At work I'm
surrounded
by all these
women,
and after a
while
they start to
feel
like my own
sisters.

I sleep with the lights on,
but it's not my choice.
I hate the sensation of light
hitting my face as I sleep.
Night after night I pray
the power would go out,
so and that I could rest
in the dark.
One day I'll have my own home,
and at night all will be silent,
and all will be pitch black dark;
dissolving into nothingness,
until then may the power bill go
unpaid
and the light bulbs
obsolete.

After accidentally slipping and
landing
on the hard floor,
everyone
laughed at my expense

all
except for you who
checked
on me to see
whether
my condition was okay
which

gave me all the
courage
to stand right back
up.

You smirked
because
I was
having
a bad
day,

why does
my
misfortune give
you
so much
pleasure?

Today I
don't
know why
you
snapped at
me
but there
are
polite ways
of
talking to
people.

You know I
can’t
fall asleep without
the
sound of you
snoring.

I passed out last night
you lied down beside me, and
we cuddled till morning.

When large crowds
are
packed into tiny
spaces
I feel like
everybody
else is *******
up
all of the
oxygen,

and I can't
breathe.

Do you ever question
whether people love you
or not?
I do all the time.
Not trusting others
is my specialty.
I ask myself:
"Would they be better off
without me?
Yes or no?"
I say,
"Maybe?"

I should’ve
waited
for someone
like
her to
come
into my
life.

Somewhere,
someone knows you.
Somewhere,
someone likes you.
Somewhere,
someone needs you.
Somewhere,
someone loves you.

If I were to die today
inscribe two things
on my headstone:
Son & Poet.
I was nothing before
the love of my parents
brought me into the world,
I am eternally there son.
Remember me as a poet,
who tried his best to
find beauty in the bleakest
of circumstances.

Why do you
look up to
me?
I don't have
any of the
answers.

I'll only lead
you the wrong
way,
turn back now
before I hurt
you,

after what I've
been through I
can't
hold a life
in my hands
again.

She was teasing
me
because of the
way
that I dress
outside
and she hit
one
of my sore
spots;

still hurts to
touch.

Sometimes we wrong
the people in our lives,
whether on purpose,
or by accident,
it always
hurts.
I met a girl over the summer
and I forgot to call her up,
she won't return my texts.
Now it's over
and there's nothing I can do.
If she'd given me a second chance
I would have given her the best side
of myself,
I've said sorry too many times to count,
I guess that means nothing in the end.

I slept in this
morning
because after a week
of
getting up early for
work
I finally don’t have
anywhere
else to be right
now.

I'm not a
pet
hamster who keeps
on
running himself ragged
inside
of the spinning
wheel
that leads to
nowhere;

never stopping to
rest.

I thought
spirituality
was about
knowing
all the
answers,
now I
realize
it's about
asking
the right
questions.

The green buds
are
ready to blossom
upon
this tree limb
just
in time for
spring.

I never
feel
more pristine
than
when I
walk
barefoot across
my
kitchen floor
after
having just
scrubbed
it squeaky
clean.

I couldn’t
hide
my squeamishness
because
she acted
far
too familiar
with
me and
forgot
about our
boundaries.

No matter
what
your test
results
come back
indicating,
I’ll stand
by
you in
sickness
or in
health.

I've had the same sticky note on my laptop
with a list of things to do for weeks now.
I don't know if I'll ever get around
to crossing things off my list.
I know I should,
but part of me is scared.
What if it turns out to be harder than I thought
and I don't know what to do?
I should stop worrying and start doing things,
but it feels like it's impossible.
Like my head is being shoved under water
and I can't breathe.
Every day the left side of my brain asks,
"Are going to do something today?"
and the right brain responds,
"No, definitely not."

To the poor
waitress
who I refused
to
tip today during
lunch,

if I'd remembered
that
you work for
pennies
on the dollar,
I
wouldn't have stiffed
you;

forgive me being
stingy.

I know
that
Papa loves
me,
but he's
got
a strange
way
of showing
it.

I wanted nothing
but
to be reunited
with
an old friend
instead
she treated me
like
I was a
stranger.

When strangers
reach out
to me
on the internet
and try acting
like we’re so
familiar
with each other,
I feel
goosebumps.

There is a place
on the coast
where I keep
old memories.
It's called
St. Simons' Island.
This place is my home
away from home.
I keep polaroids
in my wallet
of the times
I've spent there:
A cozy book-shop,
The fancy restaurant,
An old ragamuffin,
sea water.
I wonder if I'll read those books,
drink that wine,
hear the homeless man's song,
or stand in the sea looking at the horizon
again?

I pray it would be soon.

Don't keep me
waiting
all summer long
for
you to come
back;
that's much too
long.

You don't answer
my text messages anymore,
something is wrong.

The sun burnt my skin
now it's the color red,
and stings to the touch.

It never gets any
easier to start letting go
of people you love.

On this summer day
rain sang me a lullaby,
as I rested my head.

I stayed here with you
cause if I didn't we'd
both be all alone.

I hate long summer nights.
As crickets chirp aloud,
my friends are away.
I watch TV
bored out of my mind.
What is there to do?
Except for count
seconds, minutes, and hours
till the black-hole is full.
So my life can begin again.

Today we
drove
around town
as
one family
enjoying
the daylight
and
each other's
company;

we had
fun
in the
sun.

Kate could
notice
that I
needed
a treat
so
she drove
off
and bought
me
a cinnamon
roll;
it tasted
sweet.

They say
if you
walk

around the
circle three
times

with the
one you
love

then it's
meant to
be,

I know
it sounds
crazy,

but it
just might
work.

What fun are
spur-of-the-moment
runs for
tacos
on Tuesday evenings;
which epitomizes
this particular
day of the
week.

I took today
off
to help
recover
my mental health
and so far
I’m quite
refreshed.

I call it having a leaky brain,
thoughts like raindrops drip into my mind  
one after another slowly causing
obsession,
I'm always thinking these
thoughts:
"Who am I?"
"What am I doing with my life?"
"How am I gonna get by?"
"I need help."
I wake later in the morning,
and the days seem shorter;
nights spent sleepless,
maybe one day I'll get it
together,
if my mind lets me
go.

Today an old
curmudgeon
talked my ear
off
for five minutes
straight
and I was
obliged
to listen to
her.

Hey, I've been thinking
we might work well
together?

We've been friends
for a while now,
I think its time.

Let's take things
to the next level.

No?

Ok, that's fine
at least we can still
be friends?

Cool, I hope this doesn't
make things awkward
between us?

Good.
Talk to you later.

As you
ran your
fingers in
my hair
I nearly
forgot who
you were,
cause I
thought only
my Mom
could rub
my head
as smooth
as you
did.

I cried when the
boy
and girl fell in
love
during the film because
they
reminded me of our
story.

We only
talk
to each
other
through text
messages
on our
phones.

We ate thanksgiving
dinner
in a tiny
diner
hashbrowns and scrambled
eggs,
we weren't following
tradition
but I'm grateful
for
any meal I
share
with someone like
you.

You gave
me
a new
hat
to wear
because
my old
one
had worn
out;

thank you
for
this gift.

The house we once shared
is not our home anymore,
now that you've left.

People don't save me,
I help myself.
Sleeping well at night
is a habit of kicking out people
who hold you down
and keeping the ones
who don't.
That simple.