I use my sharpest
teeth to tear

through your words

the raw ****** parts
I want to get to

the seed

the only part
that grows

I want to swallow
the meanings

sort them out

let them spread
through my blood

so I can absorb them

I know you
understand more

than you can
ever say

and this is the
only way I know

to know you

falling deep
into calm

where waters
sit still

and wait
to be tasted

the flavor
of flowers

rose petals
that float

and move
quietly

to the rhythm
of the ripples

caused by
a lover’s

whisper

in his tiny
mind he

was determined
that even

without all
the usual

safety nets
to catch him

he will still
carry all his

weight across
the thin line

and make
something

worth something
of his

cheap simple life

life is an experiment

and meant to be
lived by learning

we cannot
change if

we do not
learn

if you
contradict
yourself

you must
tell me

that you
were wrong

that you made
a mistake

and that
you learned

otherwise I
will call you

a liar

if you cannot
accept responsibility

for your mistakes
(which we all make)

I will not give you
credit for your

successes

no one
(not even you)

can have your cake
and eat it too

the morning
lingers past

noon

blankets feel
like skin

nothing comes
to mind

I drift in
and out of

dreams

eventually I
feel something

scratch an itch
and get ready

to start my day

up early and
enter the outside

blue sky
green grass

barefoot baby

running on stones
stepping on bees

exploring

the wide
open world

creating a
new path

without the
same old

boundaries

where the
ancients

fear to tread

a child does
not arrive

into an empty
world

lives were lived
with loves and

losses

endings have
been written

but not acted out

pretty flowers
have decayed

but not discarded

we carry the
weight of generations

of mistakes
in our souls

every child is
an output of

a common process

but not every child
is planned or wanted

given that we still
have to live

a life and find
a way to make

it work for us
and the next

I can feel
it happening

my brain
losing its

place

feeling like
I have to

catch up to
something

I can’t see

something I
don’t know

is real

things are
blending

getting soft
and slippery

nothing is
easily gripped

so it is
difficult

to escape or
at least find a

stable place
to stand

there is a
loneliness

in truth

the path to get
there is hidden

and not easily found

and once found
it is jagged and

difficult to hold
onto and share

in any known
language

it is the
only way

to start
the day

begin with
the mind of

a beginner

knowledge
has a shelf

life and

it is getting
smaller so

we need to
ask more

often

question
those who

speak

especially if
they claim to

speak for us

mitosis
we separate

into two entities
of similarity

of species
same processes

different dreams

she must want
me to succumb

she knows I
can’t float

I can only
avoid her

or drown

he entered
an uneven

world

a world
with sides

and no
balance and

when the
loud sounds

invaded his
bubble

he thought
himself to

sleep

and woke
up to face

another day

of trying to
find a way

to balance
himself

in an uneven
world

I sleep all day

I hide my wings
beneath the sheets

my soul is broken
by belief

in something better

the gap between
what is

is too wide
for me to jump

and I am too
afraid to fly

so I sleep all day

life has a way
of living

when left alone

it flows from
every angle

it senses
sensuality

in every movement
it leaps and lands

with the

beauty of
a ballet body

the wait for
an opening

seems like
we died

and this is
eternity

the city cries
it is so lonely

it could handle
the weight of

hustle and bustle

but it is feeling
crushed by all

this wait

I stopped
thinking

let the
moment be

you entered
me like

a hurricane

wet and
cold

thrashing
around
my insides

disrupting
everything

I thought
had been

settled

I suddenly
erupted

eternal
flames and

everything
that came

from me
became art

let him dip you
don’t worry

he will not drop you
he is not evil

he is lost and
looking for a home

he is the other
side of human

like the dark side
of the moon

don’t be sacred of
what you can’t see

remember the moon
is whole

because it has
two sides

I wake in a
feather bed

a song on
my lips

I spread
my wings

and fly

feeling
the air

as if it
is new

I feel clean
and I know

all is forgiven

a simple
not simplistic

thing

it has weight
when used

well

it creates
the space

needed

for truth
to live

well

nothing is left
it has no feelings

it can’t be held

it slips through
my fingers

spills onto
the floor

and disappears

it doesn’t even
leave a stain

when there is
nothing left

there is nothing
to clean

nothing to heal

you overlook me
I fade away

not into the memory
into the never noticed

I want to be hated
by someone

I want to matter that much

she wakes to
the desperate fool

sleeping soundly
rubbing his crystals

he is holding on
to his imagination

she has been down

so many holes
she knows

everything is fake
in this land

what is left to wonder
everyone is a

creature with secrets
to tell

I bit down too
hard    on

that thought
I chipped a cell

now my brain is
not together

the sides don’t
meet it is

really hard to
eat the tough

stuff

I heated it
I let it run

I climbed in
I slid down

until I was
covered

I held my breath
I opened my eyes

I released a
little air

I watched the
bubbles rise

I let it all go
until I was

light enough
to be a bubble

it was this day
you made me

a promise
about this day

telling me what
was going to

happen

you would
make up

make up
for everything

you did and
didn’t do

so I would
forget all those

things

a day so
memorable I

would forget
all those things

I did a count
down

a daily count
down

marking off
the days

until today

there are still
a few minutes

left

you still have
a few seconds

left

we are young
in a small place

sitting on a bank
you are looking

at me I am
staring far away

I ask you if
the tree floats

I say

I want to
leave this

place and

I want to
leave

by water

you say
something

about roots
and how far

into the earth

they go I
don’t understand

I jump in and
disappear

you stay on
the bank

and wave

the snake does
not love

what it squeezes

the bear does
not love

what it hugs

the man does
not love

what he possesses

the silky stranger
sits next to me

with skin like chalk
eyes like ice

her rose lips open
slightly

I hear a whisper
something sweet

and sinister
then a click

I feel a warmth
then a chill

I lie down
to rest

someone closes
my eyes

we were always
mostly alone

physically not
intellectually

we introverts
were made

for this isolation

love is
an angel

the devil
was an

angel

love can
fall hard

we must
learn to

forgive

it is a gift
we can give

if we choose
expecting

nothing in
return

I know
it is hard

but it is
softer

than the
fall

especially
when we

hold onto
everything

the purple
pope

beyond
royalty

beyond
religion

he created
the

consummation

of sound
and ***

the guitar
screams

its devotion
to his hands

and we are
all raised

to another
plane of

existence

he cannot
be replaced

a white
space

a void
a pause

a canvas
of purity

everything
appears

purposely
clean

a woman
is placed

into the
center

naked
exposed

curls herself
into a ball

trying

to hold
everything

together

the vulnerability
of her world

of the world

she is
a model

of something
human

an expression

of an emotion
we all feel

she is brave

white gold
sun drops

surround
her thoughts

a halo of
hope

for the water

she hears
the whispers

in the trees
and she

dances to
their songs

like a
skipped rock

creating waves

she releases
thin strands

of auburn
from their tail

as

she collapses
in her

flower bed

shed like
a cat but

make it tears

leave them
everywhere

so everyone
gets them

all over
themselves

so they find
them in

the strangest
places

and wonder
where they

came from

raised in empathy
not to be your

enemy
why do you

hate me you
never even

met me
you call me

a name but
I already have

a name please
let me

introduce myself
you will see

we are blood
relatives

I say the word
that was taken

for granted for
so long

and now there

are so many
questions

being asked
about these

categories

and sometimes
I don’t know

what to say
I have to stop

and think

sometimes that
is good and

sometimes that
is bad only

time will tell

it is spring
and green

is here
it dominates

the atmosphere

feeling itself
the majestic

color

it does not
conceive of time

it thinks it is

the first
the last
the always

but we know
better so we

enjoy it while
we can

if I am quiet
will he leave

I do not want
a present

I do not want
to be present

the snow is
no longer

fresh it turns
to ice and

I am always
cold

winter seems
so long

this year

last night

she met the
place where

dreams stop
she woke up

crying
without tears

screaming in
the desert

the emptiness
an endless

echo asking

small mindless
creatures

multiplying
by the millions

passed so easily

from one to
another

without anyone
knowing

there is no
known defense

so it triggers

our bodies to
become sick

the dis-ease
is our reaction

to its presence

if we taught
our bodies

to ignore it

like most
bullies maybe

it would just
go away

I dreamt
I was soft

and could be changed
squeezed into molds

to be formed into
something else

something valued
something desired
something created

by the soft hands
of someone with

an imagination

the rain falls
for days

the dam bursts
and we make

discoveries in
the wet dirt

we are not clean
we learn that

what goes on

in the gray matter
doesn’t really matter

it is a laboratory
where we experiment

on each other
sending shocks

until one of
us succumbs

there is so
much hope

in the strength of
pointed toes

the movement
of nature

so pure

as it prepares
itself for

a spring
toward the sky

she bends herself
into new shapes

and then leaps
freeing the

energy of the sun

turning nature
into art

he likes

the lights
at night

heat rubs
against his

brown wings

the danger
of sparks

excites him

he is not
a butterfly

blue beauty

flitting about
in the sun

he is not
that simple

I live
in the dark

a panther and
a pounce

with sharp teeth
and the taste

of fresh meat
I want you

to bleed

I am shaped
like you

I speak like you
I want to be you

but I am not
alive because

I cannot die
so I

cannot be
with you

so I

live in the dark
and wait for you

to come

i will defend
every challenge

he will discard
all the work

we have
accomplished

so easily

trying to make
it better

he can absorb
things so quickly

renew his mind
into another form

he is all about
the future

i am all about
the past

her form was
shapeless

like a dancer

she moved in
spiritual ways

her soul lived
on the surface

she was a child
of a god

she could be hurt
but not damaged

she spoke pure
like water from

a cold stream

her eyes radiated
creating energy

I lost myself in
the color pale blue

and when
she disappeared

I could not
find myself

each one
left a mark

when they
left me

I was sinking
losing myself

you could

still see me
so you thought

I was safe
and never

reached out
to lift me

and I thought
I was floating

so I never asked
for your help