when my heart beats

right next to yours

I witness the glee

of promise

my entire day folds right into

this fleeting moment

I continue to live

only for the next

dance of we

I feel like a flea

escaping my host

searching for another

to carry me off to distant lands

far from my pain

healing is too hard

looking for a tear in my reality

to fly right through onto oblivion

it wouldnt be my first flight

I have pitched camp in hostile territory

ploughed fields I did not own

drowned myself in false identities

huddled by traditions feet

wanting for a warm embrace

only to leave hollow and hungry

I want to come home

to my pain

sit with it

understand it

learn from it

embrace it for

it is mine

I gather all my parts

into a whole person

A lady walks down the street with a little girl in tow. She looks at her daughter’s face as it morphs into that of a wolf. Frightened, she lets go of her hand. “What’s wrong, Mummy?”, says the girl. “It’s okay, dear. We just need to get you home soon”, says the lady. They hurry along. The girl runs ahead, then her legs turn into flippers. Her mummy picks her up and shrouds her with her coat.Even then she knows it’s too late. The metamorphosis has taken root earlier than expected. A beam of light shot right through her daughter’s chest into the heavens. Frantically, she ducked into the foliage. She tried to shield her from the rays, nearly smothering her girl in the process. She could feel her body lift underneath her. She was losing her grip on her torso. Screaming hysterically, she dug her heels in but there was no traction. Now it was just her arms she held onto. “Don’t worry, Mummy. I will be back soon” said the girl as droplets of gold ran down her face. As her fingers slipped away, she watched her girl float off towards the sun. “What will you be?”she whispered.

when I see you run headfirst

into the wind

arms behind you like a cape

beaming from ear to ear

paying no mind

to where your feet go

I witness purest glee

a happy learner

willing to fall

for the thrill

whether its recorded or not

measured not by likes

but by heart rate spikes

when you trip over

we have a little cry

for you to turn around

and charge again

no one’s keeping score

We began in a sac

sticky told me you were there

my hands got to shaking

one swing of the lever

switched onto a different track

we jiggled and giggled

danced away the blues

you dropped in my lap

I swaddled you in my love

you wriggled little hands free

frantically I tucked them back in

facing devastating headwinds

plodding along in a snowstorm

thank heavens

we are safe, finally

warm and toasty by the fireplace

you crawl from wrappings

babbling away at all you see

I blew a bubble

and in we went

happy as clams

singing wheels on the bus

as we lifted higher

nestled in the basket beneath

basking in golden hues at dusk

floating above bad weather

getting closer to the moon

can’t wait to see you

take a bite out of big cheese

every time we get together

I melt away

fading off the page

an invisible character

I get back home

retrace my outlines

then I cough

to marvel at my ripples

surface dripping in color

crisis bleeds all over the scene

history peeks through

beneath crusty layers

I turn it over

keen to see the blank

ignorant starting point

but its not unblemished

tiny bruises from where

the exterior leaked in

undermining sanctuary within

one man

stands guard at the door

single though he springs from many

watching over this gateway

sworn within

never yielding

whilst they walk on by

this remnant of a terracota army

refuses to retreat

staring down hardship

bound to love

though life takes away

its intrinsic nature

to replay seasons is evident

when excess sweeps in

his chosen vocation is glorified as truth

I bid you adieu

please hasten your return

to the floating pile of garbage

you originated from

it turns out

spilling your guts out

to a wolf

does not make them a sheep

instead you watch them

greedily gobble it all up

and demand more

I woke up rich

no, I did not win the lottery

as my eyes rolled behind closed lids

fluid washed scales away

to reveal celestial strings

criss-crossing the present

between the material

evidenced the unseen

celebrating escape

from tangled being

accepting the ninety nine times

I thought wrong

to get here where I see right