you made me think twice about my life choices, you stopped the hurricane in my mind and cradled a storm for me to fall into

you said the ocean was too deep for the likes of me

so you let me drown in a sip of tepid water,

that one sip was you

just a thick poison in your sweet affection, coated sugar served its purpose

your hands buried in my skin, your whispers sinking into the brain

lips against soft flesh and meaning lost in hollow bones

the punishment felt like a prize

until there was no more me for you to take

leaving me with new lines but without a shape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYluMAO1b7Y

I want to touch your soft rain

love your smile, feel your heart

breathe fresh air of you

love you beyond reason

walk into you

with eyes

open.

like a midnight breeze

that swept in

through my open window,

you were here

and then you were gone

fluttering the windowsill

and my heart

taking with you

a sliver

of my love

and carrying it up

to the moon.

-

-

-

☽

Kiss the galaxies of his yet unborn universe slumbering in his soul and blaze them awake.

Hold his eyes, weave your fingers in his till you both are so tangled together there’s no way to know what it feels like to be alone or lonely anymore.

Love him and make the world yours.

Atom to atom, bond together with no spaces in between.

Then, set the world on flames and build your fortress from golden ashes born from the death of stars.

Rise as phoenixes from depths of hell, spread your scarlet wings across the expanse of sky blue above.

Grip the world with your hand and kiss him

With life, with everything.

Taste sweet victory sharp, vivid on your toungue

and then, go beyond.

It is ok to go where you go, I will tag along.

It is ok to bend to your will, I am not rigid.

It is ok to chase your dreams, mine will wait.

It is ok to be happy, I am happy too.

So long as you do not confuse love with weakness, then

I will be your Huckleberry.

you are more

than a mountain

to be climbed over

not a trophy

to be mounted

on an unforgiving

wall who calls

you broken

you are whole

despite your

cracking skin

you are beautiful

you always promised you’d come back.

always whispering in my ear,

i’ll never leave.

so righteous, i thought you were.

so where did you go?

when i was breaking, where did you go?

where were you?

Your voice still echoes in my ears

somewhere around my heart

in the pit of my stomach

in my knees

pulsing on my neck

where the breath

of a kiss not given lingers.

Your voice still echoes in my ears

whispering softly

words you will never say

as your hands caress me,

your arms embrace me,

as softly, gently as the dream

in which they occur.

Your voice still echoes in my ears

with promises of love

that wasn’t and will not be

feeding a hunger

for the taste of lips that lie

with every breath

in the hollow echo of your silence.

You

were there,

constant

and

faithful

like

Night follows Day

and

Day follows Night,

until

You

followed

the

greater light

of love

to

eternal

shimmering stars.

You

were a light

like

the coral glow

of the Sun

that pierces

the onyx veil

of the

slumbering sky,

until

You

slipped beyond

the curtain

of life and death

to sleep

in peace,

immortal.

You

were there,

holding my hand

as we traversed

the stoney path

of life,

lending an arm

as a

steady brace

against

the steep ascent

of the trail

dashed by

scattered boulders;

remnants

of life’s landslides

that would

cause some

to turn back

and give up,

until

You

de-parted

at the

Y

— at the mark,

to journey

beyond

the dust and ash

of earthen foundations

and their boundaries.

You

were there,

butting up

against

my best and worst,

like bookends

as

we balanced

the all

of our story

between one another;

between

the

Me and the You

My beginning

always

found its end

in

you

and

you

echoed

the all

of my essence,

held

within

the strength

of

your substance,

until

You

let go

and

the volumes of our life

collapsed

upon one another

and the weight

of your absence

crushed my heart

like a delicate

flower’s petals

P r E s S e D

between the

ink and words

that spoke of us;

the same inked

memories

that

p

a

r

c

h

e

d

m

y

s

o

u

l

,

e

m

p

t

i

e

d

of

every last tear;

drying me

in an eternal state

of withering away;

still present

among the living,

but

fragile

to the slightest touch,

movement,

even

to the

breath of life,

itself.

Viewing

the world,

askew,

from

blurred,

tear-filmed eyes;

like wax paper windows

holding my fragile

being

together

just as the

momentos

of funeral sprays

that smell

of

sickening, sweet

decay;

I

am caught

between

the thin wax sheets

of the

before

and

after

YOU.

Like bookends.

You

captured

every word

that I spoke,

jotting it,

eternally,

upon the pages

of your mind,

until

You

slipped

from the grasp

of life;

the quill

that wrote your story

floated, aloft,

upon

the

breath

of the Angels

as

You

found sanctuary

within

the secret place

of dwelling,

tucked against

the wings

of

The Angel of the Lord,

ETERNAL BOOK ENDS

where

the final chapter

drew to a close

and our story

found

its

end.

Now,

all that remains

of

YOU

are the

fading scents,

pictures,

objects,

and memories;

recollected

and held tightly

to avoid

the inevitable

slow-fading

as time washes

over

the rock of my heart;

a heart set firm

to hold

all of

YOU

within me

for always,

yet,

as time flows

against my will,

cascading

upon my resolve,

it wears away

the jagged and raw edges

of the grief

found

at the end

of the tale

that was

ours.

Every tear

that tumbles

across

the stone,

etched

with two dates

upon it

and

separated

by

the

- hyphen -

of your life,

softens

the memories

and smooths

the ragged,

piercing quartz

to

polished marble;

glimmering;

embodying

the

reflection

in my

eyes

of

YOU.

and the cold stone

of your tomb

holds

the end

as the

memorial stone

of my heart

holds

the beginning

of

life

without

YOU

like

MARBLE BOOKENDS

atop

the mantle

of my hearth.

you brave pyramid-builders,

it seems you ask to be crushed, your bodies

are so fragile, yet you continuously rise

above the surface, above cracks of pavement, above

even us.

we live separate lives from you, and with apathy

we rejoice in your downfall;

we kings of destruction,

crushing your cities

yearning only to feel

closer to god

you have no feeling, and yet

you perservere: with each anthill you rise above,

no matter how many sneakers

topple your pyramids, you stubbornly continue

on, we sigh at your bravado, wishing we could

live apart

& yet

maybe you wish, just once, we would see you as ourselves

crouch down to your level and watch

as you bring our unwanted crumbs to your hungry families,

we are not so different, you & I,

we both want the same things

keep building up your castles, never stop dreaming,

colonize in the most bothersome of places- give us a glimpse

into the monotony of your complex lifestyles. maybe this time

we will listen. maybe this time

we will hear your humble cries and

grant you life.