Usually my thoughts get the best of me
But what they don't tell you is
You are not your mind
You are your emotions
Your thoughts and words manifest the way you think
not what you feel

Ancient civilizations considered words and writing a lower form of communication
because they talked to each other non-verbally
And I agree, however hypocritical that might seem

I agree because no matter how many times I write
I can never quite capture the way my heart feels
About the beauty of a sunset on a busy day
or the way the stars shine brighter on a calm and silent night
About the stray dog who loves you with all his heart because you pet him that one time
or the old man on the street who fights through his days with a smile

I can only talk and write about these things so many times
before they lose meaning in my mind
But my heart remains the same

So maybe all the 'I love you's have become redundant to my brain
but you must believe me when I say
you still have
all of my heart.

To the new poet who wishes to be wise:
Keep your work out of sight of unwelcome eyes

To the poet first trying to find rhymes:
Give it a moment, you'll think of them in time

To the poet whose night is their day:
Just write down what's harder to say

To the poets whom I know as my friends:
Let's write until the universe ends

They ask me a question.
What are we without love?

I am this. In this moment, I am not love.

Have you ever seen the aftermath of a plane crash?
The plane simply becomes an empty shell and bodies are strewn across the earth. There are no heaving lungs, no crying eyes, no twitching fingers.

Every living thing is dead. That's what I am.

Don't ever let anyone fool you into believing that you can't be dead in this life. You can and you will be.
There will be a moment when no heart pulses behind your ribs, no tears are left, and your hands feel nothing tangible.

It will only be you and the ground. You'll look up into the sky and maybe, just maybe, ask a question.

"What are we without love?"

This is that moment. Close your eyes and feel all of it.

I saw forever in your eyes. . .


                Then you closed them.