you promised sweet smiles
like gumdrops and buttercups
a taste so **** it makes your lips pucker
just at the thought of it

you promised creature comforts
like breakfast in bed
a smell so familiar it feels like home
just at the thought of it

you promised vast visions
like bright white night stars
a sight so tremendous it makes your eyes spark
just at the thought of it

you promised magnificent music
like lullabies and quiet goodnights
a sound so playful it makes your ears perk
just at the thought of it

you promised deep desire
like red velvet roses
a touch so soft it makes your skin rise
just at the thought of it

but you also promised future memories
like holidays and yellow houses
a promise so broken it makes your heart hurt
just at the thought of it

honeysuckle vines raptured
with blossoms bursting at the seams
gargantuan purple plum figs
drooping on delicate branches
with aromas of pleasure and sweat
like tousled sheets on bedroom floors

insects crawl on tiny feet
with the smallest winking whiskers
chirps of crickets fill the night sky
pouring into the desperate silence
with sounds of eagerness and delight
like laughter through closed doors

the seeds sink in
with shells cracked open in need
soaked into the wet and hungry soil
pods broken, wasted underneath
with sour dirt between their teeth
like anger between quarreling lovers

feet planted into the cold earth
with roots stuck against the grain
heavy hearted tree trunks
aged and weathered in time
with wrinkled scars of the past
like faded memories of what’s gone

but the sun peeks through
with a hopefulness like never before
and beats down on the pale garden
that time seemed to forget
with lust and light and love
like a brand new start
with someone different

I'm full of emotion

All tip topsy turvy

With laughter billowing

Out of my pursed lips

And the sun is beating down

Through the half-down windows

Of your beat up Chevy truck

As it bounces down these country roads

Your hand loosely grips

The black leather steering wheel

While the other hand precariously

Balances a cigarette between *******

The wind jostles the truck

As you increase your speed

You look at me wildly

Daring me to tell you to stop

Instead, I look back

Studying every fraction of your face
Knowing this would be the last time

That this would be my memory of you

 
 
Wild, free, and beautiful

Daring life to take you away.

tanned by the filtered sunlight
skin singed by the ultraviolet rays
rich and green and lush under the canopy
hopeful hearts and viscous viper vines
red flowers blooming on the forest floor
but you were dark inside

fixed in the current of the undertow
held under to drown delightfully
brow beaten and weary bones withered
salty seawater and coral colored conundrums
veins pumping warm blood through warmer bodies
but you felt cool to the touch

gorged on the fruits of your love
plump bellies full of sweet lies
half comatose in awakened anger
telling truths and infinite inciting indecisions
beasts of burden finally coming to light
but you lied from the start

amazed at the loneliness of after
loves of past wandering hallways
phantoms ******* with light switches
lovely longing and ghastly ghost grievances
vaguely haunted in the aftermath
but you died so long ago

my eyes were tired from crying
as i sat on the edge of the hotel bed
with covers bundle at the foot
and you breathing softly on the other end

our clothes were scattered on the floor
a t-shirt here, a sweater there
reminding me of a passion
that ceased to exist

and light filtered through the blinds
creating monochromatic stripes on your back
coloring you in black and white
like a old photograph

i wanted to reach out and touch you
feel the warmth of your skin
but the room smelled of ***
and tear filled regret

morning came so quickly
as you slept and I lingered
in the final night of pretending
we were still us

her favorite color was yellow
she loved the way it burst
and swayed in between flower petals
how the sun peeked through the clouds
after a particularly rainy day

she met a boy who liked the color orange
like pumpkin pie and japanese beetles
ultra-fluorescent vests and crushed leaves
he liked the way it stood out from the crowd
and shined brightly against a bleak background

but she was yellow and he was the color orange
close enough to be one in the same
but too different to combine
one calm and riddled with sadness
the other frantic and full of doubt

the two colors started to bleed together
yellow and the color orange
each trying to brighten the other
but they became muddled as one
and lost sight of one another

There’s space between us
And I can feel the ground snap
And splinter under our feet
The sound of it is deafening
Overwhelming me with each crack
I can see the memories
Slip silently through the cracks
One by one
Until they become obsolete
I can sense myself slipping
Scrambling for my own footing
Falling into the darkness
Of losing you
I can try and hold on
To the sharp edges of us
But my hands have grown ******
Torn by the words poured on the floor