be still
until you feel the air
gently caressing
the nape of your neck

close your eyes
because no one else
will hurt you, there
is nothing more to resist

just listen
silence has a voice,
it is the loud ringing
when your ears
try to escape the void

breathe in
breathe out
do it again

put the blade down.

three words
to soften hardened shells

three words
to break through high walls

three words
to ask wandering souls,
forgoing shyness
to see eyes
swelled up in emotion
waiting for the time
to just let go

*are you okay?

the scattered letters i know,
i turn into words
the thoughts floating in my mind
i turn into poetry
when vague, it becomes prose
when i can, i turn them into song

but, at all times—
they never reach you.

You stumble along the road
And suddenly feel so lost
People are not same no more
Faces ain't so familiar anymore
Memories faded to the floor
And you,
Your mind and soul
With the wind
Are gone

I ordered a coffee black
To match the circles under my eyes
To scare the tired from my weary flesh
Life has largely taken its toll
Across the diner I gaze
When I see him
He's freshly adult
And already wilting
The weight of his world
Squarely on his shoulders
Its in that moment
My soul cries out
"I bear your burdens.
I carry them in each beat of my heart
In the pulse life within my blood.
I bear your burdens.
I lay them across the breadth of my shoulders
The tone and flex supporting you through your trials.
I bear your burdens.
They rest in the folds of my skin
In the curl of my lips
In the strength of my bones
And the swing of my hips.
I bear your burdens
In each moment of the day
Without falter of fail.
I have always and
Will always carry your burdens
Here in my soul
So you will never shoulder them
Alone."

i opened my mouth
to let you in
little by little
you are getting to know me
"it is me you're talking to"
you say
in hopes that i will trust you
but little do you know
no woman
can trust a man
it is in our bones

i opened my mouth
so you could plant kisses inside
watch them grow
and turn into a beautiful garden
because everything is beautiful when you're around
i'm not just saying that
i mean it
and now i'm spitting up flowers

i opened my mouth
in hopes that you could find
whatever it was within me
that left me feeling so alone
drag it out and
reconstruct the area
you know what you're doing
as if you haven't done this before
you know
how to make a woman
feel mad

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

I like the way your name looks,
in Times New Roman,
in Comic Sans.
I like the way it looks in
Thames, Condensed,
and Arial (bold or italicized.)
I like the way your name looks
scrawled across papers and note books
and I like the way
your name looks next to mine.