Once a maggot
now a barfly

From the crushing tears pressed upon her bed
To drifting among the clouds
She heard it first inside her head
Then whispered the words aloud
Don’t you cry
Sweet butterfly
Soon enough you will be free
For life is but a moment
Compared to eternity

i was weightless
adrift in the shark-infested
ocean of my thoughts

the bell rang,
everyone around me began
collecting their belongings
and moving on

i was frozen. stuck in
whirlpools. struggling to keep
my head above water.

the tables emptied, new faces
poured into the halls
something was blocking the
light

when i finally found my way
back to shore
i looked up and it was you,
heroic, with your lifeline
outlined by the sun

you stood by the doorway smiling.
books in hand, waiting for me

"you coming?"

to you,
i'm sorry if i hurt you
i never ever wanted that
but honestly,
over time you've hurt me too
and when you said “i need space”
it crushed me, but it also gave me a strange sense of liberty
but no matter how long i put the feelings off,
i always come back to wanting you
if only these memories of you would leave me
and i from you,
we could finally, finally start anew
but i don't want things to be how they were long before,
i only want you in a simple way,
a way that still allows me to be in your luminous aura everyday,
as a friend

I sense this world is not what it seems
This sugar-plum Home, some counterfeit dream
Where I might have played
        dress-up in mother's closet
And pretended to be grown -- like her
And beautiful -- like her

Where I might have had enough to eat
        Safe inside a child's sleep
My sparrow's heart tucked in with a story

Tonight I drank the star-studded sky
As the need for why
        dissolved in my cup
Now is enough --