Once upon a time-
Begins in parallel life
The story of love
Not completely true
But not without its value
That halts because internal worth
Is measured by different meters.

And time was of the essence.
Yet time lingered in flesh
Vivid gift of memory  
Sweet sweat trickled down her back
Cradling his head in her lap.

When time again began,
Light shone through cracks
in the perfection.

One, occupied by burdensome things,  
Constrained.
Unready for change,
Overwhelming helter-skelter.

The other, craved a mention
Between chaotic interventions,
And, possibly a promise-
A hope for more than
“A day at a time.”

Passion turning languid,
Green-eyed-monsters birthed.
Words unspoken swallowed,
And spit out in garbled tongue.

Led to the perfect storm
of a time whence upon
Two lovers grew apart
But couldn’t part.

So they lived and loved
in parallel dimensions
Never forgetting.
Never regretting.

My heart races
My throat gets tighter
Now I can't say no
My eye brows furrow
And you think I like it
But tears drip slowly
From my eyes
My body trembles
And blood trickles
Down my thighs

How much
Have I lost
To a man
A man with his arms
That hold me down
A man with his hands
That choke me out
A man with his d*ck
That ends my life as I knew it

I can write about love,
About all the sweet things that can happen,
A hallmark movie,
A romance novel,
A poet who has just fallen for the love of his life.

But that's not what love did for me,
Love left me broken,
Love left me without looking back,
Love showed me that although I gave my everything,
It still wasn't enough,

But love also showed me how love can be found in the most quiet and hidden places,
That it doesn't have to be a relationship to show you what love is,

Love is in friends who give you a gift basket after a bad break up to help cheer you up,
Love is in friends who make sure that you've eaten and that you're doing okay,
Love is in friends who make you laugh so hard that your abs start to hurt and your eyes are watery with joy,

Love is an all things,
And while some love may not be available to us,
That doesn't mean that we are unlovable,
It just means that sometimes the love you seek,
Is found in places that you never knew were there.

(for the one who stands at the edge, where the fabric begins to fall)

She had once been known—
but only through a portrait
painted in the shades of misunderstanding.

A silhouette mistaken for substance.
A voice mimicked before it ever found
its own breath.

She knows this.
And so the chains that bind her now
are not forged of cruelty,
but memory—
a memory that clings to who she was
before she could ever choose to become.

And still, she dreams of the sunlight.
Of fabric falling, not ripped—
but released.
Softly.
Willingly.
In the warmth of a gaze that promises
no weight will be added
to the skin that already bore so much.

She does not want to be reclaimed.
She wants to be re-seen.

Not as the story once told,
but as the story now unfolding.
A woman not returning,
but arriving.

And if the beholder must grieve
the version of her he once adored,
so be it—

for only in that grief
can he welcome the miracle
of what is finally, freely,
and beautifully real;

and  hope upon hope--

     not one of his own chains
     in sight

Enjoy the rise, the fall follows,                                                         ­                                     
                                                                ­                                            
 joined by sighs, that come
tomorrow                                                         ­                                 
                               ­                                                                 ­                        
In the limelight, the sun
shines                                                          ­                                                     
   In the twilight, stains of red wine                                                             ­                           
                                                                ­                                            
Beauty fades, just like real love                                                            
­                                                                 ­                                             
When we age, we see what we're made of                                                        
                                                                ­                                        
Children grow, if you let them,                                                            ­                    
                                            ­                                                            
Children know, what we teach them                                                             ­ 
                                                                ­                                                
Like the ebb and tide, and seasons changing,                                                  
                                                                ­                                      
everything in life is always rearranging

Sometimes to transform you have to inspire yourself,                                                        ­            
                                                                ­                                                  
don't wait for it to come from someone else                                                             ­                                                  
 If it starts to hurt it means you are growing,                                    
                                                                ­                                                   
   when things start to turn your wisdom is showing                                                          ­            
                                                    ­                                                                
­  Give yourself the permission to
cry,                                                             ­             
                                                   ­                                                           
  never give up you will succeed if you
try                                                              ­                                            
                                                                ­                                                  
The top of the hill seems far
away                                                             ­     
                                                           ­                                                       
but you will be able to conquer it someday                                                  
       ­                                                                 ­                                            
All of the mountains you have put in
place,                                                      
                                                                ­                                                  
  will all be behind you when you win the race