i scrub the thoughts away with water and acid
soap isn't enough so bleach in cuts it's all that should remain
in the damaged figure that has begun to become my body
my heart aches at the sight of blood but it opens me up for more opportunities
chest
school
arms
career
thighs
hobbies
heart
money­
ears
family
eyes
success
lungs
     lungs
          lungs
               lungs
                    lungs
in my body grows the leaves of the others
who have been waiting to be set free
branches bring my lungs to collapse
as my body becomes life for two others
she was a tree
The tree of life

You can water your plants.
You can walk your dog everyday.
You can feed the birds in the park.
But the day that you forget to sustain your plants,
or are too busy to cater to your dogs need for the outdoor experience,
or run out of bird food for the park,
things tend to fall out of balance.
Plants survive,
so do the dogs
and the birds.
They start to believe in an entitlement to your generous acts.
Something I've learned
is that it's not always your job to take care of someone else.
There's always rainstorms,
back doors,
and picnic crumbs
waiting for their turn to take care of someone.

The cadence of the birds
The gentle breeze
The waters and the plants:
They breathe

Yellow and black,
too heavy for science yet
weightless to the air.
You fly.
You protect.
You die.
Your senses are keen,
and your smile is bright.
You work all day,
and rest all night.
Mr. Bee, how do
you do it?
How do you manage to
stay so happy and optimistic.
Your squished and smashed,
hit and bashed.
Yet your smile is omnipresent.
Mr. Bee, teach me how to live
happy in this cold and sad world.

pick me up properly
changing infancy energy

clarified butter
1 cup mint
3 parts nasturtium

once grass
seemed deeper
now
prized, contained

bite bitter
pungent fever
shifty roots

dependent
austere
it is todays found forms

I am always in awe
of the constant motion of the world

the wind flows over everything and everyone,
sweeping locks of hair out of place
and swirling leaves into the air

the oceans and the seas flow over the sandy floors and ocean rocks,
crashing and ebbing again and again

plants and foliage flow over the earth,
over old abandoned things,
over forests and islands unexplored

and life flows.

life flows in the eye of your baby sister,
in the steam of a hot meal,
in your legs as you run toward someone you miss,
in a song so familiar you don't have to think.

it flows in the conversation between old friends,
in a puppy playing in the snow,
in the shaky hands holding an acceptance letter,
in the voice of someone you love.

and it flows through you. no matter what.

I wake up in the morning,
Swiping spiderwebs from the corner of my eyes.
All the flies attract the predators.
I brush one off my shoulder,
Not out of fear, but out of convenience.

It’s happened before,
where a thought sits and stews.
The sun bakes my brain
And the garbage inside attracts buzzing flies
Swirling around my head.
People’s mouths are moving but all I hear
Is the constant drone and thrum of decomposers.

And before long, slugs and snails and worms creep through my ears
Thriving on the decay,
The rot of my brain.

As with everything, rot comes and goes with the season,
And I simply wait out the stench of spoiling thoughts.
There’s the option to rake out the old,
Clear the paths of my mind,
But I’ve found that as soon as it’s cleared, it’s back again.
Like leaves in the fall.

But it comes and goes,
And comes again, and goes again,
And before I know it, the rotten thoughts are replaced by ones of hope.
A breath of peace and hope.
Life.
My brain blooms,
And the rain waters my face.

Instead of waking with spiders,
I feel a gentle breeze.

What began as an innocent little bush
turned into a garden that became
untenable.

Weeds began to grow inside me
since you left me alone.
And I've been attempting to pluck
out them out.

What once began as pure innocence,
became stems of weeds wrapped tightly
around my ribs and lungs.

Making it hard for me to breathe,
like a seed, you planted yourself in me...
a **** I could never take out.