An emotionless pit of skin and bones
   Sunken eyes and pupils made of stones
She can't hear the judgement or grief
       Silently she sits with stares of disbelief
    She can't understand what she feels
         or say what she thinks
    Illiterate emotionally, unstable and drained of dignity
       Sleeps so sound she can't even hear her dreams
             Life continuously surrounds her yet can't seem to slow down
       She can't remember where the last place her sanity was found
           Dug herself into the ground just struggling to breathe
        Too lost in her mind to find the time to grieve
           An empty shell of the soul that she used to be
       And no one will be on the other side
                     *waiting...

Words, never uttered
Not in the way they were meant to be spoken
To live honorably, an honest life
Full of dignity and promises unbroken
Instead, lost moments
Years of pursuing what my flesh would desire
Empathy, only a hint
Swallowed by nights with my mind on fire
Left behind, the past weeps
But it embraces my children beyond its duty
Cleanliness, a robe to wear
Is in the hearts of those who now define beauty
I see poverty, my eyes drawn to them
Touching the souls of those life treats as a sin
They are alive, breathing among us
Their pain is the path where humility will begin

Being lame is underrated.
(What a stinkin' silly statement!)
Being bad is such a bore.
(What was all that nonsense for?)
I'm okay with just being me from now on,
and I don't need this anymore.

When it is my time to die
Will I be frightened
Will I weep, struggling to hold onto the light
Will I pointlessly wonder why
I must embrace the end
My breathe coming slowly, my sight

Searching through darkness?
Will I hold onto
My loved ones, hoping to stay
As I expel in a volatile mess
What in life I have been through
Passing on my way?

As life disappears
And emptiness beckons uncontrollably
Will I know to let go
Embrace my fears
Leave with unruffled dignity
Fall calmly into that of which no one can know?

our lives are fraught with numbers

so many fractions of a second faster in a race  
most wins on record   best jury votes
highest flight   deepest dive   most goals
meters of rising sea levels
millions of refugees   and more displaced
tens of thousands  honor killings
thousands of deaths with Ebola  
millions of Zika virus victims next year
billions of deficit or profit in import/export
    or the stock exchange
votes in elections    or for beauty queens

polls    tweets   virtual friends  & followers
likes on the social media    on hellopoetry

we have been taught to measure our status
our importance   and the significance of our lives
in clicks of other peoples’ digital devices

even our time has been reduced to numbers
the digital has long replaced the comprehensive
instead of the round dial that shows 12 hours
    suggesting the duration of a normal day
we have a punctual display  without the whole
the cyclical has lost against the linear

0101010101010101010101010101010101
we all look forward to our numbered future
no past  and very little present

our hands on smart phones    homes    TVs
    pushing a button makes things move
    swishing a screen displays the world

over all that we easily forget
that we ourselves have been reduced to numbers
    of customers for businesses
    of voters for the politicians
    of workers for the corporations
    of citizens for our nations
digital quantities we have become

and if we take a global view
we are part of the seven billion plus
that currently inhabit our earth


all of which do expect their individuality
be honored  and their dignity respected

numbers don’t  honor individuality
they simply count the units
items  or people  are for them the same

it’s left to us to find a way
that leaves the numbers in their place
yet guarantees us dignity
as individual members of the human race

A guide to being 5 feet tall,
100 pounds and taking
three tequila shots.

Take selfies with people you
know and people
you don’t.

Hug people who don’t
acknowledge you
when they’re sober.

Scream names over and over
until they give you
attention.

Facetime your best friend
but because of your location
you cannot hear a thing
they say so the conversation
consists of you screaming
at your phone.

And don’t forget to text your ex.
But tonight will be special because
when you ask for a ride home
he will say yes.

But it’s not that simple
before you go you must
stand outside and scream
and chase your friends,
trying to stop them from
calling their exes.
And yell at a guy for not
treating his girlfriend right.

Next you must make a stop
at the local sandwich place.
Where you will fall on your way
to the bathroom to throw up.
Your ex will have to
carry you out to his car.
And when he tries to
drop you off you refuse
to go anywhere unless it’s
home with him.

You lay in his bed and
when he tells you he is
going to sleep on the couch
you cry and beg him to stay.

He agrees but doesn’t stay
long enough for you to fall
and you feel the kiss he plants
on your forehead
before he goes.

You will wake up at 7am
and leave tears for him
on his pillow case.

You will decide to slip out
and walk home, but as you
put on your shoes you let
yourself drink him in
one last time because  
he is the most beautiful when
he sleeps, and unaware.
Then you leave.

You walk home on a November
morning after the first snowfall,
never tripping on your thoughts,
on a walk of dignity for being
the one to leave this time.

When you get home you will
hesitate to shower because you
know the potential this has to
be the last time waking up
with his smell and letting it stay
with you all day.

You will get a text from him asking
why you didn’t let him take you home,
but how do you tell him he already has?
And that it’s empty now?