(was i the one who stopped time or was that the girl before me?
was i the one who donated a thousand butterflies to your insides or was that the girl before me?)

was i the one who sowed the sun into your eyes or did the girl before me have more skillful hands?

(was i the one who buried your grief, your pain, your hopelessness, or did the girl before me dig deeper?)

  was i the one who swallowed your sadness to the pit of my stomach and kept it there or did the girl
before me swallow an ocean?

(was i the one who made your thoughts come alive in the night or was the girl before me a better playwright than i?)

was i the glittery diamond that caught your eye amongst the rubble or did the girl before
me have a sparklier dress?

(was i the one who healed your aching heart or did the girl before me have more tender hands, a soothing voice and a better elixir?)

was i the one who you wanted to heal so desperately or did the girl before me shatter into more
pieces than you could carry?

(were my arms the place you called "home" or were the girl before me's arms more delicate yet able to hold you closer to her heart?)

was i the one who set your heart on fire or was the girl before me a more reckless arsonist?

(was i the one who placed your head in the clouds or was the girl before me already a haven?)

was i the one who taught you what hell felt like or did the girl before me have the hands
of the devil?

(was i the one who unfolded the meaning of life to you or was the girl before me a better philosopher?)

was i the one who taught you how terrible death is or did the girl before me's suicide note
have more tragic poetry?

(was i the one who made your voice sore from screaming for me to come back to you or was the girl before me more desirable?)

was i the one who made your hands shake or was the girl before me a little less of a hurricane
and more of an earthquake?

(was i the one who shattered your soul on the marble floor or was the girl before me's strength more tempting to give in to?)

was i the one who left bloodstains on your carpet or did the girl before me have lipstick that
was quite a convincing red?

(were you glad your nightmares stopped with me or did you secretly enjoy them because they reminded me of the wild nights you shared with her?)

(G.S. )                                                                                                                                                                                                                    (N.N.)

she was not just a girl

she was a girl beyond words, beyond understanding

someone who made your heart beat yet made you feel like you have lost your bloodflow and that you are dying

she's a supernova shining brighter than every sun and blinding you with her light that you don't realize that with her next exhale, she would be a blackhole and you would be stuck inside her void

she's your dream slowly turning into the most frightening nightmare

the brightest and warmest day with the coldest and darkest night

she is my home, plagued by ghosts and monsters and i just can't leave because I'm sentimental and she meant the world to me                  

she's the cruel sunlight when you were hoping you would die in your sleep

she's secondhand smoke when you're trying to quit

she's storms, a raging tempest, a calm sunny day with a follow-up of clouds and gloomy days

she's passion and pain and glory and sacrifice and everything painful in your chest    

and she's the fear of letting go but slowly losing your grip

poetry
is the ability
to strike someone once
and have the sound resonate
inside them forever

prose
is describing the sound
with more resonances

How outrageous it was
that the world refused to stop
Even for a moment
To give a person
one more reason
For their world to turn

I CAN'T DRAW STRAIGHT LINES
I CAN'T MAKE A CIRCLE
GIVE ME A RULER
OR A COMPASS
I'LL HAND YOU BACK A PAPER
OF CROOKED LINES AND OVALS

THE SAME WAY
I COULD BE GIVEN
ALL THE TOOLS OF HAPPINESS
BUT STILL DROWN MYSELF
IN DEPRESSION
-zzn