my bucket list was always

skydiving
zip lining
fall in love

but i have since realized skydiving is unrealistic
zip lining has been done already
and falling in love...
falling in love is not a box you can check off.

i fell in love with the idea of falling
not knowing it would be
as intense as it is,
like skydiving without a parachute or
the cable breaking while zip lining

except with this,
i don't mind the plummet
in fact, my stomach dropping
feels a little like the butterflies that still kiss my insides
when i see you;

everything else on my bucket list feels
insignificant
because i met you;
that's (almost) enough adventure
for me.
-a.c.b

You may be as bright
As an April sky
But darling
Even the Sun
Casts shadows

i've given you what i have
i'll give you what is left
all of me, the remnants
of what they've left behind;
my everything is yours,
even the parts i love
would look better in your eyes
than they ever did in mine;
i am giving you permission
to break my heart
at the end of this,
call me cynical, i know i am
but i can't help but imagine
the privilege it would be
to sit there, surrounded by a pile
of all my shattered parts,
knowing they were broken
by you.
-a.c.b

Come morning
their innocent eyes would ask
the most difficult of questions.

My heart would stall.
My tongue would stiffen.

And my eyes would answer back
with tears.

One day a cowboy was asked by his mystified neighbor how he’d gotten his herd to grow exponentially, seemingly overnight. The cowboy generously provided another detail about the phenomenon: “Whenever I get upset, my herd seems to multiply.”

Hey mom-dad, listen.
Hit me, hate me, throw me out,
But don't shut me up.