Inhale I breathe.
Exhale I release the negativity.

I can’t keep this inside of me anymore.
It must go.
Flow like the wind blows the leaves off a tree.

Away from me this pain must go.
It will not be the end of me.

I am strong and resilient.
I will unveil my beauty for the world to see.

Amidst the humidity and darkness of the forest floor
ants scurry in hyper-speed over invisible highways
mushrooms spread boldly beneath wise wooden giants

At night, black panthers weave through thick overgrowth,
undetected, as birds quieten their hungry young and sleep
But even in the rich darkness of the dense forest
micro flashes of silken pink and yellow cream can be seen
catching the moon's light, glowing like precious gems

By day these colours dim in their translucent chambers
atop the world's most beautiful, fearless caterpillar

This tiny being boldly ventures from one leaf to another
while all others cower underneath
Its crystal spikes hide only soft, sticky goo
and it is no bigger than a fingernail

But don't be fooled by its size and raw beauty,
this bejeweled crown easily summons its strength
to move faster than the angry west winds

Its beauty comes not only from its form
but in its lion-hearted spirit and grace

This confident caterpillar lives
and surrenders to change
without the leaden shackles of fear and worry

and when the time comes

she embraces

and is transformed again

to something new.

Your resilience
is built on
your ruins.

Today I say "I Do."
Today, I commit to loving someone
that I could only dream of.
Today, I realize that I will have to work,
Work to love her like she deserves.
She deserves forgiveness, kindness, patience.

Today I will create a love that is impenetrable--
No one will be able to erode the strength,
self-confidence,
and resilience.

When people tell me
That I'm strong
I'm beautiful
I'm amazing...
I don't feel anything.
Tell me these things
When I cry about the pain
That has lasted me years,
When I'm up at night
Even when I'm lacking sleep,
And
When I'm expected to smile
My whole life when I don't feel your warmth.

This ice palace I reside in,
Is it my lifeline?
Because if it is
Wouldn't it be better if
It melted?

All these moments
Have become entangled
And the momentary lapses
Irregular,
My world all
Grey
And
I just can't do this.

But my calls are stuck
In my throat.
I'm frozen.
I'm not resilient.
It's taking me so long
So long
To stand up.
And my heart is giving up
It's beat
Fading.

An old feeling visited me today,
I turn the lights off,
Yet the shadow still follows me in the dark,

Days turned into months,
I forget how you sound,
Your face,
Your scent,
But your essence remains,

Like a lucid dream,
I remember the rhythm of the fire,
It danced with us that night,
Oh, the infinite sound of night,
That comforted us for days to come,

In the midst of our existence,
I am left wondering,
Wondering if you still dance with fire,

I will always dance with fire,
Under the pouring rain,
Engulfed by snow,
Waves and winds hurling me around,
“Hush,” I whisper to myself,
As the rest of my body painfully turn into ice,

I feel numb,
I continue to burn so intensely inside,
From flesh skin to ashes,
From ashes to life,
A rose emerge,
It starts dancing around the fire,
I will always dance with fire,
Because I am the fire,

Dance with me even when I am on fire,
Everything will burn,
Except you by my side,
Dance with me night after night,
Until we both burn with the sun,
That gave us life.

What are we, if we do not set ourselves on fire?
Keep dancing with fire,
Let’s burn the night sky,
And awaken those who lost their fire.

You are like a
cool gentle breeze in the trees
whistling your sweet tune
and dancing your fingers through
my hair
like a silver stream of moonlight
on patches of silky worn grass
my feet run across
to get to your outreached
arms of pale morning sunlight
that make the sky
blush into cool shades
of rose, jade, lilac,
and peach
your laugh gushes
like a waterfall blue and white
spraying across
the rocks and evergreen I come
to perch on
when all inspiration for ideas
have dried into
strips of sour plums
and I am left feeling
a crazed thirst for the energy drained away
you are as light as a Cloud
white, often times stained
sunset pink and orange
so filling yet so translucent
in that my ideas
pass right through you
and become forever lost
like airplanes with blinking lights
and no destinations
flying across your endless horizon
of thoughtful evening stars
every time I close my eyes
and breathe
you are there fluttering underneath
my eyelids
smoothing my creased forehead
pulling my mouth up into an
upturned crescent moon
placing your palms
against mine
just to let me know
you are there
though only a fragment of
my imagination
you are simply
the stillness in every moment
encapturing a person's presence
to be carried in
the winds of change
yet brought back time and again
when hope has stilled
and home seems like a desert
that you bring
rain to.