a flower
in a garden

summer
blooms

nothing
has ever

been this
soft

and fragrant
the bee

that feeds
off her

is happy
to be alive

for its
short life

feeling
fulfilled

is the secret
it opens all

the gates
not in a

way that
shows

obedience

in a way
that shows

hunger

to become
better

you are not
chained

to the answer

you are free
to disagree

and do as
you please

but asking
shows you

are open
and wanting

to grow

the appearance
of thorns

my skin wanted
to feel

anything

feet and hands
tender places

I wanted to
feel entered

exposed

I wanted to
live to be alive

blood speaks
like a river

flooding its
banks

destroying
without intent

trying to get
rid of all

its excess

so it can
feel again

after much effort

I become a sentence
perfectly formed

everything in its place
I am the creator

of sensemaking
I do not want

to be copied
or pasted

I do not want
to be shared

or followed

I want to be memorized
and repeated

as a prayer

I want to be carved
and live in marble

like so many of
my ancestors

we live in the shades.  the differences.  between light.  and dark.  
the edges.  where people.  get cut.  when they move.  against the grain.

we bleed.  the same.  but we don’t.  admit it.  
until we bleed.  together.

then we become.  blood.
brothers and sisters.

and live together.

angles are for
liars and geometry

if he is not
teaching you

about shapes
and the

arrangement
of parts

don’t trust him

when the fairy
tale ends

I follow her
into the woods

she was happy
as the moment

called for but
I knew she was

more than a role
and while this

ending could
be happy

I knew this
was not

the end

I knew she
had more

to say

so I followed
her into

the woods