It is ok to say “no.”
There are moments
where a reply of
“not today” and
“maybe another time”
are more important
than pleasing everyone—
regardless.

The Sun will continue to shine,
rain will continue to fall,
and grass will continue to grow—
regardless.
Birds will sing their songs,
life will go on,
and taking time to breathe
could be just what is needed.

Those who understand
will accept your self-care,
and they will choose to love you—
regardless.

A. I. Myles   o9 June, 2019

when will this skin transcend into an iron exoskeleton?
when will these bones birth out from neath the fragile wine red wires of self-preservation?
water-hands ebb on about a digital dam of evolution,
meanwhile promising my-own ****** dissolution.

I have pine
growing inside of me.
Strong and thick and
resilient,
but not unbendable–
and able to be shaped.

There have been fires
inside of me as well—
burning away the old
beliefs and scars,
and shaping me once again
into something new.

From the tiniest of sprouts—
from sapling, to mighty
young fir, and old wise
redwood; I will grow
peace and endurance
and strength and hope.

- A. I. Myles     26 May, 2019

Is this what “it” looks like?
The jumbled and frantic mess of
a wit
without constraint-
without silence,
calm, or congeniality?

Is this what it “feels” like?
A tornado of turbulent misconceptions,
strewn about
like leaves on the wind-
peppered with the biting
chill
of crisp droplets,
soaking through to skin and bone.

Is this “just how it goes”?
When the grey and black blanket of night
and sadness and just existential emptiness
cloud the sky.
When the darkness that surrounds encroaches,
blurring the point where the horizon
meets terra firma.

Would the power lines
connecting the neurological
pathways break?
Would the ceiling of introspection
fly off of the supports that so long
held it in place?

What is left when the
onslaught of the brain
brouhaha slows and only the
photographs, the memories linger;
when the dust of duress settles?

What follows when
the final downpour
of shattered expectations
fall,
leaving the silent and still
dejection
that comes at the end?

Is that the end?

Could I wipe the rain from my eyes,
to see the brightening of the day?
Could I see the illumination of the sun
and the clearing of the sky?
What about the curve of crystalline
precipitation, lingering in empyrean;
brimming with a wash of beauty
known only to those who behold it?

Is that the end?
When and what and
where is the end?

- A. I. Myles   30 May, 2019

Real eyes,
Realize.