When you smile at me I see the tips of your fangs peeking out from behind your lips
Your words drip from your mouth in gobs of venom
And coat the minds of those around you
Keeping them numb and compliant
              Until it is time to strike....

But I have seen your fangs
I have felt the cold sting of their bite
And I know that no matter how sweet those words
They are still poison.

You can’t fool me, little ssssnake
For when you flash those fangs at me
I’ll flash mine back
*And there is more than one kind of predator in this jungle.

You said you were forever
You said we'd always be friends
You stick by my side no matter what
It would be years till we met our ends

We would have our children play
Like us they would be together
They would share all our memories
Like us they would never lie to each other

Then you started to hide things
You manipulated, controlled our rights
We cried over the phone
As you started merciless fights

You promises all disappeared
Becoming faded ink on our sleeve
You turned all but a few against me
Soon we wanted you to leave

Once you were the world to some but
you hurt us more than we can say
You brought pains, scars and sadness
Emotions that will never go away

And now you've gone and left us
The pain has finally gone
But tears can still be shed at night
From a pain that lasted so long

"Don't play hard to get,"
you say,
but I thought we weren't playing at all
because the labored breaths
and extended silences
we exchanged instead of words
were the conclusion to our never-published,
still-in-editing,
fairy tale love story

Your eyes held on
to the tears that had formed
so that they never really fell

And I held on
to our unspoken romance
and fell harder than expected

I thought I was the one
who jumped
but not without a little push
from you

I can't say I blame you
you just did what was best
but I guess I wasn't prepared
for best
to feel worst

So Boy,
I am not playing with anyone
or anything
(except with my necklace,
when I think about you)
and you are still plucking away
at my strings,
so softly
that I almost didn't notice

I guess I'm too familiar with the sound
to ignore it

What shines in darkness like a hopeful light.
Who brings an end to a tunnel so long.
A never ending mire so deep and thick
Who's tendrils snag, snarl, deceit and creep.
The Mind, the Body, all obscured by smoke.

But yet a light appear here in the moor,
A friend who's beckon calls to you once more.
Come now from this land in a warm embrace
With words so welcoming to you, a call
that wraps you tight and warms your every bone.

So call out to your friends, your words can help.
For words alone do help them such as light,
to show you care and lead them home with love;
a path cut through the reeds, and weeds, and mud
Which leads them out and back into the fold.

Huddled in the shower
The hot spray mingling with my tears
As I gaze back
Through the shattered years
Trembling and shaking
I saw you today
I ran and hid
Tried to think you away
I thought I was fine
I thought I'd healed
Thought I'd recovered from
The power you used to wield
You stole my sanity
I was just a little girl
Who'd never had a father
When you entered my world
For eons you used me
You dragged me into hell
And when I escaped
I thought I'd get well
Almost two decades
Have came and gone
But today I discovered
My mind is still wrong

Please don’t call me beautiful
when your hands are between my legs,
and god forbid you say it as a seg-way
between you’re so hot
and my caution, your response
you’re sure you don’t want to?
I’m pretty sure the way my body looks,
nineteen and stress-infused with an Oreo belly
isn’t really what you pictured beneath my blouse,
and I’m positive you didn’t listen
to the story about my dad and the bad prom dress
because you cared. It was just sentiment. You said it was beautiful,
but really you wanted me to believe the act
like a description in the Playbill
and ride that trust all the way until the curtain dropped.
Please don’t call me beautiful
when the word ******* is before it
or if we are ******* because making love
is for married couples and you don’t even want me
sticking around for the ****** sunrise that peers
underneath your shade every morning.

Tell me I’m beautiful when I’m crying—
crack me open and watch the colors bleed
like a painting that hasn’t dried. Admire
the light that peaks through the clear parts
like a windowpane, no blinds.
Tell me I’m beautiful when I’m laughing,
when I’m reading my favorite part of a book,
when I’m stuffing my face with peanut-butter
pretzel bites and I haven’t washed my sheets in weeks,
and I’ll know you can’t be lying
because I’ve listened to the waves your heart makes
when you’re sleeping and I’ve called your smile
to the surface many times when you’ve tried
to deflect it back inside. You’ll know that
and you’ll know I’m beautiful.  
Call me beautiful
when you’re not even trying.
Call me beautiful when you’re by yourself
and the smell of my hair is still on your pillow,
or the memory of how dumb I sounded
singing my favorite song breaks your heart back
to the best little pieces.