it has been so long since I last moved,
that I forgot what it means
to take a step forward —
that my feet got stuck to the pavement
& grew roots in its crevices —
that my perception gathered dust &
flightless birds nested in my sentience.
it has been so long since I last moved,
that now
my footfalls echo farther than ever before
& resonate in the depths of my very be(ginn)ing
because this time,
I have nothing to lose.
Beauty
Colorblind
a cardboard-boxed wish,
labeled ‘undaunted’,
next to blood-red pumps,
long faded to rust (& ruin)
the old days —
when her heart still thundered
& the tip of her tongue
suffered no regrets
now
she wonders
if her lips
ever tasted like him.
___________________________
… based on the poem Escapade
Inexplicable
sometimes I do not write about
the depth of my grandmother’s gaze,
the texture of wet sand beneath my feet,
or the way people weave through summer rain —
sometimes all I need to write about
is your murderous fart
and my fight for survival.
Storyli(n)es
such wo(nd)e(r)s you wore
when you pain(t)ed the heart on your sleeve
with shades of dignity & grace,
just to break the surface.
On The Far Side Of Neverland
on his sandpaper skin
you could see the scars of
all those missed trips to Neverland —
all those moments when
he wanted to be Peter Pan
but could not bring himself to fly
& with his earthbound grip
he built his foundation, solidly
on the slopes of a childhood dream
while his twinkling eyes
still sought Peter Pan
in the ever-changing skies.
Into The Gray
she shivers in the rain —
watches fragments of a promise
turn to asphalt tears
& swirl away to mingle with secrets
far beyond her grasp
she shivers in the rain —
while stoic words of an outcast
drip from her lips &
her tongue savors the sharp edges
of those foreign sounds
that taste like braille
time trips over itself
as she traces
the seams of quilted past
soon to be ripped once more
& all the while
she shivers in the rain.
From Ashes
do not bow to the voice of a broken heart
when you sway on the branches of willow’s siren song,
but follow the call of hope beyond today
and be a Phoenix, once more.
Between The Lines
sometimes I lose myself in
star-cross’d lovers & 1984,
Winterfell & Dolores,
Mount Doom & 42 —
and my mind gratefully trickles
into every nick and dent.
Solstice
I saw your words’ first dawn
on a crisp day of pending woes
& in your eyes, reflected,
the sky’s limit ~
piercing blue.
in these overbearing times
my gaze stays fixed on the horizon
and I gush forth ~
to whatever end.
Phoenix
despite your broken wings
you touched the sky
fier(cel)y —
in all your forms.
Unaccustomed
once, I was wrapped in
a symphony of daffodils, milky white
on vibrant skin &
nothing
could keep me
from facing the sun.
(Un)Bound
it is not the rose’s thorn, buried deep
in your nature’s thumbprint
nor midnight’s misty mutiny, that drips
unto your earthen feet —
but the sting of loss, mirrored
in the chasms of your eyes
as you grasp Understanding
by its vulturous neck
& free yourself from torment.
Pebbles In Time
once
I buried you
in the shallow waters
below the bridge &
when I hung my head in shame
I could see your frown deepen,
touched by the current
your gaze lingered
throughout the years, never wavering
beneath those watered-down ripples
while I closed my eyes
& burnt my heart
now
you & me
gather pebbles from the riverbed
(like long-lost treasure),
for they cradled your love for me
while I was Gone.
___________________________________________________________
For my Friend (capital “F”). Thank you… from the bottom of my heart.
Never ever want to lose you again. xx
Going Home
fading bruises shape butterflies
that flutter from my lungs
to mingle with honeyed visions
& the pale air
I am whole now
in a broken kind of way –
& after all
the bonds will hold.
(Twi)Light’s Tale
bathing in the ocean’s womb
I once saw the moon in tears,
and to mermaid’s silken song
darkened sea became her tomb.
no more stars winked in the night
while the ocean swallowed whole
echoes of abandoned dreams,
for the moon had lost her light.
down below she dwelled for years,
nursed her wounds with flowing sand,
’til, one day, the sun came forth,
dipped his rays into her fears.
and the darkness fled her veins
while he spread his warmth with care
one last sea salt tear she shed ~
to this day, their love remains.
Another Wandering Soul 