the concrete beneath our feet
turned to **** rugs peeking between
our toes.

headlights from a passing car
illuminate what is already clear
as you pull my waist in closer.

music drifts in the background
as words unspoken
spark creation under the soft
sounds of our eyes meeting.

I believe struggles make us stronger
Can only bring patience and sturdier will
When I look at past suffering
It touches with lessons still

I am a product of persistent pain
In the wake of destruction is grace
Depth is defined by determination
It is detailed in the lines on your hands and face

Time goes on, even when broken
At our worst we must retain hope
See a way to grow from our setbacks
Look to a better future as you climb life's *****.

My car won’t work,
I’m totally *******!
It’s acting totally rude;
Imbued with a bad attitude.
Like a metal horse
That needs to be shoed
It’s behavior is almost lewd
Waiting around for a rich guy
To come and be the dude
I checked to see if the problem is
Lack of water or life-giving crude,
Oil that is, Texas tea.
It’s silly to expect wealth of me
Always broke, an automotive joke.

All I can do is sit and croak
Like the frog on a log spoke
And since my car chose to croak
I gave my mechanic a poke.
He decided my wallet was too full.
Now I’m in the thrall of a lull
With too much idle time to ****.
I’ll pay the bill, I know I will,
But still, this whole thing is a pill.
It’s not that I hate holding still,
It’s just that I have so few frills
And this is financially uphill.
I will make it work somehow
But for now, it’s back to the plow
That I’ll pull but don’t know how.
A result of the here and the now.

I may just be whining, not sure
But I see no ready-made cure
For now my sense of loss is pure
And there may be no sinecure.
I just have to grin and endure.
I walk and I wait and I cuss
Waiting for the ever-late bus
To ride with other unfortunates.
At least I’m not on a date
And being embarrassed to state
The case of my pauperish state.
Really, none of this is great.

You raked up all the leaves
wiped your face on your sleeves.
Your sweater is not thick enough
to keep out the breeze.
The breeze turns into strong wind,
blowing away the leaves.
Autumn has never been
easy to please.

You shoveled away the snow
hoping the shivers will go.
You're missing a pair of gloves
your fingers have froze.
The sky is grey as snow falls
down on your uncovered head.
Winter has never been
for the living it's for the dead.

You cleared away the debris
that was from the last winter storm.
You don't need those long sleeves
because it is warm.
Birds come out to sing of love
they build their nests.
Spring has never been
a time for rest.

You can feel the heat suffocate
and the sweat stings your eyes.
Yet you won't remove the sunglasses
what do you want to hide?
People are staring as you struggle
they're so confused.
Summer has never been
a time to show you're bruised.

The first time I saw you
was breathtaking
You are beautiful and amazing
At the same time.
(How is that even possible?)

Little by little,
I noticed the blue in your smile.
I wanted to explore your deep thoughts
no matter how treacherous it is.

The more we talked,
My feelings went deeper
and later on I realized,
you have always been my ocean—

*You have drowned my demons
and washed my troubles away.