i'm a lost soul,
ash for pieces,
stranded
with failures
that pray
in quiet memories,
to be remembered.

Remember the days our love was strong;
The days we thought nothing could go wrong?
Remember the time we were left alone;
The time we fought the world on our own?
Remember the moments we shared a smile;
The moments we would laugh for a while?

Now remember the day that you ran away;
The day you left me astray.
Now remember the time you made me cry;
The time when I wanted to try.
Now remember the moment you said you were wrong;
The moment I said that I was long gone.

The rugose skin has helped me see better.
And every time, as now, I close my eyes,
The dreams become less vivid of your tender,
And I can see behind those sweet old lies.

The music gets me going; I wonder where it leads.
I still keep those **** letters up my sleeve,
And notes that kept me warm are burnt by your own words.
They don't tell any stories anymore.

Salient pace, turned to a race,
Keeps me moving still and in time.
I invented a machine that would make me old and real;
You, I left as young and past behind.

Someday, I'll sit by the river
Where all the promises were made.
And as I close my eyes, I won't make a sound,
Because there won’t be a flicker
Of my thoughts trailing away
To the day I said "I want you" in reply.

the hallway is longer than I remember
but the walls still blink like old televisions
buzzing static prayers, I never meant to say
and maybe that’s the only truth I’ve ever told

I used to think
that graves were for the dead
but I saw you last week
sitting in the shade of one
talking to the stone like it owed you something

dust in your fingernails,
coffee spilled on your shirt
half-smile like a cracked jar
I asked if you were okay
and you looked right through me—
said nothing but “almost”

there are holes in the ground
that match the shape of our names
and the wind knows all of them
it whispers backwards in the morning
pulling memories from my throat
like strings of wet wool

I buried my first version of myself
beneath a playground slide
age seven, maybe eight
he didn’t cry, just sank
quietly, like a stone in jelly

and then the others followed—
the one who thought love was a sharp light
the one who learned to lie like breathing
the one who stopped writing poems

sometimes I wonder
how many funerals I’ve missed
how many of me
are just waiting
for someone to say goodbye

have you found your grave?
or are you still
digging with your bare hands
pretending the mud is gold
pretending the silence is sleep

maybe graves aren’t endings
maybe they’re just
rooms we forgot we built
with all the doors locked from the inside
and no windows,
just mirrors
fogged by time and sweat

maybe we aren’t supposed to find them
just feel them
under our skin
pressing like questions
no one’s brave enough to ask

I've turned toward the sun

and I've begun to heal, cracks

once oozing now sealing, but

no matter how much I reach up

and how much I grow, the scars

are always with me, and I

will never forget.

Forget the good times that we had
Remember what was good is now all so bad
Can’t remember that time we snuck away
Or how we spent that cold and rainy day

Laughter cries as the days go slowly by
Every night gets longer like the darkened sky
Kisses long, yet only once remembered
Love from a feeling down to just a word

Remember me; I’m the one who said forever
Remember me, when I said that I would never
Remember me; I’m the one there in the moonlight
Remember me; I’m the one there holding you tight

Afternoons and those old lonely nights
Mornings come, I just don’t see the daylights
Memories they seem to fade with the afternoon sun
I remember when it was just one to one

Remember me; I’m the one that you said you could run to
Remember me; I said that I would never hurt you
Remember me; I’m the one with my arms open wide
Remember me; I’m the one, I’m your side by side