she is small
to the world

a baby’s breath she

creates words
that twist and turn

and burrow deep
and make me think she

takes my breath
with sudden

sounds and
screams she

makes me jump
and want to dance

in strange ways she
makes me want to be

she lights
fires in

simple men

we don’t ask
for much

just a touch
of sin

we can be
your afterthought

just make us
feel real

the moment

you light
the spark

love is young
and fast

sugar ray’s
punch in

the gut
knocks wind

out

you can’t
breathe

you can’t
think

you don’t
want to fall

but your
legs give

out

and before
you know it

you are
counted out

and she is
declared the

victor

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

skin like
paper

to cut or
be cut

she is
vulnerable

in his hands
in his words

she goes to
the place

she can be
alone

raises the
temperature

to scorch
and screams

dreaming
she is going

down the
drain

you told him a secret

a magical cure
a protection

from evil

and he believed you
after all you are you

so why shouldn’t he
so he took it

the end

those living
things

living deep
inside

sleep most
days

and most
nights

only come
alive

when you
walk by

and say hi

she sings in
my language

breathes in pain

and swirls it
around inside her

until it creates sparks

spitting out fire
and flames

I burn in
her words

becoming a pile
of ash then

rise again with
a new level

of understanding

dark brain
clouds form

portending
a storm of
confusion

the words
they speak

are too high
to be understood

combined
they form
nothing

of meaning

each side
drawing
conclusions
first

and then
looking for

words to
justify
themselves

telling their
followers

what to believe

never explaining
why

I want you
to swallow me

whole

let me live but
make me disappear

feed off me slowly
so I don’t notice

give me a book
with many words

so I can play

let me hear your
body growl

when you are
hungry for me

so I can sing

let me dissolve
slowly

and absorb me
so I never die

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

it is something
wonderful

to feel like
you are

understood
by someone

it is the one
time you belong

for some of us
it is a fleeing

moment

we treasure all
our lives

it is like
all the precious

metals in the
world became

one and we
bury it deep

so we can
discover it

again

you spit
half-wit

the earth
doesn’t

need you
to wet it

it has its
ways to

clean
itself

we don’t
need your

mess

so swallow
yourself

your germs
are not

welcome here

we experiment
with sounds

drumming on
our shells

trying to reach
the deep place

detached
lovers ache

and moan
whether

together or
alone

we use the
sharpest tool

in the shed
to cut out

our hearts
we don’t

use them anyway

we are brains
in a jar of vinegar

on a shelf
in the garage

with sharp nails

she dug me
like I was

made of dirt
scraping away

my skin
reaching my

red drips

I stained
the carpet

abstractly

I was to be
punished

for my temper
the rage of

the rejected
the fire lit

so quickly

by the words
I heard with

my ears or
my mind

you asked me
to be the sun you

always wanted

but I was
more like you

the moon

only shining
in darkness

making waves
going through

cycles where
my light shrinks

until it almost
disappears

sorry I could
never be the one

who warms you
like you wanted

me to be

a white rose
petal plucked

before it
was ready

discarded so easily

the gentle fall
without sound

floating on
a breeze

a soft landing
into restless sleep

so bright it was
going to be

who can hear
eternity when

it cries

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

the emperor
gangland prince

standing above
looking down

spreading arms
as if he owned

the world
surrounded by

all those who fear
looking down on

and all you did
and all you said

rest once more
sweet prince

sleep beneath
your canopy of evil

and wake with a soul
feeling

all you deserve
for what you’ve done

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

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

there are people who
think you are real

that you are
not just playing
with words

that you actually
feel the things

you write to them

I am not one of them

this is the
internet
age and

we are all nameless
creatures or

creatures who turn
names into
underwear

changing them daily

puppets playing
with puppets

everyone thinking
they are pulling the strings

not understanding that
there is no master

only toys to play with

we take turns

writing down
our secrets

we memorized
the pattern

for creating
a perfect flight

we press
down hard

on each fold

we find a place
where we can

be alone when
the air is calm

so each flight
ends safely

in our hands

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

we all have
our limits

our weaknesses

one of mine
is direction

I do not
understand

east
west
north
south

I know
the words

but not
really what

they mean
I cannot follow

directions

perhaps that
is why I

have never
found my way

home

when I asked
for your breath

it didn’t mean
I couldn’t breathe

but I saw how
easy it was for you

and I really meant

I forgot how
to exhale

in a way that
released

some of the pressure
I placed on myself

and you seemed
to have mastered

the process I
thought maybe

I could learn
from you

the universe is filled
with messages

the sounds of wonder
a reaching for something

else

a search for connection
a language we understand

attempts to communicate
with other worlds

we all live in other worlds
we are all aliens

floating alone in this space
unidentified lonely objects

tonight my
muscles ache

a rope
threaded
throughout

tied way too tight

sometimes my
body feels

this way
without reason

and on these nights

it is hard to breathe
it is hard to think
it is hard to write

when everything
is so tight

power is the root
money is that which

flows through it
poison not water

the desire it spreads
grows exponentially

it has a smell
that gets into

your skin

rub all you want
once it’s there

you can’t get it out
it is a tattoo

on your soul
marking you

you might get
what you want

but you’ll never
get what you need

something inside
was eating her

it grew as she shrank

but I don’t think
it could reach her

soul

her eyes never
lied to me

and when her
body shook

like the earth was
quaking and my

eyes leaked like
my heart was

breaking

she laughed and
said relax little

one

angels
feel no pain

little one felt
like less

a dash
a subtraction

felt like the
value of the earth

would increase
without her

but she was
using the wrong

formula and
never showed

her work
to others

so they could
help her

the mistake is
always smaller

than we think

with the tightest
of grips I hold
on to what was
become a statue
no one wants
to visit or clean
so that
all the hardness
holding me
together
turns me brittle
and like an old
leaf meeting
two feet
I break apart
and dissolve
into dust

I think the
metaphor

is about
being lost

or perhaps
being unsafe

or being alone
or something

else that is
not to be desired

but I watch
them for hours

sitting one
next to the

other barely
moving

and I feel
nothing

but peace

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

we all stirred a bit
feeling isolated

I took long walks
around the edges

at night

I stared into
the darkness

beneath

it had a deep
voice

it stood still
that night

calling me to
jump into it

told me it was

safe that I
would not sink

that I would
float above it all

I was almost
lonely enough

to do it

her body is
a rubber band

stretched beyond

her voice is
a snake

quietly

biting my lips
injecting

poison into
my veins

paralyzing me

I cannot speak
she has made me

so I do not want
anymore

I only need more

the color of
some collars

don’t complain
about sweat

stains they
are tattoos

on my clothing

signifying I
gave a fair

day where is
my fair pay

you promised

wants to eat me

the ravenous
dog

denied
every
desire

it is
still chained

but just barely

sharp
teeth
meeting
violently
chomping
on the air
around
my face

they are
the perfect
killing
machines
killing
perfection
in me

a slobbering
chaotic pink
tongue
trying
to find

the words
to whisper
to me

and I hear
voices

behind
my back

talking

telling me
either
I am nothing
or I will

become
nothing

when they
are done

with me

so many of you
will never know

distance

to be somewhere
not too far away

but far enough
that you can’t

be reached

when I was a child
I would leave

the house early
and wander

aimlessly

no one knew
where I was

and no one
worried about

me

I am a boy
called gangly

feet too big
to fit in shoes

legs longer
than my body

wrists the size
of a wedding ring

I like when
the sky is sad

turning streets
into oceans

and my long legs
can lift my big feet

into the open air

so I can feel
like a gazelle

leaping bodies
of water

to escape all
the predators

I said

you must
have stolen

my dictionary
because for

the first time
I am

speechless

she smiled
and said

if there was
one word

left to say

what would
it be

I smiled
and said

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

the secret
life of bees

buzzing in
your ear

everything you
want to hear

sweet nectar
on my tongue

your favorite
love songs

I memorize
and spread

to everyone
I meet like

my sting

it is the pain
of pleasure

nothing lasts
forever

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

it was the moon
who taught me

I can’t love myself

I would watch
it shed itself

each night

until it was
so skinny

it would near
invisibility

I could feel
the pieces fall

but I could
never find them

I wanted to be
the one who

saved the moon
from itself

but I never could

I shiver but
I am not cold

I shake but
I am not scared

the earth aches

she does not
want to talk
about her age

she knows she is
younger than she

feels

and still
has so much to
live for

butterflies
carry bombs

monarchs push
buttons

and we march
in lockstep

with our minds
and our mouths

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

the gift of
the internet

the curse of
pollution

there are
more stars

on the earth
than in the

sky

if I thought hard enough.  I could probably break.  into pieces.  at least inside.  I was lost.  many times.  I was saved.  once.  that day.  my world was so small.  everything seemed within reach.  and everything mattered.

it was then.  a small man with.  a big mouth. spoke.  the word of god.  as if he was. i am.

and for a few moments.  maybe longer.  but not an eternity.  I forgot when my brain was soft.  or that it was still soft.  or that it could always be soft.  enough to change.  it was later.  that I learned.  that.

faith is death.  the end of mystery.  and doubt.  one night.  I dreamed a new world.  into existence.  an afterworld.  where angels ask me questions.  after all.  they cannot question.  anyone else.  

and without any answers.  we all held hands.  and walked away.  believing.  in doubt.

nothing carried
forward we

have no memory

at the beginning
we are beginners

everything is
strange and new

we have no names

for anything
or anyone

we can run
and hide and

wait for others
or we can

venture out
on our own

and be the
first to die

or to discover