Lead me by your leash,

Drag me through the dirt,

Lay me down on a bed of leaves,

Cold and sharp against my skin.

Strip me of my dignity,

Make me wait for your touch.
Then, one day,

A different hand appears
,
It finds me where the shadows hide,

Where the wind bites sharp,

And I am alone.

It reaches through the quiet,

Pulling me from my cold prison.
The warmth floods in,

A door opens wide,

I am pulled inside,

Where fire crackles in a hearth,

And the hunger is fed.

Gentle hands pet and soothe,

Whispering,
"You are enough."
All I ever wanted
,
Was to be a good dog
,
Not to be broken,

Not to be left waiting,

But to be seen.

I love with all of my heart.
I kiss passionately.
I take spiders outside.
I barbecue for my friends.
I shoot guns.
I drink beer.
I listen to music.

I wander in the woods.
I get lost in my own head.
I stare off into space.
I sleep sparingly.
I enjoy cigarettes.

I work with my hands.
I try to learn new things.
I make mistakes.

I find it hard to give up,
on anything, or anyone.

we built something
in the clearing,
quiet, green,
half-shadow,
half-trust.

you wandered off
chasing light
through darker trees,
calling it
your path.

i waited,
moss growing over
the words
we never finished.

when the axe fell,
it was gentle.
silent.
already done.

now,
i walk alone
through what’s left
of us,
and still,
the forest grows.

For the wrong lover,
I’ve emptied oceans,
split the earth,
waltzed through flame,
and silenced gods.
So tell me,
why should I kneel
for anything less?

You asked for space,
said you needed to float,
to realign your stars.

But you were gravity
pulling someone else close,
while I drifted,
untethered,
alone in the dark.

So don’t call it healing.
Call it what it was,
eclipse.

I put my wheels to the sky, left your ghost behind,

You stood there frozen, with a cross I couldn't find.

Your eyes were oceans, but you never let them drown,

We lost the light, while we were still spinning 'round.
I gave you the stars, tried to pull 'em down,

Held on through fire, held on through the sound.

But some love’s a flame, it fades to the night,

And you can’t heal what’s broken in flight.
You held me like a memory, soft and cold,

This road we walked was more than I could hold.

Now you’ve found a new sunrise to chase,

While I’m just echoes in an empty space.
I gave you the stars, tried to pull 'em down,

Held on through fire, held on through the sound.

But some love’s a flame, it fades to the night,

And you can’t heal what’s broken in flight.
I loved you like rain on a desert shore,

Now I don’t know if I can love you anymore.

Still, I won’t look back at the rivers we’ve crossed,

I’d do it again, but not at the cost.
I gave you the stars, let 'em slip through my hands,

But love's just a whisper in shifting sands.

I’ll drive through the dark, let the past be the past,
Some roads are just dreams that never last.

Remember when you called me your muse?
How I blushed, how you thought I was pretty,
a mirror of your words,
reflecting your longing back at you.
I see it now.

Now, I’m the one who carries that weight,
your image in my mind,
repeating over and over like a record skipping.
And I understand,
the beauty, the burden,
the heartbreak we circle back to,
over and over.
I’m sorry, darlin’,
for the ache I gave you then.

Everything is circular, isn’t it?
We’re just echoes,
tangled in the loop.
But this time,
maybe we’ll find a new rhythm.