To be in the eyes of others,
your name on their tongue
you can not control whether
poison or honey drips from their tongue.

Some marker your skin with their opinions,
and dissect the capillaries of your life.
Examining the intricacy,
scrutinizing and doubting
the flesh you wear,
the work you do,
the person you are.

Some compliment,
support
and believe
making you feel full;
a whole
and leave you overflowing with love.

It is ironic
how some see the same parts of you
as light
whereas others see it as dark.
The best parts of you
as the worst
and your strength
as the lack of you.

So dear one,
don't let their perceptions
poison your intention.

When cereal is being made
and someone fumbles a batch
but doesn’t dispose of it
it can end up in your bowl

Not something to panic over
though you will
as it can turn the face red upon consumption

Not like leaving the gym
more of a tomato with a fever

Vegetation subsiding over time
left paralyzed in confusion
but still with a stomach quite full

i've hidden a note in an old library book that i never returned
i ripped the sleeve off and wrote my name in red permanent ink
it smells of oak wood and dust
i felt a warm guilt that i haven't felt since i was 8 years old
when my shoe slipped on dog ****
and i went into class with muddled shoes that smelled of underdeveloped intestines twisting
i think you would understand the embarrassment
the itching sting that my chest surrendered to when everyone asked where it was coming from
this particular note was written in a momentary relapse of admonition
an answer to a question that wasn't answered
will you look in the rubble, where i told myself to stop talking about god all the time
the moon never replied to my letters so i drank my weight in wine
and when i woke up the sender's address was swindled between postmen whose hands were too crooked to open the mails slots