you can have
what is left

did we give
you enough

of the world
to build the

next iteration
can you

generate another
generation

he swims
in chaos

he breathes
in confusion

his mind is
disorganized

his mouth
is rabid

spreading
his dis-ease

throughout these
dis-united

states

my feet lift
and land

in a slow rhythm

no deadlines
no intentions

I take in the
clean air

feel my lungs
grow

feel the blood
flow

from head to toe

let my mind
float

to the clouds

I see through
the mist

of most days
and live in

this moment

is anything more
painful than

holding in
the pressure

building
in any part

it doesn’t
matter which

everything needs
to be released

is anything more
painful than

holding in

the clouds
know the answer

I am tender
to the touch

a fruit fallen
from a tree

bruising easily

you want to
cut out my

damaged parts
and discard them

believing enough
will remain to

satisfy you
but you don’t

know me
the damage runs

deeper than you
can see

I am tender
to the core

I cut myself
with

blades of
grass

roseblood
drips

creating
mourning
dew

mother
sun rises

awakening
the healing

powers of
heat and light

I rise as one
who is free

to live a
second life

wind is my energy
lifting spirits

through this forest

I dance with
the trees

my perfect partners

bending for me
becoming my strength

when I want to fall
I lose myself

in the moment

become a sprite
making a wish

about last night

I am curled
into a ball
holding myself
together
trying to
squeeze
from me
the poison
past if
I squeeze
hard enough
maybe I
will become
a hydrogen
bomb
and implode
obliterating
this memory

I imagine you
are love

a time before
the rotting

of the garden

a time before
knowing

a time before

need
want
hunger
desire
fire
pain
stain
passion
obsession­

and loss

when there
was life

but no
reason

to live

I asked her
where she
was going

I asked her
where she
was from

couldn’t sit still

made many nests
out of the discarded

was startled
by the sudden

and scared of
being held

created sounds
so pure

they made me cry

I could watch her
listen to her
name her

that’s all she
let me do

the night is late
the liquid is rich
the smoke is thick
the lights are low
the sounds are deep

the words are
soft and smooth

and she is…

a slow dance
a last chance

onstage

I paint
a smile
create
a mask
it is
my gift
to you
to make
you laugh

offstage

each
moment
I live
ends in
tiny
deaths
tiny
pieces of
me
disappear
when you laugh

I rode a
nightmare

into the
mountains

to meet my maker

a creature
calling my name

I followed
the deep bellow

an echo of
the ancient past

I knew I
would find

life or death

either way
our war will

finally be settled

she absorbs and emits

creates atmosphere
and odors

changes the world
at the micro level

we sense something
we cannot name

we feel needs
and desires

we move in
a frenzy

escaping
emerging

we dance and
transform

asks questions
without

question marks
you do not

understand
that is the start

shed your first
layer of knowing

scratch yourself
pink and raw

do not let it
scab or heal

there are so
many layers

to go

it is more
painful the

longer you wait

the past is a voice
you do not name

it has too many parts
you are the center

but you are never
the star

it is a breakable
chain that holds

you back

attached to all
your weak parts

it repeats itself
but you never

see the pattern
it has so many

voices

she masters
the body

for a time
controlling

desire with
fire

then moves
her attention

to the mind
using sound

and space

to enter
thought

and washes
the brain

clean of
all but her

if all we said
we said
leaving nothing
unsaid
would we
understand each
other more or less
is there space
for space
between us
does space give
us more meaning
to play with
each other or
more space to
play with others

early evening
darkness descends
in clouds
a lightning flash
a thunder crack
a window open
curtains move
is that the
sound of breath
or the wind
is that a touch
or a breeze
I shiver
and try to
keep still

feeling loss

silence is naked
desire is a

shrinking violet

a blurry body
captures subtle

movement

the essence of
change

you have no form
you are ill defined

and loosely connected

you remain
unknowable

to me

I am losing

shedding or peeling
snake or an onion

my thoughts
carve away

another layer
of myself

going deeper
into something

I call myself

all these sediments
all these past lives

how many layers
must I lose

until I can see
the eye

or will I just
disappear

if I let go
I will sink
I am too heavy to float
my head is dense
like a forever forest
that never faces fall
everything that enters
mixes with everything
already there
I cannot sleep
my dreams are too intense
layers upon layers
secret passages
dead ends
I can barely find my way out
and eventually
I may not want to
what happens then
who will ever find me
in my forever forest

speak my words

out loud
touch your lips

how do they
feel when they

leave you
are you gasping

for breath

is your mind
spinning

searching for space
speak my words

out loud

are you telling
your secrets

the politician
speaks

twists
words
clumsily

not like
a poet

he does
not

see their
beauty

he does
not

feel how
sensitive

they are
they cry

each time
he opens

his mouth

they die
each time

he speaks

she waits for
the wind

to twist her
she knows

this world is
not for her

she is nature
she is distance

this world
has no space

it is filled
with artificial

she cannot
understand

its language

she is silence
she is birth

waiting for
the wind

to take her

I hold these
truths to be self

evident
within me

a commitment
to science

to organization
and truth

a commitment
to art

to chaos
and doubt

the complexity
of this humanity is

to hold opposing
views within us

and end in
explosion
implosion

and the
creation

of Einstein’s
new mind

some eyes are deep

because some
souls are eternal

each night we
lie in the dewy grass

holding hands tightly

staring directly
into the darkness

(as we were warned to never do)

you whisper

asking me
what is on

the other side
but you already

knew the answer

I spread
so quickly

creating a disease
in too many

of you

the cure
for me

is known

has been known
for years

slow down and
question me

before you share
me with someone

else

but you can’t
help yourself

I am so juicy

found myself in
a dream

lost myself in
a thought

we ask why
not for

we do not
want more

you speak
words from

memory

everything
is in your

head but

all truth
is embodied

and never
complete

so you can
not answer us

in any way
we can believe

floating alone
in the ocean

there are two gods

the sun and
the moon

rule the
cloudless
sky

creating extremes
in feelings

and faith
bi-polars of

pure light and
deep dark

and what is clear
in these moments

that happiness
comes and goes

in waves

you are a
beautiful bird
so colorful
and delicate
living a life of
sudden movements
chasing a breeze

I have no net
I have no cage

so I hold out
my hands

in the gentlest way

and hope
you land

in them
to rest

before you
have to leave

I wiped my
mind clean

erased all
the excess

all the things
that no longer

have meaning
to me

it’s so easy
to let things

linger and
build up

let them
weigh me down

so last night

I wiped my
mind clean

of everything
that means

nothing to me

the music was
mystical

deep and sad
a scream just

when we needed it

we moved in
and out in

a way that
could be called

a dance

our blood polluted
our minds clean

we waited until
the lights came on

and when we left

the streets were wet
the air smelled clean

it must have rained

before you slept

I heard you
pray for peace

it was

a lifetime of
little pains

that led to this

the night god
whispered

your name

an egg
on the edge

cannot float
it falls

we fall
the abyss

is not as far
as we think

we think
we are high

but we are
rolling down

the hill
toward the

edge we
cannot float

like an egg

a girl with
deep thoughts

stared through me

seeing patterns
form

in the smallest
things

sitting still
on a sill

she opened
herself to

a thin pane
of glass

and what
lived on

the other side

without heaven

the sky has
no secrets

the blue fades
into the deep dark

beyond the stars
and I realize they

are all dead
and I am looking

up and into a
the bottom

of a cemetery

my soul is invaded
by the scent of

dead flowers left
centuries ago

I am just catching
up to the past

she is star
of the evening

hours

twirling on
a stump above

the pond a
fog is forming

creating a mystery

as butterflies and
lightning bugs

dance around her

all she wears
is a thin white
dress

that lifts and
flows

exposing her
dreams to her

subjects

each day that
passed

each time we
laughed

I held my
real words

inside my
mouth

I felt like
a squirrel

I always passed
as a friend

when I really
wanted to be

a lover

I guess that
made me

a liar

everything was near
or distant

everything was clear
or nonexistent

we shook hands
we hugged
we kissed

we waited for
our mail

electrons were
young and

misunderstood

I remember the
first day we

played pong
everything changed

that day

is the nature
of my mind

filling in blanks
making things

end in tragedy
following ghosts

into dark corners
scaring myself

sick

I know it is fading
there is more

weight around me
people trudge along

looking for conflict

creating a world
without laughter

I want to tap
everyone on the

shoulder and ask
them if they

remember how to
make a baby laugh

I want to be
a live wire

the connection
between two

points

I want to feel
the flow

of energy passing
through me

I want to feel
the moment

when the energy
inside me

creates the energy
inside you

silly is the
perfect word

it lightens my mind
and makes me

feel free to feel
another way

I can let go
of the weights

that hold me down

and for a moment
I can float

ubiquitous

I feel like
the robot is

always looking over

my shoulder
trying to learn

my job
I say

you don’t have
to hide

I am always
happy to share

my knowledge
with anyone

tonight my mind
is running in place

in a desert
I am a boiling

brain

there are no
words to express

or there is
nothing to feel

I am raw but I
want to be naked

exposed to my
demons

I hear
the black bird

screech I watch
it descend

I want it to
enter me

I splay my arms
display my soul

I want it to rip out
all my elements

so I can start over

tiny pains
add up

a microscope
sees inside to

another layer
of life

living beings
feeding on me

these creatures
creating their

own lives
spreading their

perfect children
throughout me

they are not
bad

in the human
sense of the word

but

they are bad
for me

all the voices

that should know
promised me

it hurts more
today than

tomorrow

I want to
believe them

but heart pain
is not like

bone pain
doctors don’t

know the cure
and while the

heart as an *****
is well known

the heart as an
instrument of love

is still a mystery