As a child my mother would read stories
as I hung around her neck,
and she would stroke my hair,
lulling me to sleep
with visions of two lovers
overcoming their inner demons.
In the end, they'd live happily ever after.
    
    As an adult now,
    I bear this in mind.
    My lover and I both battle inner demons
    But his author strays,
    unlike mine,
    leading him to far-off lands,
    diving into waters so deep. . ...
    I thought we would live happily ever after,
    
    But his mind is a different story

I told you to Lend me your lips
and I'll teach you what love is, I said
I'll let my eyes become your moon
if you'll lend me your collarbones
so I can use them to build a bridge
to the mountains inside my heartstrings

Love, I wrote you an anthem
for all the nights you made my knees sing
and I swore on every dying man's last breath
that I would never change the tune of that song
I was a fool for letting you love me
I knew I would break you in
You told me in life we can't always win
but I thought we were
Because winning was found in the mornings
when your skin looked like feathers under lamplight
and nights when your eyes glistened from that red wine
and I swore I would never let you drink it with anyone else

I told you I couldn't catch a break
and you told me life wasn't a baseball game
I don't have to catch anything
but oh did I ever want to catch you like a firefly
in my glass heart
The day you left I whispered that I would never stop writing you poems
you were always giving me inspiration
You still are

Yesterday I breathed a ghost out of my lungs
and I swore the cigarette smoke could fill up the sky
I thought maybe you'd see my signal fire
telling you it's time to come home
Telling you it's time to listen
time to listen for the last night
When you pressed your cheek against mine
and told me not to call
and I thought the words were poison dripping from your mouth
I was screaming but nothing was coming out
and I knew I couldn't live another day the same ever again

Because now that you're gone
my lipstick can't even stick right
and my sonnets are words numbed by hopelessness
and this poem is a poem I never wanted to write
You were right here standing over my shoulder
just a few weeks back
I have no idea where I lost track of the time
but it's gone
just like you

Take a picture.
Freeze the moment.
Catch it in a butterfly net and put it in a jar.
Snag the sunshine.
Hold it in your heart.
Keep it safe in a nest of forgotten daydreams.
Send a murmured song of contentment
Floating towards the horizon.
Let it catch the light just so-

Preserve the sun-dappled hills.
The sparkling brilliance of the
Ocean.
Caressing the shore,
A musical blue.

That lone bird
Soaring in the midst
Of an azure peace.

Frame the feeling of completion.
Of happiness.
Hold it close in the heart of the storm.

Simpler than it seems
a sighted gleam
a look of ease

drop of boundary
an infultrating light
wisping me off again

to where i began:

transcending

Now

not enough senses
for the amount of truth

What formulated this painful realm
in which indulgence is gain
and love brings pain

how distorted we see
the life we lead to be
when Mother shows everyday
the sun will never change.

I remember your laugh and smiling eyes
and how much we went through.
I remember thinking that parting ways
would break my heart in two.
I remember the day that goodbye came
and I didn't know what to do.
I remember you not missing me
and me still loving you.