He may not be a poet,
But there is a certain kind of beauty
In his knowing
Exactly what to say.

The adventures we'll have together,
Just you and me darling

Oh my darling.
My beautiful, tearing-at-the-seams darling.
You're still breathing.
You still have every shaking gasping breath,
Willing you to stay alive.
You don't have to choke.
These tears making a salty ocean on your face,
Just lie back.
Don't fight it.
You won't drown this way.
The rivers and streams of precious blood
Pumping through your body
Pumping liquid hope,
Every pint of your blood can save three people.
You are a walking miracle,
A crawling savior,
Don't let the blood leak from your wrists tonight.
Take a deep breath
Even if it trembles.
Find reasons to live.
Reasons to love yourself.
Even if you hate
Every single ******* pore in your body right now.
You are allowed to be a no-show
At the holding-it-together parade.
Fall apart tonight
And get stitched back up.
I'm praying that the stitches
Will be holding together your hope,
Not your wrists.

You make my calloused feet feel pretty.
Like the bruises on my knees are war wounds.
As if the ladders of scars on my wrists are tiger stripes.
The freckles on my nose feel **** when you lean in for an Eskimo kiss.
Sixty-five miles away and one memory of you makes me feel beautiful. For once.

White flowers and purple flowers
Grow the same way
So why can’t every man
Live their own life each day?

We all work and love and suffer
The same
No one should die because of
Something insane

Your religion is wrong
Your skin the wrong colour
But no one can change themselves
To be another

Living and breathing
Should never be a crime
Because sooner or later
We all run out of time

Whether we are black, white
Skinny, or tall
No one has the ability
To break through it all

Everyone has the right
To live on this earth
So let’s pick these broken flowers
Up off the dirt.

I will always love you darling,
To infinity and beyond.

My love for you is like the ocean tides.
No matter how many times it gets sent away when the shore needs to be alone for a while,
My love will always be there to come back and wash over you.

The silence just hung there.
Painful.
A broken, flickering Christmas light.
Wincing.
We can both feel the storm coming in.
Can it cut the power already?
I've forgotten how to breathe.

I promise to plant kisses
Like seeds on your body,
So in time you can
Grow to love yourself
As I love you

I pull my seatbelt a little tighter -
It feels good to be held.

Our story
Still being told
It's like backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Memories in the wind
Hair whipped around on a swing
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

You saying yes
Me saying no
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Sneaking into your room
First kiss of harmony
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Miscommunication
Broken hearts and yelling
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Three months
Distance and silent agony
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Apologies
Finally alive, breathing
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Inseparable
Those three words spoken
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Perfection too strong
Second guessing commitment
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

But I will take you
However you come to me
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

True love felt
Never dies, it's forever
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

I will always wait
Your heart is worth it
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Because there is no one else
Who knows me, loves me
Backwards and forwards
Then forwards and backwards

Like you.

BANG
Another heart shattered by broken promises
BANG
One more bone fractured by a life unraveling in alcohol
BANG
A bullet wound from piercing insults and accusations goes untended
BANG
Another nation torn apart by differences and misunderstandings
BANG
The chair slips out from beneath his feet and another broken heart is forgotten
BANG
One more shot of ****** is traveling through her veins like spider webs that suffocate her sorrows
BANG
Another child soldier dragged into battle, bloodied and scarred on the outside as well as within
BANG
Gun violence takes another victim, an irrelevant child sent to the grave
BANG
The familiar sound of all this unjustifiable **** hitting the wall.
The sound of prison gates closing too late.
The sound of a life ended too early.
The sound of another moment lost.
BANG
The only noise capable of encompassing the sight and sound and feeling of "gone"

Who keeps reloading the gun?

At the bottom of the ocean
Crushing crying
I'm choking
But I can see everyone up there
*They're breathing just fine.

One smile
Could be the first-aid kit
Someone needs.

Rubbing circles on your back,
Do you understand me now?

Sirens
Make me want to run to wherever you are.

Across the oceans so far from home
Anxious to see what comes your way
Overwhelmed by a culture you've never known
Mustering up courage to face a new day

Foreign eyes present a mystery
Searching every corner for kindness
Desperate desires to run and flee
But this opportunity you cannot miss

Teamwork and bonding
In bright faces you find comfort
A new place for more loving
It doesn't feel like work

Sweat blood and tears
Open arms so welcoming
No longer any fears
It feels so good to be helping

A new perspective on what it means to be alive
How can a people with so little give so much?
Pura Vida a motto to keep love in the light
Now forever your heart will be touched

Butterfly kisses in the morning rain
Make you want to do it all over again
These Ticos' kind hearts will never bring pain
Merely the fullest life and no need for shame

Many of Earth's citizens don't know how to live well
Peace and love is not a flowing thought
War and hunger gets caught in the swell
Struggling when the meaning of life is forgot

So when the sky is crying
And the world feels strange
Place your enlightened ear to your shell
And rise as a leader to be the change.

Scars of tear-streaked shame
Or proud tiger-striped strength.
Which are they?
Tonight let's flip the coin.

Half the time we’re blind
We never truly see
So wrapped up in the mist of darkness
To ever know we’re free

To make our own choices
And live up the day
So caught up in the bad
We just swing life away

So lift up the veil
Try and see the light
Be part of this world
And look past the night.

Bonded by pride
Not your average community
The problem is the resistance in our mind
Inevitable immersion
Rats won't stay put
Pursue your passion
Discovery, adventure, escape
All you can do is find a quiet place within
The getaway
In a cup of tea
Where creativity has no limits.

Breathe in one
Exhale two
Breathe in three
Exhale four

Breathe in love
Exhale hate
Breathe in healing
Exhale pain

Find your center
Calm your mind
Things don't go right
All the time

Learn to let go
Don't suffocate
Go with the flow
And don't deflate

The world is ever changing
There's nothing you can grasp
So why bother crying
When you can't erase the past

If something is painful
Stop right away
But there's no stopping the rainfall
On your sunny day

So grab your Wellington boots
We're gonna get drippy
But there's nothing that can't be solved
With some dancing and skipping

Free yourself
Bad times don't last
Be yourself
Before today's your last

Breathe in happy
Exhale stress
Breathe in beauty
Exhale ugliness

Breathe in one
Exhale two
Breathe in three
Exhale four

Honey
I
Want
You
So
Badly
It's
Driving
Me
**Crazy

Throughout a lifetime one can meet thousands of people.
Some merely slip by on your radar; others may have a profound impact on your perspective of the world. Some will hurt you, some will support you, some you will fall in love with, and others will be your saviors. But what all of those thousands of people have in common is that they will teach you some sort of lesson.
How to trust. How to move on. How to love yourself. And how to throw yourself into the chaos of this imperfect world just to seek out something beautiful. This life is all about connections and interactions, finding chemical reactions with some people and atomic explosions with others.
But beauty and pure love can be hard to find. Every person is fighting their own battle, to the point of exuding cynicism, distrust and even aggression.
I myself have no trouble retreating into my mind and stepping on eggshells just to avoid conflict or pain, even to the point of missing out on all of the passion felt by people.

Humans
Are the most beautiful puzzles
You will come across.

On nights like these my bones ache
Quivering, swollen ribcage,
Sometimes my insides can't be contained.
Sometimes my hands
Reach out into the darkness
Grasping for god knows what
Maybe you know what
Maybe you are the one part of my past that I need to keep.
Maybe you are the steam from my tea,
My favorite socks,
That perfect song on the radio.
Too many times nowadays
I see you crossing the street.
I see you getting a coffee,
Running by as often as I feel the wind on my face.
Too many times I want to say something
But it catches in my throat
It catches in the webs we always weave
Most days I stop myself before I start.
My head, my heart, it's all a mess
I always put us in the position for drowning.
I can't keep my head above water anymore
I can't find you anymore
If I knew that 3am was the only time you would appear
Maybe I would try harder to swim
But now I get lost in poems
That never have the right ending
Maybe because we never have the right ending
Whenever you pass by the window
I want to throw out a paper plane
To somehow send you a warm smile
I get so cold.
All I do is write because we never get to talk
And god I miss your voice.
I wish I wasn't so confusing
And that we weren't an undefined word
Because maybe then I could know what to say to you.
You are the one part of my past
That I don't want to let go
But I still don't know just how I can hold you.
These sorts of poems
Are the kind I hide under my bed sheets
But on nights like these my bones are aching
And the shaking won't stop
So this time
I will throw the paper plane out of the window
Even if you don't catch it.

My heart is Point A
And it has a great distance to travel
To see the world
To live a loving life
To leave my mark
But wherever you happen to go
My compass will always lead me to you
My Point B.

Don't be scared
Even the moon has a dark side.

During the peace before I fall asleep
When thoughts of you take over my mind
My hands subconsciously curl up
As if attempting to hold on to a memory
Before it gets tangled up in my dreams.

The worst part
Is that I can feel it happening.
I can see it coming.
The aching, scratching, crawling beneath my skin
My gut dragging itself up and out
Through my lungs
I can't breathe like this for long.
I know by now the limited time
My tired spine can hold me
This hollowed-out version of myself.
*I just wish I didn't feel so at home here.

Hurting and lost
Until I washed up on your shore.

When you're drowning in a bucket...

Then someone kicks it.

Without darkness,
The shadows on the wall,
My friends,
Die.

You and me darling?
We are in the middle of writing
The most beautiful poem
I have ever experienced.

I don't need much,
Just your hand to hold mine.