Beauty

Beauty

Beauty is only skin deep,
So cut me and I’ll bleed for you.
Take away my eyes and smile
And leave behind nothing of grandeur,
And you’ll still see the beauty that pumps through my veins.
For I am not just what you see on the outside,
I am rather more than that.
I am words and music and song,
Pictures and laughs and smiles.
I am a part of you,
Just as you are a part of me.
And I am so much more than the separate pieces,
I am the sum of the parts, the whole.
I am the wind that whistles through the trees,
The gushing stream, the laughing brook.
Beauty is only skin deep,
And I am beautiful through and through.

Rain

Rain

I was born into rain
And in rain I remain.
A cloud hovers above my head,
And raindrops sprinkle down with every step.
I can bring down your mood
With one quick rain shower.
Baby, that’s just the power
I hold.
I am rain but I’m also the rainbow
That rises after the storm.
The calm that sweeps in before the hurricane
Is a part of me also.
I’m the flood waters that cover your roads,
That force you to struggle
To reach your cars in the morning.
I’m the sun showers and the thunderstorms,
Two sides of the same coin
Flipping listlessly forever, on and on.

My Words

My Words

Why can’t I just confess?
The words stand on the tip of my tongue
like divers ready to slip into the waters of your mind.
But when I move to release them,
they slide silently back down my throat
to burn and stew inside my chest.
I can no more force them out
than learn to fly.
They can not slip past these lips
though I strain and strive,
I feel as if my words are alive.
With minds of their own they cower inside,
refusing to move when I look in your eyes.
So ask not what I’m thinking,
for my own tongue will betray me.
Instead let my lips and hands
tell you what you need to know.

Perfection

Perfection

Fingers brush my wrist,
rubbing softly
to show your love.
We’re both drunk off sleep
lying here in bed,
my head against your chest.
I listen to your heartbeat.
Neither of us wants to move,
your hand breathes fire onto mine.
That is such perfection.

Thinking of You

Thinking of You

We lie in silence
eyes burning holes into each other,
your hand against my arm.
You ask me what I’m thinking,
but I just shake my head
and we let it drop.
You lay your head on my hip,
our heartbeats the only noises
breaking the warm, still silence.
I know I’ll kick myself later,
for not breathing out those words
in time with your lips:
“I’m thinking of you”.

Tale as Old as Time

Tale as Old as Time

It’s a tale as old as time:
Girl meets boy and falls head over heels in love,
Sits down and writes rhyme after rhyme,
But his emotions she can’t move.
Girl falls hard and boy doesn’t know,
He stays ignorant to her amorous ways.
And when girl confesses to her beau,
He just smiles at her and turns away.

Here’s to Teenage Romance

Here’s to Teenage Romance

Here's to teenage romance
and not knowing why it hurts like hell.
Here's to holding hands and making plans,
And going days without speaking a single word.
Here’s to cuddling and smiling and laughter and all that,
And to getting depressed when he doesn’t call.
Here’s to mixed signals and sleepovers,
To love that’s so confusing you just wish you understood.
Here’s to my heart being put out on a limb again
So please don’t break it.

Teenage Romance

Teenage Romance

Happy on the outside,
But I’m hurting deep within.
There’s a pain inside my eyes
That doesn’t show outside my skin.
I’ve got a smile painted on,
It keeps the tears at bay.
And every one just passes by,
It’s like this every day.
You’re burning on the inside,
But no one else can tell.
So here’s to teenage romance
And not knowing why it hurts like hell.

To End Suffering

To End Suffering

A fly lay twitching,
Legs spasming and wings still
There on my paper
Slowly dying.
I slid my finger underneath him,
Lifted the small creature to my eye.
And yet he just twitched,
Silent but barely moving.
So I quietly smushed him
Between my forefinger and thumb;
He left a golden smear
Across my finger.
I placed his peaceful body on the windowsill,
And there he’ll rest
Til cleaning comes.

Poetry Sestina

Poetry Sestina

The girl looked up from her poetry.
In the early dawn, her eyes
Were two pinpricks of bright light
That shone in morning darkness.
Her pen scratched across the paper
And she bit her lip in silence.

The entire house, bathed in silence,
Seemed almost to quiver in the darkness.
A boy stepped through the doorway into the light
To lean over the girl’s paper.
He scanned the words in her poetry,
But refused to meet her eyes.

Suddenly, lightning flashes in her eyes,
Her harsh words break the silence
And she snatches away the paper.
Her face is coated with darkness
As she reaches over to turn off the light,
Fleeing the room with her poetry.

Outside in the early dawn darkness,
She leans against a tree and closes her eyes.
Her hands clutch tightly her paper
As if to shield and hide the poetry
Within. The boy inside the house sits in silence,
As the sun bathes the world with its light.

She blinks in the sudden light,
Watches the boy approach with narrowed eyes.
He mumbles an apology for reading her poetry
And offers to buy her new paper.
They wait in the dreadful silence,
All she shows him is darkness.

She stands and offers him the paper.
“It’s only a study of darkness,
Nothing more.” He watches with wide eyes.
Then, with a quick motion, takes the poetry
And sits down to read in silence.
His mind fills with a perfect light.

“Darkness seems beauty”, her eyes
Widen as he breaks the silence, blocks the light
With the paper in his hand and kisses her. Poetry.

Rage and Rave

Rage and Rave

And you,
You would let me rot here,
Let me dissolve into nothing.
I will not stay chained.
This will not be my final stand,
Believe me.
I’ll rage and rave and burn
Like a village set aflame.
I’ll fight and not give up,
Til all hope is lost
And nothing’s left for me.
Is there anything left for me?

A Villanelle for Sadness

A Villanelle for Sadness

My child, shed no tears,
Do not let anything move you to cry,
Though things will tempt you through the years.

My words will calm your fears,
If you listen then please try
To stem your flow of tears.

Let your smile bring you cheer,
Let you look up to the sky
And be heartened through the years.

Hands on the wheel you’ll steer,
Though many will ask you why,
Do not let them see your tears.

You may be tormented by your peers,
And on the inside want to die,
But hold on, through the many years.

The meaning now is clear,
My child you’ll get by.
Do not let them see your tears,
You are stronger than your years.

You’ve Broken Me

You’ve Broken Me

You’ve already shot, killed, and buried me
So why don’t I come back to haunt you?
My face hardens into an expressionless mask
At the mere mention of your name.
Your face still haunts my wildest dreams
But my heart is broken
And my soul is burning.
Don’t pretend to love me if you don’t.
But remember,
I bruise easily…
And you’ve broken me.

Not Knowing

Not Knowing

Not knowing is worse than regretting.
Never saying, always keeping
Everything bottled up inside,
Would be terrible always wondering
Never knowing what could have been.
I’d rather let it all s spill out
And then regret it later,
Rather sleep at night
Than lay awake and wonder.

Painting My Life

Painting My Life

I paint my life
One panel at a time,
One color after the other,
One step then the next.
One shape, one shadow
And another to the mix.
My hand is steady around the brush,
Strokes filling the blank expanse of my future
And painting out a path ahead.
The light will dim and fade,
Eventually – my eyes squinting
To try and focus on the canvas before me.
And the light will disappear
As I put away my paints,
Wash brushes and hang aprons
Before a finished canvas,
And lay down to sleep.

Pathway

Pathway

The wrong path.
No such thing,
When life is like a pathless wood
And you wander aimless,
Till you find your way.
I sit with my chin in hand
And contemplate how I’d love,
Love to get away for awhile
And leave Earth only to return,
And start over again.
A clean slate
Would be much appreciated.
But don’t get me wrong,
This place is just perfect for love.
It’s perfect to lie in late at night,
Waiting for calls that never come
And dreaming of being somewhere
Where you could be together at all times.

Sky Dreaming

Sky Dreaming

How do you describe the blue of sky?
Such a vibrant, glorious thing
So solid-looking, almost tangible,
Like you could reach out your hand
And grab a chunk of it.
How can the others not notice it?
They pass underneath completely unaware
Of the broad expanse of dry ocean above.
The little square I see out my window
Hangs motionless,
Free of clouds,
A bright contrast to the white buildings below.
If I could I’d reach right up
And capture you a handful,
To help remind you of how glorious the day was
When we met.

Death

Death

Death
Will be like an eternal sleep,
Eyes closed
Against the burn of day.
Like twilight falling
On silent sleepy towns,
As dark conceals the world.
Like roses wilting,
Strewn across the hard unforgiving ground
As summer comes to an end
And fall begins.
Death
Will be like going blind,
An expanse of darkness
With no chink of light
To show the way.
Like losing yourself and finding
Something different,
instead

My Calling

My Calling

Love calls me to the pen,
To the blank expanse of paper,
The scratching as my hand flies,
The spill of ink like raindrops,
The florid and the fine.
Love calls me to the page,
To the words marching
Like soldiers across an endless sea of white,
To the click of rhythm in my head.
I am summoned by the need, the want
To describe and record and illustrate,
That need deep in the soul
To constantly remember.
And I am called, like Shakespeare,
Like Shelley and Plath and Carroll,
And all those who came before me,
To watch and know and learn
And to share with those who can’t see it.
So I write, and I write
For you and for all those who
Don’t understand what they see,
Those that read and lose themselves,
Who smile at words
And remember.

To the girl I left behind…

To the girl I left behind...

If I could have warned you
That there were worse things
Than skinned knees and broken bicycles,
Believe me I would have.
I’d have shielded you from the harsh words
Of people who didn’t even know you,
From the soul-crushing insults and laughter.
I’d have told you boys would hurt you,
That they’d make you trust them
And then break your heart
And never think twice.
I’d have helped you understand that parents don’t listen
And they don’t understand,
That some people are so shallow
That they’ll always hate you.
I’d have warned you about high school,
Told you how much pressure it is,
So much pressure.
But I couldn’t,
And I can’t.
And you’ve learned,
Well we’ve learned
And grown.

Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

Like a zombie,
Eyes blank and expressionless,
Unfeeling and unknowing,
You march onwards.
No tears shine in your long-dead eyes,
The world is over for you.

You’re falling down the rabbit hole,
You’re on your way
You’re on your way.
You’re falling down the rabbit hole,
It all will end today.

I’ve been reaching for you
But you’ve traveled too fast,
Your legs stretching, flexing
As you strive to get away.
There’s no rope to throw you now,
The world is over for you.

You’re falling down the rabbit hole,
You’re on your way
You’re on your way.
You’re falling down the rabbit hole,
It all will end today.

Conversing with my Converse

Conversing with my Converse

And when I’m all alone,
Locked up in my room
With my headphones blasting
And my thoughts on silent,
I’m conversing with my Converse
So knock before you enter.
When I’m lonely and no one calls,
My Converse sit and listen
And they never interrupt.
Yes unlike you, my Converse
Let me speak my mind
And don’t judge me at all.
They don’t stereotype and they don’t laugh
When things come out jumbled.
So I sit alone in darkness,
Writing poetry and more
And my plain and simple Converse
Converse with my some more.

Love, austere and lonely...

Love, austere and lonely…

Love, austere and lonely,
A dozen wilted roses
Set out to sea.
Love, a sharpened razor,
A thousand thorns
tearing, ripping
Your heart to shreds.
Love, a crushing stone,
A heavy weight
Upon your chest.
Love, a dream deferred,
Unrequited,
Withers and crumbles to dust
In my hands.

Lament

Lament

I hope your heart is beating
Perfectly in time with mine.
But I don’t know if you’re sitting there,
With me on your mind.
And I don’t know if you want me,
Cuz you sound so damn unsure.
And you ask me for her screename
And expect me to say “sure”.
You don’t know how I feel
But I know you have a clue.
So maybe you should listen
When I try to speak to you.

Last Time I Break My Heart

Last Time I Break My Heart

So this is the last time
That I will break my heart for you.
And I understand when you tell me
You still don’t know how you feel.
I’m not afraid that you’re lying
I’m just afraid you’ll never care,
And it’s worse not knowing.
So when I tell you how I feel,
(Don’t worry it’ll take me awhile)
Don’t laugh and don’t turn away.
I just need to know how you truly feel.

Heart

Heart

My heart’s on my sleeve
But I’ll tuck it away,
Hide it from prying eyes.
I’m not ready to give it up again.
This soul inside me has only just healed,
Only just been sewn shut
And repaired.
I’ve built my walls,
Hidden my faults,
And now I’ll try to save myself.

Silent Vigils

Silent Vigils

I have been a ghost,
Silent and transparent,
Hidden by your bedside.
I have watched you as you sleep
And heard you cry out,
Seen you weep for love of dreams,
For want of dreams.
But your empty mind
And cloaked eyes,
Keep you hidden in silence.
And I’ve sewn your heart back together,
So many times when you’ve come to me,
Your life shattered when your love had gone.
I’ve held you hand when you needed it,
Painted your dreams as you slept.
And my thanks is never coming.
You’ll never need me like you needed her.

Thirsting

Thirsting

There’s electricity in the air,
Trees stand silent and majestic
Branches raised high to the heavy laden clouds,
Hanging, large and almost bursting, in the air.
The wind has gone,
Slipping quietly between the branches
And whistling off to somewhere better.
The window at my side is clear,
Lightning flashes in my eyes
And thunder rumbles, low and ominous.
Yet the ground stays dry
And the trees thirst for rain.