(you'll be loved again)

smiling and sobbing do not go together

mostly because tasting her sadness makes her

feel pathetic. familiar tears fill her, blind her.

she scrapes her bare knees as she

stumbles and falls onto the path less traveled.

bits of broken hearts jut out of the broken road

and she sits between pieces. she wants them-

to see if they have her broken edges-

but the ground has a strong hold and bares its teeth

when she tugs at one. bleeding hands cradle her

weary head and she sighs.

she lifts her eyes and sees a small heart,

chipped and broken, glinting in the darkness.

it drowns in her tears; she makes a boat from

her own heart and rescues this drowning soul.

the hearts share a beat and their scars continue each other.

this newfound heart bounds down the path and out of sight,

but she dries her cheeks and picks herself up

and shakes the brokenness from her shoes

because she knows there will be better ahead.

city

a shadow snakes down

a brick building.

its twisted frame winds the

barred windows around its every step,

only to turn away and run to the edge.

stopped, panting, staring at the street below,

wishing for a way to reach it. but

clichéd visions of true escape bolt the

ghost to the wall.

lanky trees yawn and

the breeze snags on their sharp fingers

they waver on skeletal heels and

hold onto to the stars for balance.

they stretch their arms into the sky

and button night coats around their bony bodies,

but clouds bite their hands and

their coats shred and

they shiver in the wind.

faint lines divide the street and

the darkness slices down the middle,

leaving ragged edges and crooked contours.

the city opens its thousand eyes and

gapes its thousand mouths and remembers

when the sidewalks danced and the

buildings laughed and the

music of the trees set the tempo for

surging life.

the city closes its thousand eyes and

closes its thousand mouths and

readies for another

fitful sleep.

lost

the bridge rocked as you

fell to your knees. you peered

through worn slats and caught

a glimpse of your reflection rushing past.

timid lovers who saw your sprawled limbs

changed direction and whispered behind

rapid steps. you didn't know what you were

looking for, so you didn't find it.

the mirror fogged as you

sighed. you tried to see beyond your

desperation so you drew a pair of glasses.

you didn't blot out the middle of the

frames; you knew you would see just two dim eyes.

the fog melted and scribbled thin lines

onto your blank face. you didn't know what you were

looking for, so you didn't find it.

your heart was beaten

blue and black and one day you decided to

zip it shut. every knock and tick and bump that

touched the clasp teased the strings of your soul, but your

mind told you no

so you lost those maybeloves. you lost something you

didn't know you had in the first place.

you know what you're looking for, but you can't find it.

music

you taste the words leaving your

lips but the erupting crowd swallows

your sound and you embrace the old feeling

of believing in a simple verse

of finding that moment of peace and

that instant of understanding how finite

it all is. and the echo of your song

illuminates the shallow outlines of every

face. and the simple realization that you're in love

with music

overtakes you and your soul collapses into itself and

everything becomes clear and once you

feel this

you can never turn back and once you

know that

you accept it and fade into this swelling symphony.

[untitled]

If I could write while I was happy, I'd write about you.

that bottle

searching for answers in the bottom

of a bottle. when you drain the life out

of life you're left with a convex display of

all the things you've let go.

you're far too used to

tipping back your heavy head and

seeing only yourself in that distorted

reflection

instead of something better.

you look for meaning in the bottom

of a bottle. you fashion a telescope from

empty ones but all you see is your own bro

ken eye blinking back.