I'm Not Even Catholic

Confession is good for the soul, 
-so they tell me-

admonish: admit and absolve.

How can the burdens

you're carrying lighten,

if you don't take the steps to resolve? 

But there are some words 

that land hard on the tongue,

refusing to come when they're called.

And there are some sins 

that Hail Marys can't fix,

so it seems my confessions have stalled. 

Ponce de Leon Kind of Love

Years will not age us, 

We're eternal: youth in love.

We will never die.

Princess Bride Kisses

Princess Bride kisses 

and couch cushion dreams,

resolve to resolve 

what's been ripped at the seams.

Sew up each tear 

and each tear wipe away, 

start a new journey, 

the first step's today. 

Oil the tin man 

and borrow some heart, 

don't fear the critics;

fear the unactored part. 

Know your roll and keep rolling, 

the moss won't dare grow, 

ask questions- keep asking- 

or you'll never know. 

Volume One

There are volumes 
in my glances, 
and tomes 
in every touch. 
Listen carefully 
as I whisper, 
the history of love 
is written 
on every syllable.

The Dark and Hollow Places: A Found Poem

The stars spin outside, 
chasing dawn across the sky. 
Clouds have blown in, 
low and pregnant with snow.

Tell Me

Tell me something,

anything,

so that I can see your world 

through a clearer lens.

List off your favorites, sure,

but also tell me how the sand feels 

between your toes

and how your body dances with waves 

long after you are dry.

Tell me how you hate airports 

because they mean goodbye,

and that you have never forgotten 

the smell of your grandmother's house, 

like pancakes and lilacs and jewelry polish.

Tell me something,

anything.

Tell me how you call the dj 22 times 

to win Spice Girl tickets-

and how that still isn't 

the most embarrassing thing you have done.

Tell me how your father never hugged you, 

but that your mother held you too tightly.

Tell me of the nights you spent on the roof, 

wishing for someone else's life.

Tell me something, 

Darling.

Don't for a moment consider your minutiae 

anything less than extraordinary. 

Tell me.

Raspberry Pie

I sing sugar and flour and cinnamon,

My voice, whipped cream in a chopped pecan world;

raspberry pie in a world of knives and ovens.

Shhh...

You are my secret still,

spirited away in shadows of me 

that have not yet seen the sun. 

Someday soon someone will notice

the soft smile in my eyes,

silently fluttering hands.

I sing our song to myself,

knowing that you will sing it too.

Secrets never stay in shadows,

they reach their arms to the sun.

The Honey Thief

She had held him 

in the arms of her thoughts, 

then took a shower 

and scrubbed the strangeness 

from her skin. 

How big 

could her sadness be 

for something 

she had never known? 

"In another life," 

she thought,

"I'd live off the land with you 

and eat only honey."

Fiend

I am an addict-

Twitching and aching with need.

Love, you are my drug.

Paraku #11- Sara Bareilles

Just let the words out;

I want to see you be brave.

Say what you want to.

Wonderful

It is no wonder I cannot tell you who I am. 

I am a thousand selves, 

and each one dies 

to make room for the next. 

Each day brings more of me,

and I have not yet seen a day dawn

without a new attribute unearthed.

It is no wonder I cannot tell you who I am,

no-

the wonder is that you have always known.

Dictionary Dreams

Our lives 
are just the abridgment 
of our dreams. 
Keep dreaming, 
my love, 
for there is so much more 
than you yet know.

Poetry

Whether it is 
the child of overflowing joy 
or the shadow 
that follows a shattered heart, 
poetry looks, 
always, 
like scars. 
A part of my soul, 
distinct and permanent.

Poem

I said, 

"I want to be a poet," 

but 

what I meant was 

"I want to be your poem."

Chief Among These

I dream of feathers and arrows,

a great man whose pride stands him tall.

A pile of sticks cloaked in fire:

inevitably, it will fall.

Peace Be With You

her rage laid waste to angels

and shook the ceiling of heaven,

but when she slept,

she was Peace itself. 

Never Say Forever

Your forever is shorter than my someday,

Your always is less constant than my maybe,

And darling, your never has already come and gone. 

Whaddya Call It

I do not know what they are called-

The silences between each beat of my heart-

But I do know that each one of them 

is filled by your name.

I do not know its name-

The color of the constellations in your eyes-

But I know that it will always 

be my favorite hue.

I do not recognize the landscape,

The hills and valleys that race outside our windows,

But I know that it is all the home 

that I will ever need.

The Footnote

You will be remembered only 

as a footnote on my eulogy. 

Everything you are is me, 

and I am all you will ever be. 

Beaten Heart

You are my heart, Love
even on days I forget

I still possess one.

I Can See Clearly Now

You were the sunshine,

I was the darkness.

You were my lifeline,

and I was your weakness.

I was the raincloud

to your silver lining,

you were the bricks

and I, ivy vining. 

You were the headline

who just let me open,

you were the first star

who made me keep hoping.

You &(In) Me

Who are you my darling?

just as crucial: 

who am I? 

What of me's reflected 

in the glimmer of your eye? 

Which dimple hold my secrets, 

which hand might hold my heart? 

Which curl the one 

that gets a tug 

while we are miles apart? 

Which words that tumble forward

are echoes of my own?

What seeds of mine will flower now,

for they have all been sown.

How shall I be remembered,

as your first and greatest love?

I'll be your home forever, sweet,

you fit me like a glove. 

Green Fairies

Our love made storybooks jealous:

the fairies were green with it, dear.

Our song made angels start humming,

it beckoned to all that could hear. 

Our love made the black skies seem starry

and gray skies, the clearest of blue.

Our song made choirs of flowers;

the trees ached to carry our tune.

Our love made castles of shanties, 

made drives through the snow holy quests.

Our song keeps time with my heartbeat-

of all songs, I like it the best.