the heroes of
those action movies
from the 80s and 90s
always looked
so much cooler
with their split lips
and bloodied noses
than i ever could
as they faced off
against the villain
   of the piece
bruised and aching
they would struggle on
regardless of pain
their success set back
but inevitable nonetheless

to be honest
i would love to see
one of those heroes
try to overcome
the villain
   of my peace
i've had plenty
of nose bleeds
through the years
but most of them
self-inflected

i wanna kiss your face
take me back to your place
my mother will never know
oh oh oh
i'm afraid i'm gonna like kissing your girlfriend more than you
i'm afraid she's gonna find out that i wanna be used by you too
i'm afraid you'll hate me hanging around
i hate the sound of my own sounds
and i hate how your feelings drown me
and thoughts of you surround me
in the best possible way
i've never been one for fate
but there you are
still standing by me

strawberry dress and clear lip gloss
laying your head on a soft bed of moss
the way you run off
reminds me of ballet
and your smile in the sun
just makes my day

but you're like a nosebleed
you really taste so sweet
i wanna take care of you
but you're no good for me
i've never had a nosebleed
i wish someone would hold me
and sing me soft songs
in their arms as i fall asleep

your scraped knees are so cute
i wanna say that i love you
but by now it's too late
you've got a boyfriend anyways

i spend all my money
on a tissue box
and waste all my time on
the show you watch
hoping that one day soon
i'll get to be the one with you

but you're like a nosebleed
you taste so ******* sweet
but you come with a punch to the face
and you make me wanna leave this place

you're like pulling teeth
it's what i need
but i ******* hate you
you're like a nosebleed
know what i mean
you taste so sweet
but it's painful
and just like me
you want everything to be perfect but you're so unstable
begging to be taken on a table
you're a self inflicted injury
and i've been clean for several weeks

Tiny crimson droplets mar the fabric upon which I lay
I observe each individual fiber,
stained,
Soiled by a midnight mistake I may never be able to remove
You can only scrub so much
Until you must resort to bleaching things away.

Emaciated Dawn.

Surged in the ecstasy.
Catacombs she asked.
I don't know where I'm going.
Where's going being gone without
Taken.
Towards the other side.
Broken on through with leisure leaving trails.
And with the lover asking picture.
Moving languid.
Under the shirt.



Garrett Johnson

I'm allergic to this
I'm allergic to that
I'm allergic to most foods
Well, at least I'm not fat
I can't stand under the sun
I can't play in the rain
When I stand for too long
My head starts to pain
I bleed from my nose
I know it sounds scary
There was this one time
When I ate a dictionary
No, I'm just kidding
There's no paper left in the house
I used it all to clean my nose
Oh, look at your face. I think I got you aroused

you are so lovely in your wicked ways
you are heavy
i can feel it, so can the room

everyone is waiting for that pause
the one you find yourself existing in

you are so lovely in your wicked ways
finding the quirks
the imbalanced romanticism in their dialect

'yeah, i’m a southern boy'
the kind you swore you’d stay away from

you spent too many nights with knights at rogue water
underage but over your limit

oh boy, that patagonia
slinging country song quarters into the jukebox

take me home!

you are so lovely, even in your wicked ways

do you like country music?
he turns left for the freeway
do you know how to drive stick shift?

you are so lovely, even in your wicked ways
i didn’t fold her laundry
she left my XXL t-shirts without wrinkles
pink, without wrinkles

you are so lovely in your wicked ways
he mixes a couple of drinks for you
reaches to grab your hand from across the bar
seared by the tea-light candle

i waltzed out of that bar like i had him
he is small and beautiful with a temper
i could love him all while hating him

i’m just a gal whose nose bled
after falling into his bed (more than once)
more than once

The cutting wind
I walk amongst puffs of white
Dwindling in the air
Ever so harmonious
The scenery so luscious
A frozen idyll

Yet I wander
With a frozen coat
The fur spiked
Silver traces
In an air so frigid
In the world so cold

Beads of scarlet red
Velvet drops that descend
On a sherbet of ice
A blanket of frost
Puncturing the thin veil
And tainting the ground

An endless stream
Gushing down the faucet
The metallic tones
Intrude my palate
I heave my nose
Waiting until it ceases

You leave me spluttering,
dizzy, disorientated.
You came out of nowhere,
you took me by surprise.
I tried to stop you,
tried to smother you,
tried to cover you up,
but I couldn't breathe,
I couldn't speak, couldn't scream for help.
I was choking.
you made one thought consume my body;
'please just... stop.'
And eventually you did,
and I never want to see you again -
it's bad enough that I still have your mess to clean up.
I hate you,
I hate you like a nosebleed.