Darkness.
Darkness is your monster
But it is also your friend.
It can give you clarity
Even as it blankets your vision.
It can give you comfort
Even as you feel suffocated.
In life, darkness is a symbol of fear, anguish and misery.
But remember,
Before you entered this world you were in darkness.
You were in a comforting void where you developed and grew.
In dark times, this is where most growth lies,
And when light finally returns,
You were born new.

The summer wears your ghost
Like a thin veil that blows against my skin with the lightest breeze.
I almost forget it's there, until I'm squinting through the haze, wondering what's blocking my view.

Oh right, it's you.

Can a certain affection,
Perhaps feel as a victory
My love for you, platonically
Deeply rooted into my soul

My veins made for dancing ours,
My eyes made for meeting yours
Self made at heavens sake
I love you dearly my best friend.

If someone I knew were to find my poems
Would they laugh mockingly
knowing the words were about them
never sharing in their emotion

Or would they cry
seeing my true feelings
how much they reflect their own
could they understand the pain hidden in the words

Or would they not care
carrying on with their life after seeing my worst side
Ignoring me now they know I'm not perfect
That I'm not someone who acts rationally
in the face of emotions
Instead choosing to dress up my emotions
in pretty gowns and dresses
to try blend them into the beauty of my life

If someone I knew
were to read the words of my worst emotions
would they leave me

There once was a day when we both wore stripes
Distinct lines that undeniably connected us to each other.
Mine had already shifted to black.
Yours were still a light gray –
Soft and subtle.

Now I watch you stand on your own.
Head held high with understated confidence.
Be it sincere or feigned,
doesn't matter.
You're clad in plaid –
Infused with the stripes and lines embracing you all around as contributing designers silently admire in awe.

The black tee underneath —
the closest visible cloth to your heart —
pulls it all together.
You keep it concealed and dear,
Yet show enough to share.
Constant reminder.
We all know it's the reason we're here.

There will come a day
When your whole ensemble is painted
With every hue and shape imaginable.
The influences of past, present, and future
All melded into one stunning garment -
The monarch knows no such splendor.

Soon enough, the black tee will be cast to the side and long forgotten -
Inevitably replaced with an everlasting warm embrace.

Never again will I hear you say,
"I hate change."

i am in love with the fruit just out of my reach
and though i could wait for it to fall
i know it would be rotten by then

i’ve had visions of our romance; in night, in sleep
holding the secret of our memories in my mind
but they’re all visions, not mine to keep

they’re all trying to tear us apart
he’s trying to convince you to leave
all because i said he couldn’t take my purity

and that wildcat started rumors about me
he made up things i said
so you would view me badly

but please, my starlight, don’t stop shining
though i know you’ll leave eventually
just not right now

he is pouring water on your dimming fire
he is your favorite tree, but
that branch is lifting you higher

I know you don’t forget me,
Don’t view my posts nor my moms.
But I did have fun Ashlee,
You helped me grow strong.

Your marriage goes well?
I’d do anything to chat.
Besides picking up my cell,
And calling you back.

Should have went out to lunch,
Two years ago,
But I thought we had much more
Time before you’d go.

Military housing,
Did you get to bring the cat?
Do you remember the kitten?
His small fur pattern hat?

You did my math,
While I did your reading.
Now we need help in those subjects,
Do the soldiers have meetings?

I’ll call you again,
Probably text before I do.
I can’t promise you when,
But I want it to be soon.