power is
poison

it should
always be

diluted
weakened

until it
can do

no harm
the people

who seek it
in its purest

form

are those
who seek

to do the
most harm

to the people
and the planet

shaving the skin
of a lemon

creating zest
adding just a

hint of flavor
to my dull life

it is that easy
to please me

you were once
a goddess and

now

they claim you
telling other humans

they own you
they are in control

of you

as if you could
ever be owned

or controlled

did not earth
teach us

anything about
ownership

and control

I blow the
lights out but

I do not make
a wish

I want to
envelope

myself
in darkness

I want to
feel the

emptiness
of hollow

the moment
before hope

when the string
is pulled

and the chute
doesn’t open

and I don’t
say a prayer

I am a bug
caught in

a spider web
of beauty

I know where
it exists

I know why
it exists

I know
my future

if I go there

I land there
anyway

I give in to
my capture

knowing
resistance

is futile

the first sound
is pure

it gives life
to the soul

it has no shape
and makes no

sense

like the universe
it is pre-human

it does not need
to be understood

to exist

I wish I was
the first sound

she soaked
in a claw

foot tub
head under

water bubbles
floating on

the surface

her hands
played in

the air
each finger

a dancer
improvising

it was her
way of

relaxing

spoke a
language

like nature

each finger
a note

I have lived deep
inside the earth
I ache to the core
expose the heat
from my mind’s eye
to weaken each layer
and break through
one-by-one
searching for the surface
where I imagine
meaning lives
never considering
that the surface
may be imaginary
and there is no
final destination
and this is my
destiny to spend
forever burning
through all the truths

they say tomorrow
a giant swarm of
birds will cover
the night sky
as many as
50,000
on their way to
somewhere else
oh god it is my dream
to join them
it must be like
living inside a
young human brain all those
neurons swarming
from place to place
connecting and
disconnecting
the controlled chaos
of the moment
to some destination
in the distance
I can’t wait to see it
and dream I am
one of them

it was one of
those days

and I needed
no one to know

so I opened my
mouth wide

and created
no sound

it was my
inside scream

letting go of
everything

letting everything
penetrate me

the vibrations
breaking ribs

I was caving in

he stands
above you

speaking
thinking

his words
are strong

enough to
carry you

but you
are seeing

a cage not
clouds

the world is
new to you

and you
won’t take

his words
for it

she could
fold herself

become a box
with a lock

and swallow
the key

so no one
could access

her secrets
she was scared

what would
happen if

they got out
I wasn’t afraid

but the risk
was too great

for her to trust me

the moment a belief dies suddenly
a foundation
of your structure collapses
something you held tightly
and defended fiercely disappears
it was one of those nights
the day was emotional
and I was by myself
buried in blankets
trying to create warmth
and comfort
something to hold onto
my mind was crushing itself
tearing like paper
into so many pieces
becoming confetti
I could not digest anything
the words would not stay down
I was learning to speak
a new language
that I did not understand

he lived in the
deep place

where darkness
edged out light

by a little
but he thought

it was a lot

there was pain
in his soft voice

the pain of too
many ******

the loss of
blood grew

slowly so his
impending death

was not obvious
to most

as his words
hid their meaning

from most

a human body
toned as
an instrument
to create a
perfect note
a perfect
movement
connected to
the world
only by her toes
and when she
leaps I feel
the earth move
as if she is
holding it
together with
only her toes
and I am witnessing
the collapse
of the world that
only stops when
she gracefully
lands on her toes

she holds my hand
when I cry

and strokes my head
gently like
a cat asleep
in her lap

she says I am
her sensitive fool

her court crier

feeling more than
I should

more than anyone should
shedding tears she

can’t

her position won’t
allow it

she says I keep
her soft enough

to lead humanity

I think these are
the most important
words for this world

at the center of
every soul is

this seed
the need

to forgive
and be forgiven

please open it
and let it grow

let it spread
let it be a virus
let it be a ****

anything that spreads
easily into others

and across the world

she is so young

that she believes
the stars when

they shine

she has not
seen many

dark nights so
each one

seems new
each one is

a lesson
she learns

because that
is what the

young do

she plays
with so

many things
a skinny

beautiful
creature

with a first
class

mind and
imagination

a puppet
master

creating
sights and

sounds
we follow

to our death
if we have to

but I don’t think
that is where

she leads us

you invented
the word

raw

to describe me
reversed war

saw me as
unprepared

for this world
not ready to

fight

for anything
including you

and you were
right

you always
had a way

with words

ghost

she said
to me

I am a
magical

creature

I can
disappear

if I want to

I know
I can

because
I was

invisible
for most

of my
teenage

years

bees buZz
in your ears

the moan of
the moment

the ecstasy
of honey

drips

feel the pain
and poison

of all my
stings

when you
try to steal

my heart
and run away

I sit on a rock
and speak

not a speech
a conversation

with the wind
speaking through

the trees

she tells a joke
and I laugh

feeling

the warmth of
her touch on

my cheeks
we have been

friends for
as long as I

can remember

plug me in
I want to

feel a force
surging

through me

I want to be
fully charged

I want to be
released

into the machines
I want to be

the power that
energizes the

world to change

lost in the
crazy vein

is a magic
carpet ride

to desire
succumb

to the
succubus

she stares
into the void

seeing her
beautiful
reflection

wink at her

hearing her
voice sing

that song
she loves

in this dream
I am drifting

my body is light
floating above

everything with
weight

nothing can pull
me down

there is no
such thing as

pressure

I have nowhere
and nothing

to be

she traced me

wanting to recreate
each inch of me

wanted to make
a model
or a machine

of me

I wanted to see
this new version

of me maybe

I wanted to be
this new version

of me

something that
didn’t feel pain

so deeply

she was patient

the ocean on
a calm day

she waited
every day to

photograph
the rain

wanting to capture
and display

each drop

to show the
beauty of

waiting for love

we all have songs
we can’t sing
out loud
they speak for us
they feel for us
they have the
softest hands
that reach so deep
they know things
about us
we don’t want others
to know
they can rip us
apart from the first
note

there are places
we never echo

our words do
not carry

the clouds
do not move

and the wind is
not present

the earth is
happy to hold

our secrets
it is ancient

it has heard
everything

in every language

it is the safest
place to scream

I don’t want
all the words

to behave

I want them
all to mean

something
but not always

what I had
in mind

they can dance
to their own

beat

create a new
sound

tell a story
I never heard

I try to give
them the space

to grow

you said

the stars are silent
tonight

each one knows
it might fall

but they come
out anyway

maybe they talk
to each other

in their language
or maybe they don’t

you said I was
silent tonight

but I came out
anyway

and then you
held my hand

I was born
without roots

free to land
in any field

and spread
myself

words and all

into others
find the other

lost souls
and create

a messy garden
wherever we

land and when
the others

want to clean
us up

we can follow
a breeze to

a more
welcoming

land and
spread our

simple seeds

language is
a skill

before it is art

we all learn
words

and a little
bit about how

to use them
but it takes

practice to
use them well

and passion to
turn them

into spells

the baby
bird makes

noise but it
has to learn

how to sing

that night we
started a religion

worshipping

the thoughts
we shared

we wrote
everything down

in our minds
putting nothing

to paper

we did not want
followers

each night
our lives

would become
more

synchronized
until we became

the one true

I think my true
home existed

before the
big bang

the first
sound was

too loud
and divided

what was pure
the connection

that made
every element

one

every sensation
was felt by all

at once

so there were
no secrets

she knows

in a way that
is not normal

she devours
everything

she is not
gluttonous

most of it
is useless

so as she
processes

she discards them

and only keeps
what she needs

to create
her own

universe
that she

shares with
others in

the most
creative ways

and on those
nights

the waters grow
still and

there is no flow
all thoughts

become one
and they

don’t spread
they burrow

toward the
bottom

where the
dark creatures

swim

I could drown
it would be

so easy

I met her
as a child

and fell in love

she was so
tall and bright

she lit the world
and helped me see

and I knew
the sunflower

loved me back

she saw the
brightness

I buried
in my soul

I may not
smile as much

today as I
did then

but I
know the

sunflower still
loves me

he ate hate
it could not
be digested
it was a seed
of a ****
that sprouted
and grew
and spread
into his soul
so he could
not be separated
from it
it had no
specific need
other than to
spread itself
so he spewed
its seed to others
and they ate hate
it could not
be digested

I did not speak today
I did not make a point
I did not ask for help
I did not answer a question
I did not interrupt
I walked in the rain
I listened to the earth
water wind & fire
I watched a squirrel work
I watched the clouds move
I felt my breath
I slept

I know it is progress
in some form
but I did like it better
when we had more space
and we were not always
connected
and even though
our steps were smaller
we could getaway
from each other
I liked my getaways
not too far away
just far enough
when I could disappear
not for too long
just long enough
to miss
and be missed

this beautiful
complex man

with the magical
voice

a master of
wonder and

words that
help me

develop
imagination

and feelings
that want

to be shared
he speaks

and I listen
and speak

for myself

years of being ignored

she swallowed her words
they piled up in her pit
and turned to poison
she wished she was a snake
the kind who could spit

and dissolve anyone
in her way

the sound of
explosion

like big bang

the sound of
creation

immediacy
no space to

think

don’t wait
don’t hold back

crash smash
splish splash

silly or serious
the world is

your oyster
eat the pearl

we bit the apple
it was juicy

we let it drip
all over us

licking up
every drop

on that day

everything
came alive

in us and
around us

on that day

everything alive
could die

that day

was the
first day

we wanted
to live

a soul
cries

like a
kitten

too small
to feed

left for
dead

in this
angry
world

will it
find a

helping
hand to

pick it up
and feed it

it’s funny
they want
a newborn
baby
to cry
to tell us
they are
alive it
is a sign
of life
a sign
they are
going to
be alright
why is
that only
applied
to babies

do not touch
this fragile

thing

it is poorly
made

pieced together
from other

lives and lies

there is not much
holding it together

it needs but
it cannot want

it lives but
it cannot love

do not touch it
do not break it

again

she is not scared

little red loves
the sun

lets her pale
skin freckle

so they sparkle
like stars

her body
comes alive

in the heat
dancing circles

around the sun

creating a swirling
pool of sweat

that she hopes
drowns the moon

and kills the night