grips from within
a soft stroke
becoming stronger
until the intensity
is overwhelming
heat rises
causing
desperate breaths
quietly begging for
                                  more
   giving
    taking
     getting
      receiving
until we collapse
into a heap
of  satisfied
love.

high
then low
the confusing theory
in my mind
of what is
jumbled thoughts
of happiness
randomly pricked
with pain
and the desperate fight
with the darkness
that has vowed
to take over.

being dragged through the mud
by somebody you don't care about
sometimes causes greater pain
then if it were done
by someone you love

i'll catapult my heart
into the universe
hoping the right one
will catch it.

this gnawing ache
eating at me
blurring my vision
blocking out all emotions but
anger
disgust, annoyance, irritation
my mind travels a path in a frenzy
and my composure is pulling away from me
far, far, away
control is just beyond my reach
i am chasing it now
desperate
it is so close i can feel it
i take a long, deep breath
and self control begins to circle me
i close my eyes and start to feel peace
breathing out the fury flows from me
like the white tassels of a dandelion
catching the wind and disappearing
and all is calm once again.

categorized insanity
a relished ailment
   sought after
     acted for
       cases pled
sad eyes begging

ME
that's ME
please
please
  doctor

I

AM

ILL

         MENTALLY

it's socially acceptable
   admired
heads nod in understanding

give me that
write it in my chart
scroll out the 'script

i want to dance in the streets
run naked through the park
bark at strangers
drool on myself
**** myself
**** on pavement

and all will be accepted

because

i am labeled

mentally incoherent
   unstable
socially incompetent

and therefore

totally embraced

because of

my

insanity.

don't blame others
for your shortcomings
nor look at them
in contempt
you've chosen your path
are following your planned destiny
and any blame
you feel must be thrown
     should be accepted
by the person you see
in the mirror.

show me something
give me a reason

answer the questions
that constantly beat
inside my skull
   blinding me
     confusing
       blurring all thought
not knowing
   right
     wrong
       indifference

keep me stable
   solid
on hardened ground

but it's too tough
   this insecurity
knocks me
makes things unbalanced
   doubtful
     unsure
of what is what
who is who
   who is real
where am i safe?

i've gathered myself
into a cocoon of security
if only in my head
but safe
nonetheless...

the you
that i've been blaming
is actually
me.

i desperately willed you
to look my way
just a glance
i thought
for i was sure
        positive
that if you got a good look at me
you would be mine.

for some reason
i always picture myself holding on
   desperately
fingertips lightly touching
       and finally letting go
with me floating away
               up and away
twisting and turning
with arms outstretched

       but no longer seeking to grasp
   or trying to reach out
just thoroughly enjoying
                         the ride.

when i consider my choices
i know i've made the right one.

i wish to be buoyant
   like a tree
moving gracefully with the wind
   of my unsettling thoughts
letting the leaves of my worry
   fall to the ground
     dead and soon forgotten
to have buds of newness
spring forth and blossom
   in a natural birth
i'll embrace the calm of the earth
letting the sun hug me with it's warmth
   offering me a fresh start.

i never feared
loneliness
i've always chosen
to be alone
i craved it
wallowed in it
sat satisfied
while alone
i thought
that is what
i wanted
to be alone
to be alone
but
not lonely
loneliness
is consuming
suffocating
it grips
my throat
and squeezes
every
last
breath
until i am left
panting
desperate
for contact
watching
the outside world
of human
commotion
and wanting to
be a part
of anything
something
but
i've pushed
and pushed
and now
there
is nobody
nobody
to reach out to
nobody
to call
nobody
to laugh with
share with
conspire with
and
i am definitively
left
alone
lonely


alone.

the serenity
is what brings me back
year after year

not listening but hearing
the peaceful sounds
of the lake
brings a tenderness to my heart
an uncomplicated feeling
   of just being

looking out across the water
filling myself up
with the sheer wonderment
   of all that is before me
takes me to another level
   of myself
where i am
all accepting
of what is offered to me
   non questioning
    accommodating
     gullible

breathing deeply
i blanket myself with
the pure, unassuming, welcomed
intensity
of sheer happiness.