A searing night. A price
tallied out and settled up.
I'm sipping down the size
of the smaller plights of times like these
in towns with bloodshot eyes.

Your coyote grin,
the gravel in
my creosote laughter were paving
the longest paths to saving graces
and filling up deaf ears.

I'm spilling every ounce
of all my guts
on your ears in the alley where I threw
               up last year
when I disappeared from your birthday.

Your coyote grin,
eyes glistenin',
you laughed kinda quiet while walking.
Familiar paths. We're talking crazy
through bitter whiskey sneers.

But I think, this hot night,
               I'm ready to believe...

Between the asphalt and the stars

Between the almost-fights
               and rushing cars

Between the blurring downtown bars...

We'll find some common ground.
The town's lit up, we'll trickle down
to a point of least resistance
where we can bid farewell to arms.

Or I'll find my way back home
to 1130 Longstaff
where my walls can close me in.

Grief hit me like a wave
Swelling up on the typically calm shore.
But I don't know if I can surf today.
Regret sinks in the pit of my stomach
Your voice echoing in my ears
Deep breaths, just hold it together
My lips are numb, this can't be real.

But it is.
And you're gone.

Fireworks lose their luster,
Dull against the dark of night.
I hear the cheers, but I don't feel them.
How can I when I just lost a piece of my heart?

This moment,
one of many,
so, so many.
Feeling surfacing,
hearts syncing.
Laughter
harmonizing,
our favorite melody.
Songs of "I love you"'s
playing over
and over.
The fireworks
literally and
figuratively,
lit up
our world.
We spent that day
and many others
                                                           *together.

baby it's cold outside
i can't sleep at night
having all these nightmares
about mid-July
baby it's cold outside
the wind is sharp and it hurts
more than my skin
it taunts my heart beating in my chest
"everything won't be worth it"
baby it's cold outside
and nobody else seems to feel
the ice like rain
falling from the sky
no one else seems bothered
about mid-July
baby it's cold outside
the sun left my soul
too long ago
baby it's cold outside
and i'm losing home

Thunder rolls in, booming out of nowhere
Disturbing the otherwise clear blue July sky
Just as suddenly as those clouds rolled in
Overhead the heavens broke
Sending rain plummeting to Earth with fruition
An aero plane flies overhead, loud engine roar trying to compete with the ominous thunder clashes
Wind dancing with the trees
Nothing pauses for the rain
The city doesn't come to a halt
Only me, sitting alone on my front stoop
Inhaling the scent of nature
Feeling the cold against my skin, ruffling up my hair
I was born for days like this
I live to become part of the storm

limelight on me
ice sculptures dipping on my
forehead
citrus flavor of my mouth
drop to the floor
absorbing the feeling
everything is a blur-
no, not a blur
flashes