Before The Dawn

back when the hours still churned slowly,
lilies grew in the palm of your hand —
rooting in deep crevices
forged by the strenuous hours of life
& every day I watched you touch their petals
with a fragile little smile, tucked
into the corner of your mouth.

(Extingui)Shed (Haiku)

all the warmth seeps out —
thunder on the horizon,
thunder in her voice.

From Dust ‘Till Dawn

clouds crawl steadily
over your limp form; cracked & chipped
after the dismal desert storm —
it seems like yesterday
has not happened in ages

plastered to the dry dirt, transfixed
by a hyena’s lullaby
you wilt & wait
for forceful hands
to push you deeper

through clotted lips you conjure
a string of allurement, no wider than
a hair’s breath —
but sturdy enough
to get tangled up in.

you never intended
to drown alone.

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Time Traveler

even now
there is no name attached to you;
it never broke free
in those gaunt & barren years
after you met her

so how could I ever
call you mine?

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.

The One That Got Away

I fell through the moment —
even though I clung to it
with everything I had.

letting go is easy, you said,
when you are not used to holding on;
I try to imagine
how it feels.

– present –

Far Off Shore

I remember when
the first words out of my mouth
were not infested by
meandering termites &
my tongue still
felt alive

I remember when
fortune was not just
a four letter word —
but a one way ticket
to favored utopia

I remember when
there was still
laughter in the rain &
my hand did not stray from
touching yours.

– age –

A(path)y

all his qualities came
in varieties of neon black;
neatly folded
into the creases of her exuberance.
her smile faltered
on the morning of their third year
& when push came to shove,
she shoved.

– black –

Of Birds And Bees (Haiku)

in the end, even
your voice was a roundhouse kick —
we started out soft.

– gingerly –

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.

Su(rpris)e Me

when I found you, squirming,
in the mesh of forlorn yearnings,
I taped my resolve
to the tattered lid of an aged cardboard box

& I wait
to be moved to our story’s attic –
alongside your heart.

Deliverance

on the edge of tomorrow
my breath burst into silvery stars &
swelled
to touch the moon’s reflection
in a single tear
that sprang from wonder.

in this muted affection
you can still perceive
a slight trace of home,
calling endlessly.

Dro(o)ps

there you are, speaking
in shivers rather than words
& clouds of unfinished business
fog up the windows
as the windshield wiper erases
not solely rain.

Never Eat A Raisin Off The Floor

attendance is measured in
viscous moments as
one of us remembers,
the other tries to forget –

and minutes pass in starched postures,
escorted by raisin bread and a clipped, “Coffee, black.”
while we wait for sugarcoated words to spell
last call.

Hourglass

for just a little while,
my hindsight got tangled in the sheets.

when I emerged,
I saw cracks in heaven
& you —
deliberately strewn about.

_________________________
photo credits: demilked.com