I hate knees
Knees hurt on the way down
the stairs to breakfast.
Knees hurt on impact
when I pray in earnest.
Knees transmit pain
signals to my brain relentless.
I hate knees.
Whether on necks
or where they belong,
on the ground.
I hate knees.

When I was five,
my mother told me I was loved.
Years later, she asked me to leave because
I was the reminder of the gruesome past that haunted her.

When I was ten,
my father told me he believed in me.
Years later, he refused to accompany me because
I was an embarrassment to him in front of the society.

When I was fifteen,
my friends told me I was funny.
Years later, they all laughed at me because
I was the gullible teenager who fell for their flawless façade.

When I was twenty,
this guy said I was beautiful.
Years later, he trashed me, tormented me because
I was ignorant enough to overlook my inevitable flaws.

So, sorry for not believing in you,
for questioning your intentions, inclusively, in-depth
when you told me you loved me because
I didn’t want to wind up years later,
learning it the hard way that people often don’t mean what they say.

I watched you begin,
no one ever filled the space in between so beautifully,
as every place you reach becomes the future,
as right now is every moment,
I watched you move,

I wrote my songs for the dead

The sun
I watched you rise,
nothing ever as pure as the way you shine,
no darkness can withstand,
every star is the center,
I saw your light,

And wrote my songs for the dead,

fears,
spirits hear my voice,
carry me on the wind as a feather,
and melody,
harmony,
it's possible,

dreams,
as morning breaks over you,
over the land, I hear you breathe,
and melody,
harmony,
it's possible.

You are a rooted tree
Tall and strong
A rooted tree with many branches
With roots that run deep within

When a branch breaks
The birds find another branch to sit on
You have many
You are still here

Your roots are still deep
The birds may have scattered but
They come back and are never scared
They come back to that branch
They embrace the imperfection

Because you are the rooted tree
You are tall
You are strong
And your roots run deep within

remember always.....