i found love
in the burn in your throat
from wanting to cry,
in the breath of air after a lie,
in the space between heartbeats,
and in the chill of broken air-conditioning
in an empty room

i found love
in the dripping of a tap
left on and abandoned,
in the echo of voices in a canyon,
in footprints dried in years-old mud,
and in the negative spaces of my hands
where yours used to rest

We should never
bribe death,
       for this is a futile gesture.

We should pay life
       its dues,
      and live every breath we paid for.

Never forget those you have killed
Never avert your eyes from death
For they will never forget the ones
Who ceased their final breath

i’m not all of me
there’s a piece of me
in everyone i’ve met
in every room i’ve lived in
in every city i’ve been
in every mistake i’ve made
in every breath i’ve taken

there is a piece of you
that’s always in me too