he was weak, and pathetic
and earnest, and kind
but he was that bleeding, aching, pain in my side
so i took both my hands and choked him to death,
forgetting the shell is as weak as the man

there is a dark room
the curtains are pulled
a little light penetrates
behind the locked door
I rarely go there
except in secret moments
when I know it's safe
and my hardened shell
can offer protection
I have to be strong
for the ones who rely on me
but like a weeping wound
my curiosity is drawn
visits get fewer and fewer
at some point I must stop
putting my childish anger
to rest

hermit crab
spying an empty shell
moving up in the world

Have you tasted the bitterness of tears of despair?
Have you watched the sun sink through such pale, balmless air
that your soul sought its shell like a crab on a beach,
then scuttled inside to be safe, out of reach?

Might I lift you tonight from earth’s wreckage and damage
on these waves gently rising to pay the moon homage?
Or better, perhaps, let me say that I, too,
have dreamed of infinity . . . windswept and blue.

This poem about sympathy for someone contemplating suicide was originally published by TC Broadsheet Verses. I was paid a whopping $10, my first cash payment. It was subsequently published by Piedmont Literary Review, Penny Dreadful, the Net Poetry and Art Competition, Songs of Innocence, Poetry Life & Times, Better Than Starbucks and The Chained Muse.

If we strip away all the accouterments of war,
perhaps we’ll discover what the heart is for.

Originally published by The Neovictorian/Cochlea, this epigram has been translated into Russian, Turkish, Macedonian and Arabic

Shoot the shell in the sky
Up up and away
To fall far over there
On enemy positions
Blowing them up
The way its meant to be
Long range fires aimed
At the enemy who does
Exactly the same to us
We are not the same
His blood is not red
Not are his thoughts pure
Or intent good
For he is our enemy
And must be defeated
Totally by all means

we are all broken
it just depends how much

sometimes you can pick up the pieces
and glue them together with hope

almost looking the same as before

only the ones who really know
can maybe spot a look in the eyes
that wasn't always quite there

we are all broken
it just depends how much

you can pick up all the pieces
and glue them back together with hope

but sometimes there's not enough
the crack will always show

people will see the badly mended shell
and not want to look inside

where there still haunts a ghost
of what was once a life

I can’t keep giving you this favor you asked for.
I can’t keep this promise I made to you.
I’m sorry.

I’m breaking everything.
I’m shattering glass,
I’m tearing down walls,
And I am unapologetic.

I didn’t mean for it to escalate this far,
But then again,
Here we are.

I can’t keep this promise,
My skin just wants to break free.

I can’t keep giving you this favor,
My skin just wants to be against yours.

I am ripping your poems to shreds,
I am slashing tires to your sweet ride,
I am breaking the gazes between us.
I am unafraid.

I can't keep loving you,
This stupid schoolgirl crush.

I am walking over our memories,
Crushing the seeds you grew in me.

I am destroying the thought of you,
I am rendering love identical with night.

Tears don't stain my eyes,
Neither does pain.
So don't act surprised.

I am dancing again,
I am singing once more,
And I am not in love.

I am the moon once more,
I am the sun again,
And you aren't the stars.

You aren't the reason.
You aren't my rhyme.
You aren't a poem,
Let alone mine.

You're just a shell of a man that I once loved.
Even then, you're still empty.

The memory shell is cracking...
And out comes the colors..
Out comes the real..
And in comes the light..

The memory shell is cracking...
We are from a beyond..
A place inward and outward of the sun...
Where the light is still travelling toward where light has not shined..

The memory shell is cracking..
The carmine and azure lightning bolts filled the sky..
Beyond is now attainable..
As we begin to catch up to the light...

You say a word
And I ignore it,
Your fake "Hello"
I want no more.
I need my space
You to erase.
Things changed,
You faded.
I stayed
And waited.
Cared for you,
How much, you knew.
I'm done,
Be gone.
You're just a shell,
My walking hell.