Word.

Standing in the light of your halo

finally I can see

I have loved you for a thousand years

my

flightless bird

because

you take me the way I am

so 

this years love had better last.

So many grains

scattered

to the far reaching corners

of this land

but

I will crawl

until the sinews

of muscles

slack

and

I can raise myself

no more

but

I will gather

every piece

which eludes us

and

reconstruct our hourglass

to turn once more

because

that time was promised long ago

and I will not forget our due.

We are

20,000 leagues

apart

in this void

of foul ocean

still I am reaching

when currents drag

down tired

arms

I take

rancid breaths

and remember

you

shimmering

a pearl

in squid ink

squalls

and

I promise

I will not let go.

There is a circle of fire

they say

where one can lay

themselves bare

in its heat

feel all dirt fade away

after I betray you

I will

wash faithless arms clean

find lips fresh as ever

before they

grazed

another

perhaps

you will absolve me

when I am burnt

and smoldering

a tiny ember

caught in the heat

of a thousand suns

there is a circle of fire

I have heard them say

so I sit for hours

alone

in this tinderbox room

over piles of kindling

striking matches

I will light myself

afire and burn

in this pyre

waiting waiting waiting

for you

and your

forgiveness.

File under: “Songs That Make a Long Distance Relationship Feel A Little Easier.” Thanks, Chris Carrabba. <3

I walk

down moonlight miles

and find

that the constellations

you love

are lingering

stars long since

extinguished

burn so bright

I am sad

to know they are gone

but less concerned

because some things

cannot last

forever

but our

bones

will be here

long

after they are buried

porcelain

perfection

strung up

in museums

to be remembered

as scientific proof

we will be

hand in hand

because this

feeling

when I slide myself

into the crook of

your gentle embrace

on midnight streets

will have lasted

an eternity.

If I have to listen to this song a million times a day, I will.

I did not care

for the weight of it

sinking inside me

a great boulder

the corner of the world

where sky and earth

ought not to meet

instead

sit alone in a crowded room

pushing plates away

unable to swallow

another bite.

Did you know

Venice is sinking

every year

inch by inch

so when your message

reaches me

I feel the plummet

minute by minute

and wonder

is this what it’s like

to sink

from the weight of

the people you carry?

You say those words

and the ground

disappears

I am standing on

nothing

my voice catches

when I hear

the sound

of a door quietly shutting

in this black forest night

I can say nothing

to make you stay

but when the days have passed

from the soft glow of summer

to the bareness of winter

I realize

I didn’t need you

and though I may have

wanted

your presence

I am okay without it.

Inside

a squirming little thing

wrests its way

through all my

secret places

that I keep hidden

all the insecurities

I layer beneath

bold assertions

and

constant reassurance

yes

inside

you are shining a light

and taking pictures

with this lens threaded

into the deepest parts

of me

and I cannot hide.

You ask me to tell you

things which are wholly

indescribable

standing

arms limp 

at sides

across from me

on this summer night

I watch

the retreat of sunlight

to be dazzled by stars

in the cave you sit

we talk of shadows

I see

wind rustling through trees

I feel

warm air embrace cool cheeks

touch rough bark

as it pulses

there is so much life

you do not see

and when I speak of colors

you scream

liar

cover ears

scream

fraud

and I am

because what I say

is not nearly enough

to convey

the beauty of these shapes

all you know are shades

you cannot see this soundless orchestra

a symphony of such color

you will never understand

because

you will not turn around

to see

and I cannot tell you what

red is.

One of the many reasons I rooted for the primates in Rise of the Planet of the Apes… We don’t cherish and honor nature enough. Each generation gets a little better, though. I was babysitting and talking to a six-year-old girl about the antagonist in the Tinkerbell movie. I’ve never seen it, but her sister was watching it in the other room while we drew pictures with crayons and markers together. The little girl said to me, “He’s not a nice man, because he isn’t good to nature.” And, I thought about all of the children’s movies I’ve seen in the past five years or so. Many of them have a strong current of eco-awareness. So, I realized, that is what my generation is doing to effect change: creating the basis for new attitudes about development and pollution and animal testing. Because, change is not easy. It cannot happen over night. People have to change—they have to care enough to make policy and to begin the process and to carry it through to its fruition. I’m proud of my generation for understanding media and using it as a tool beyond entertainment. Good for us. Let’s keep working on that.

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