it is always
mitigation with you,
always putting out fires but
never trying to prevent them
letting the sagebrush grow
just enough that you can
consume it again
but i thought you were the adult
here
i thought being an adult meant
knowing how to love
like really
love without hurting
each other
you yell at me from across
the table &
even in the dim light
i know there are eyes
on us
& in silence i stare at
you & marvel
that of all the conceptions
occurring in the year of 1994,
of all the uteruses &
fetuses to inhabit those uteruses
& consciousnesses to inhabit those fetuses
God decided to give me
to you
it hurts too much to think
there was no method to this
again, you apologize
& allow the act in itself
to forgive you
you snore heavily in the car
as i drive us home.
while you dream i wonder
when i will finally say
it’s okay
Tag: spilled ink
some days
you are silent
& to me it feels greater
than the 3,000 miles
between us.
& in this silence I fear
the worst
& in this silence I feara silence I know well
a silence I have felt
beforewithdrawal of
emotions & words
intended to wound;
in my heart I know
you always callbut I am still learning
to feel silence
as more than a
punishment.
i have nothing left
for you to love
these bones have been bled
dry by eyes
that have taken lifetimes
to understand,
and i
want to leave this world
as nameless as i entered it.
this story is being written
over me
fingerprints, bruises
a spill of cells that swim
upwardthrough me
deliveringlife that wasn’t here
to begin
with.
is it
mine?
i know you love me,
but it doesn’t make me
feel less alonesometimes i want to ask you if
you’ve ever been
swallowed whole by something
entirely separate from yourself
but something you know
was born inside youfermenting in the warm, dark
parts
expanding & shrinking
breathing
feeding
off of words & feelings
you don’t have names or reasons forsometimes i want to ask you
if there are parts of yourself
you’re not sure you can
controlbut
when i look in your eyes
unwavering
like nothing has ever made you
fear
your own mindi know you love me,
i know you will say
no.
i buried my bruises
in an unmarked grave
bouquets, hues of
blacks and blues and
greens
and as i recall each one
you’ve given me, i decide
it’s time for
a proper burial
Be like the Earth. She doesn’t care if you love Her or think She’s beautiful. She continues existing the way She has always existed; She continues doing exactly what She has done since She was born. Some people revel in Her beauty. Some destroy it: they tear Her down and tell Her how She should be and try to change Her to meet their needs. But She does not change; She does not bend. She continues to be how She always has been. The streams that have always flooded continue to flood. The forest fires continue to burn. Droughts continue to dry the land. We blame Her for being herself, for refusing to change for us, and yet She continues on.
Be like the Earth. It is okay to catch fire– it clears crowded places and makes them clean. Let there be drought and flood to allow seeds to germinate and grow. The universe is inside you– do not fear these times. Do not dam the floods within you or try to put out your fires. Let them cleanse you, let them grow you, and no matter what, continue to persevere.
Be like the Earth: cause earthquakes in cities you never wanted built in the first place.
Running in Place
why are we always running
from this?
the galaxies behind
our eyelids. the answers
in our breaths. in-out in-out.
constant. steady. being.
there is a universe
within you;
why are you scared of
getting lost?
High Impact
thoughts thoughts thoughts
thoughts.
high speed train– sparks
fly off the track.
ruminating, tumbling like
clothes in the
dryer.
but the brakes
are not working
and it ends in
fire.
tucking flowers behind your ears
watching the sun dance in the sky
waiting for the air to clear
i never want to leave your side.from this hill we see the town
i twist my fingers between yours
to keep myself from falling down
because your love my soul secures.and when the earth begins to shake
fear will not grip my stuttering heart
because with you i know i’m safe
though the world begins to fall apart.