You are my temple, the one I visit each day;
Your golden shades wave from a distance,
Your windows look out to the world, yet hide
What’s within.

Your marble walls show strength,
With fine lines and cracks on side,
Yet you are still beautiful to me.

Your doors, once open to all, have now been shut,
Innocence transformed into heinous mockery
By an act of violent intrusion by another’s hand.

And my worship must now be visual,
I leave you be, for you may shun me,
Not out of hate but precaution and fear.

I will wait for you as you heal,
As the cracks begin to heal and form stories,
As the minutes make you wiser and stronger,
As the memory loosens its grip on you,
I will wait for you as you heal.

Let me offer you the gift of time,
And if you wish, allow me to restore you—
Don’t let this temple be destroyed by your
Inner tempest.

And when the tempests come, I will stand with you,
I will take the rain upon my cheeks and stay here,
Until the tempests pass.

And when the tempests go and the sky arrive,
I will be here and I will wait for you,
Until the day comes when you are well
And I have your permission to enter.

falling in love,
all the falling
leaves-
it hurts to hit
that ground
falling out of love
all my falling
hairs-
didn't the strands of
our time been so cut
short
your memory resides;
slowly receding

falling in love
all these falling
stars-
once in a sky
of a thousand
wishful kisses
falling out of love
it's a fall out into
trading the tiny dots
of stars, to scars

falling, falling
falling —seems human
to fall in and out
of something

i'm constantly falling;
waiting to be
caught by
true love

Day one

Is it done?
Or
It has just began.

I just can't run,
And let it all just be gone.

i arrived
early enough
to be comfortable
in my seat as
the patient and
impatient alike
shuffled the aisle
negotiating the overflow
of flaring elbows
protruding feet
and cumbersome torsos
a waltz of
dismissive apology
their only hope
to find their place
without inconvenience
yet with little interest
in whether they might
inconvenience
other passengers
along the way

watching
as a man
recently evicted
from the seat
he had evidently
not booked
surveys the nearby
empty spaces
his mind churning
an internal gamble
of which one
might promise
the longer period
   of peace
before the rightful
owner arrives
he knows
he will need
to relocate
once more before
his journey's end
at some point
unknown to him
but predetermined
nonetheless
despite this
he settles down
in a seat marked
"reserved"
and closes
his eyes

Death awaits all
Fortunately,
It is not the end
But a transition to
A faraway place
And the beginning
Of another life;
A better one

as the mists of night rise,
I can see the faint illusory white light
in the distance, gleaming beautifully
like an oasis in the middle of the desert

I get up from my bed and open the window
tears welling up in my eyes, dissipating sorrow
suddenly, I saw life as it is and it was wonderful
I haven't had as terrible a life as I had thought

Isn't it funny how life is but a fleeting moment?
I can't say that it isn't filled with harsh torment
But happiness isn't too few to mention too
Life isn't always all shades of the color blue

I rest my head on my pillow again
Still, in my chest, I feel the subtle pain
But tomorrow is a new day
and, perhaps, the beginning of the end
of all this terrible pain I've endured.