Each song is a chapter
Every chapter is a memory
A night to remember
A dance to forget
A moment in eternity
A playlist, carefully scripted
Like a poem, each line definitive
Each line a story of its own
A waterfall of emotion
A time machine sending you back
From the future
To a happier place
A bittersweet romance
Or painful regret
The bass is a hammer to your heart
The intro, like ****** to your veins
The drums a master puppeteer
Pull you from the still
And force you to move like the rains depend on it.

One song turns you ten years old
Running carelessly through the cold

Another takes me to her driveway
As we said our last tearful goodbyes

This one reminds me of the great I’ve done
The pain and mistakes I’ve overcome

A chapter that strips me of my clothes
When we use to dance each night
And morning after

Start one up, and it smells like a sweaty dance floor
A rocking boat and a thousand lights
On the edge of young and responsibility
Young and fearless, free to be free

Another song reminds me to be strong in dark times
To remember where my heart is if I need to cry
To find solace in good times
Inspiration in bad times
To let the Sun rise in the dead of night

Each song saved my life
Each song broke my heart
Campfires to slow dances
Epic workouts and romances
The mixtape of my life is a collection
Of golden trading cards to me
A flick of the wrist and they come alive
And free me from the lonely nights
They all warm my heart
They all chill my bones
And if I can’t find my headphones,
I’ll sing them loud and out of tune
The courage they give
Is worth the embarrassment
So set me free, mixtape memories
If I had it my way,
Each song would play forever
And forever I’d be free

I


I found you, Charlie
you were in your bathtub

your eyes that once held the stars were empty
they were lifelessly staring at the ceiling

the red that once coated your lips seeped into the water that engulfed you

my body met the floor
my fingers met your skin

your wrists

you’re bleeding, Charlie

I was shaking
I was shaking you

you were dripping
when I carried you

red

red

red

so much red

you’re cold
I cant feel you

your heart was still
you weren’t breathing

I was breathing for you, Charlie
so hard
hoping you would do the same

I brought you out of the house

Charlie, look at the stars

you loved stars
can you see them?

I had to put you in the car

I gripped the wheel so hard
my knuckles were as pale as your skin

you’re going to be okay

we’re almost there, Charlie

I played that mixtape of yours

I waited for your voice
I waited for you to tell me to turn the volume up
just like you always did

I waited
and waited

silence

( part one )

Our playlist is
the best love songs
that helped voice words
we needed spoken.