In the time you were gone, I found myself filled with extra space. Nothing too obvious; not gaping holes in my stomach, nor chunks from my arm. Rather, they were minute cracks that ensnared me. These unwanted holes appeared at random; when someone spoke of sandwiches, I felt a soft ***** in the back of my mind. When I encountered a full moon, I felt a throb in the tips of my fingers. And sometimes, when I caught sight of a dollar bill, a pang of nostalgia bit me somewhere deep down in my chest. This discomfort never lasted long. These cracks never formed one excruciating pain – the kind that fully consumes, but diminishes over time like a large hole in a wall that will soon be filled in. These cracks I felt, this empty space, it affected me demurely. As some cracks were filled in, new ones spread forth. My disrepair did not increase nor decrease in the years to come, but rather, spread out to different locations, as I patched and filled along the way. My foundation as a person grew perpetually flawed, yet remained stable enough to stay upright. My eventual remedy was to simply remember this; I am a structure made of concrete. Wear me down, and all you get is more concrete. In this way, it was okay that you were gone. In this way, I discovered the weight of time and also, the art of saying goodbye.

Just a slip, a little trip, a lurch, maybe hit the lip, a stumble, a dip, the realization that that gravity's waiting for us to succumb to the drop. Then comes the fall, once and for all. The embrace of waitlessness, tumbling and turning, careening and cursing. the terror, the shift, the dark, the bliss. But all for not, for nobodies tripped, it was all on your head, you just had an anxious fit. So slow your breathing, calm your mind, get it together and get back in line.

No matter how loud I dream,
I might still be drowning deep

Into the silver your delusional eyes scream
And Into the rain the sky weeps

You kept my dream protected within your fist,
the secret dream that I built from dust.

I gave you all of me over and over,
And I kept sinking lower and lower.

I sank into the realization that it's real,
I was torn and It was so hard to believe

And through the mist,
You promised, We'll rise again

And told me that you'll keep your promises
And won't just run away like others did

But still your gone and I can't find you.
I search the sky and my gaze lands on the same star.

I die again and again wondering if that's where you live,
But an illusion of your smile is all you ever give.

My soul is riven with cracks so deep and I think,
maybe someday they'll break through the surface of my skin.

Honey, please come back to me again,
Please don't let another wish go in vain

                                                               -MAY

It knocked on my door
the cracked door the guarded
the core of what I call home

I have glued it so many times
sometimes with cheap adhesive
others, I thought I'd be artsy
and used gold
maybe something broken can be beautiful
or so I thought

It was cold outside
do you think that's why it knocked?
It wanted some sanctuary some ****** heat?

It knocked with all its might
I was alone inside, enjoying my aloneness
with glue, sticking together the remains
of time

"Go away"
I screamed, I knew who it was
the door was shaking with every pound
the core of this chamber was vibrating
rippling fear, well it's not fear per say
but something I've felt before
something familiar

"I don't want you here"
I yelled it the same way
I'd say it to a returning lover
******* and your doings

The wind blew and blew
and the pounding escalated
so did my screams

I can foretell what it wants
from the pounding
I can feel it again  
just like how a song can ignite
feelings from the past
just like a cologne can time travel you
to that moment, on that street
I know what it wants

Suddenly the pounding stopped
so did the nostalgia trip
I came back to reality
with a glue stick in my hand
and a shard of glass in the other
"caution fragile pieces can cause bleeding"

My mind was not completely at peace
curiosity kicked in, OH LORD IT DID
I jolted to the door
and peeked from the peep hole
there it was, in a raincoat
standing there, looking back at me

Frantic, I felt my knees weaken
the mind sparked some logic
but the heart, that stupid heart
embraced everything else

"Let me in
I miss my home, I miss the warmth
I can see that you glued the door
the one I jolted from
the one I cracked and broke"

I was scared, it was fear this time
mixed with bits and pieces of adrenaline
"I know this feeling, I know it"
I recounted in my head, making sure
it was engraved in my thoughts

"but if I do, it's different now
this house is no longer a home
it's cushioned with protection
glued with experience
decorated with time
and fortified by mental rationale"

It knocked again
like an angry lover
aching to touch his woman again
like an insane human
coming off of his prozac

"It's time, you're rotting
from the inside, I know your beauty is eternal
but it's time you let me in"

Tears ran down my cheeks
I do miss the feeling
of sweaty palms, of butterflies
that feeling of fading into one
of smiling, of pausing time

But I do know that if I open that door
I will be the
person
to throw him out again
breaking
my cracked door
starting from scratch

What do you think?
Should I let him in
this
time
around?

or shall I wait
for the person
who comes jolting through
burning my door with passion
surprising
my core?

I am not sure I would always call things a coincidence but maybe more of a miracle.
Like the way flowers tend to bloom in the concrete cracks of sidewalks, or even in the darkest parts of my mind.
Miracles, I do believe that.

She wraps herself up in a blanket
and tucks herself in at night.
So alone in the world,
as the cold creeps around her,
and anxiety possesses her body.

She's watched her sister poison her body
with candy from the gutters.
She's watched her mother paint her own wrists
with a knife.
She feels helpless and at times hopeless,
aching for a positive change and a chance to be free.

She sees the world beautifully
and that light burns inside and flickers in her eyes,
yet the pain she sees around her takes her hostage,
and drags her around like a puppet on a string,
and like other weary souls she slips through the cracks
of secondhand pain.

There is a love I wish I'd never known;
Its bitter taste still burning on my tongue
Like steaming coffee sipped in haste.
I held my air tight to my chest, but you
Ripped it from my lungs with no warning,
Replacing it with your breath, old cigarettes,
And fumes from gasoline-soaked memories.

****, I was eighteen and had nothing left,
But you lit me on fire. You took more of me
Than I had to give, then left me alone
To create someone new out of my ashes.
Little did you know, I'd fill my cracks with gold,
Forge a new heart, then let the old one melt.
Babe, if love feeds on pain, devour someone else.

How much longer do you think I can withstand
the pain of being torn apart from the
inside out? The claws ripping into my
heart, piercing my soul, making this into
a nightmare; tear-stained wishes pouring as
love floods off my tongue, easy yet broken;
my mind running circles until the thoughts
make me dizzy and I fall; paralysed,
hypnotised, terrorised. How much longer
do you think I can cope with this hole in
my heart, the hole that can only be filled
by you? Let's count.

Hello underground.  Hello to all of your shadows.  I meet with the dimming light here at midnight.   Hello small cracks in the wall.  I peak through at you.  See what is really true.  Hello dust devils.  Silence swept you away. My recollections are all I have to say.  Hello leftovers.  Time to eat my yesterdays. And start cooking what tomorrows say.  Hello milky skin. Pale as moon and taste like love.  Its what has always been all of the above. Hello underground.  Goodbye to all of your shadows.  I leave the dimming light at noon.  Just a visit is all it was and ill be back soon.