Goodbye 2016

New year, 

old ghost,

black coffee, 

cold toast.

New paint on 

old walls,

different pictures, 

same halls.

New lyrics, 

old tune,

same old me, 

same old you. 

All Artists are Twisted (Even the Bad Ones)

You've become abstract, love, 

dots on a canvas.

I reach for you, 

I don't know where your hand is.

No matter the distance, 

the picture's distorted-

I can stand here, baby, 

I've re-read and re-sorted. 

You've become abstract, love

but no less a distraction-

the rabbit is safe darling, 

it's non-fatal attraction.

Before I Van Gogh, darling,

just let me say,

I would give my left ear

if it meant you could stay. 

For the Lost Princess

Once upon a time, 

(for our story started
as all the best stories do)

in a galaxy far, far away,

(or maybe not so very far at all)

the stars uncrossed themselves

and we few friends found freedom

fought for it-

paid for it in blood

in tears

in empty chairs around too quiet tables. 

And after everything,

every battle,

every starless night, 

every silent prayer flung into the void, 

the only thing that remained,

still and steady,

was this:

you,
the pivot point 

around which my universe 

wobbles. 

Gravity will never teach me 

how to leave this orbit. 

Car Trouble

I was 
red lights 
and stop signs, 
but you drove 
like you were 
colorblind. 
All you saw 
was open sky 
and open roads- 
is it any wonder 
our tires now spin 
futilely against 
the blue? 
The engine 
overheated and now 
we shiver 
in the cold 
wreckage. 

Haiku 1120

I still prefer you, 

sleep-warm'd and disheveled, Love,

to any other. 

Cold Hands and Cold Feet

Please remember, Love:

We once painted a canvas 

no man could erase.

Whatever Happened to Sitcoms?

A tenuous calm:

the worst days feel like battle,

good days are so few.

Daniel's Song

And if 

the last time 

I held you 

is truly the last, 

remember this: 

my arms will still 

feel the weight of you, 

my eyes will still 

see your face 

in every passerby, 

my heart will still stop,

my stomach will still 

corkscrew-tighten, 

my lungs will still 

deflate 

like my smile, 

every time I discover- 

again- 

that you are 

never 

coming home to me. 

I will always 

be missing you.

The Victors Write the History Books, (The Losers Write the Poems)

I'm a rough draft poet 

but revisionist historian,

I'm searching for a silver frame 

that I can put my story in.

I never change my words 

because they all reflect the now in me, 

But memories I edit 

until they become what they should be. 

The truth is your perspective and the things 

you thought you see in me

has been wildly tainted, painted 

rose-colored and fancy-free. 

So keep red pen in hand and check 

that I have got the story straight-

I'm headed to the presses soon, 

so hurry, it might be too late. 

Haiku 3(81)

You are a first draft:

continue your revisions.

K(No,)w you're never done.

Nothing

She asked,

"What're you thinking about?"

And I answered,

"Nothing."

But you should know:

You are the 

nothing 

I've been thinking about-

and honestly?

I've been thinking about

nothing

for a very long time. 

Wild Ones

They are the wild ones,
elation and despair,
pleading eyes and sticky grins.
They are the wild ones,
the fairy-catchers,
the tutus and boots,
the strong wills in tiny bodies.
They are the wild ones,
and I am so glad-
so very, very glad-
that they are ours.

Let's

Let my too-cold hands 

    find the warmth of your skin,

let me press red nose 

    to pink cheek,

let our giggles 

    warm our hearts 

and our bodies 

    warm each other. 

Let winter winds blow cold,

    for we will be together. 

Homeward Haiku

Empty seats, full tank,

nostalgic songs play loudly.

I am on my way.

Mine

And even after all these years, 

there is nothing you could say 

or not say, 

do 

or leave undone, 

that could convince me 

that you are not mine. 

Three Year Old Wisdom

The inside of your mouth is like music- 

a song that I knew once by heart. 

Your name wrapped itself round the back of my tongue, 

and it sits there, so heavy and dark. 

The blacks of your eyes are like moonbeams-

so wash me in light from your gaze,

Hide me in stars, constellations of dust,

your darkness illuminates days. 

The words that you write are like magic,

cantations to keep loss at bay,

so mutter them, darling, quote under your breath,

and I promise to find you some day. 

If You're a Bird

Sleeping dogs still lie,

Star crossed lovers stay crossed, Love, 

Birds flock together. 

Black Friday

Breathing bated, your heart's desire- 

hold on tight, you love it so.

All the joy of Christmas morning, 

yours, or squandered when you go.

This the moment of your future,

this the remnant of your past,

all the joy and all the longing,

you knew it could never last. 

Happy Little Canvas

Use me as you wish:

I am happy just to be

your canvas, always. 

Multiverse

On any planet,
every single multiverse:
You belong with me.

Beautiful Boy

Beautiful boy, 
do not think- 
not for a single second- 
that you can ever 
outrun my love. 
Do not try to 
leave me, 
dust caked, 
behind you, 
for though my legs 
grow tired and 
my lungs burn 
within me, 
I will never stop 
chasing you. 
I will be there 
in every gasp for air, 
every heavy exhale, 
each footfall and 
every reach of your arm. 
We will finish this race 
together.  

PS

The truth remains, Love:

No matter how long its been,

You still know my heart.

In Case I've Never Told You

It has always been us,

Barbie pink and ponytailed,

secrets whispered in midnight quiet,

songs shared in backseat harmonies. 

It has always been us,

long-distance phone calls and 

hearts so close they beat together,

my tears dripping down your cheeks.

It has always been us,

and you will never know, my friend,

how often I have thanked God 

for your hand in mine. 

The Call to Greatness

Trepidatious love, 

stand on the edge of greatness, 

close your eyes and fly. 

Two Leaves/One Tree

We are two leaves 

from the same tree, 

growing together 

and also apart. 

I want to fall with you- 

let go 

and lie together 

until we are old and wrinkled-

until we are no longer 

discernible 

from one another. 

Let us return 

to the earth that 

once held us. 

We shall be new 

again. 

Haiku 2016

And in the morning,
after our darkest night, Love,
I will still be here.

Opening Night

I wait on this stage

for fate to turn the light on.

The curtain rises. 

Total Recall

Sometimes a scene is all that it takes,

Or a scent or a sound, or my soul.

Sometimes the wind whispers, 

softly, so sage- 

singing that song that we know. 

Sometimes a smile on a stranger recalls you,

though never it warms as it should.

Some nights my slumber stays uninterrupted,

(I'd give you those nights if I could).

Sometimes the sun soaks the sadness from marrow, 

sometimes it washes away. 

Some mornings break with the promise of laughter, 

some days come already frayed. 

Act 5

This is the last act;

We only have this scene, Love. 

The curtains will close. 

A Haiku for Hue

You are every hue-

every color I have known.

My canvas is full. 

Hallowed Haiku

The October wind
 whistles our wedding march, Love.
 White veils mask our fear.

Wendy Darling

Heart of my youth,

how old you have gotten; 

your wrinkles now deep as my love. 

Your shadow is staid, 

while mine dances around you, 

I've watched you grow gray from above.

Heart of my youth,

your adventures are over,

but mine have just only begun.

Your gait is so slow now, 

each footstep unsteady, 

I flit with the ease of the young. 

Heart of my youth,

I remember you fondly,

you come to me often in dreams,

but time passes by you,

it shapes and it alters,

and nothing can stay as it seems. 

Heart of my youth,
we were once bound together,
we faced each new day as a pair.

Now I reach for your shoulder, 

stretch out for your hand, 

and my fingers touch nothing but air. 

Red String Theory

Two halves of one whole;

the red thread left its mark, love:

rope burn on our souls. 

The Blood of Minutes

Every day without you 

is a day wasted: 

it finds me killing time, 

sacrificing hours 

on the alter of responsibility. 

But how could I believe 

that the blood of minutes 

would not stain eternity? 

Seconds fall away like leaves, 

decaying before they land. 

The House Unbuilt

Love is a house unbuilt, darling. 

And though our foundation is strong, 

my arms cannot raise these walls alone. 

So swing high your hammer, 

and freckle your face with paint. 

We will build a life together. 

The Best Intentions

Life is a first and 

final draft- write your story 

intentionally.

In Feast or Famine

Feed yourself well, 

my love. 

Fill yourself 

with goodness, 

so that good bubbles 

out of you 

like laughter, 

so that it seeps 

from every pore 

and pools 

in the dimples 

on small of your back. 

What you have been given, 

share with others, 

and you will always 

have 

enough. 

Semantics

Maybe the problem is we're two romantics-

searching for fate amidst all the semantics,

praying the stars will one evening uncross,

blaming the cosmos for loves that we've lost.

We can find meaning in meaningless acts,

twisting the knives in our unblemished backs.

Maybe we ponder, we ruminate cud, 

searching for answers in wishing well's mud, 

all along we've had the one thing we need:

gratitude often leads hearts to be freed. 

Sleeping Beauty Haiku

We dance in our dreams-

the stars cannot restrain us.

We are effortless.

All Things Work Together

Your love was 

gale force winds, 

and my branches 

could not help but bend. 

We were meant for more 

than the mundane,

but even we could not fathom 

the destruction in our wake. 

And what is more holy 

than an act of God? 

We are washed clean 

in the rising floodwater.

Windswept and Still Standing

Hold on tight, love. 

Tattoo half moons

into your palms, 

white-knuckled 

hairpin-curved 

fingers, clenched. 

Do not loosen your grip, 

though your hands 

grow weary 

and blood springs 

from the crescents 

you have dug there. 

Hold on, 

my darling.

Pull taut the rope 

that anchors 

you to me, 

but do not be 

swept away. 

Weathergirl

I don't believe in 

love at first sight- 

love is never that simple. 

I don't believe in 

love at first sight, 

but baby, 

you made me a believer 

in visions 

because when I met you, 

I could see our future 

so clearly. 

And I am no weathergirl, 

but I knew you 

were the hurricane 

that would finally 

break me. 

Not Enough Poems

There are 

not enough poems 

in the world, 

love- 

not enough words, 

not enough metaphors, 

not enough stanzas 

or meters 

or rhymes. 

There are 

not enough poems 

in the world, 

darling, 

to capture the look 

in your eyes 

when we kiss, 

or the softness 

of your skin 

beneath my fingers.  

There will never be 

enough words 

for you. 

Mona Lisa at Midnight

You.
You are a 
masterpiece 
that not everyone 
can see. 
Like the first time 
you showed your father 
a self-portrait 
in crayon 
and he patted your head 
and told you 
it was a beautiful 
rainbow. 
You 
are Mona Lisa 
at midnight, 
but darling, 
I have memorized 
every 
single 
brushstroke 
across your cheeks 
so believe me 
when I tell you: 
you are more 
than pigment 
on a once-white page. 
You 
are a masterpiece, 
and those 
who cannot see it 
are blind. 

Upon Meeting My Hero

They told me, 

"Don't ever meet your hero, 

because a hero 

can never stand as tall 

on the ground 

in front of you 

as on the pedestal 

you have built for them. 

Heroes are not real people," 

they told me, 

"they are pen on paper, 

scripts and make-up, 

soft filters and good light." 

But I know better. 

I know heroes are real- 

as real as the mother 

who made raising eight children 

look easy. 

As real as the gray doctor 

sitting patiently 

in the college classroom, 

refusing to give up 

until a cure is found. 

Heroes are as real as 

the people across the street 

and down the block 

and sitting in traffic 

next to you. 

They are a seat forsaken on a bus 

and a bag of groceries 

paid for and delivered. 

They are sidewalks shoveled 

and walls painted 

and songs sung to crying children.  

So if you are ever lucky enough 

to meet your hero, 

remember, 

the heroic lives in you, too. 

You have sonnets in your soul 

and epic battles in your eyes. 

You are Jason, 

Hercules, 

Harriet Tubman. 

You are no less feet on the ground 

than head in the clouds, darling,

so do not step down 

from the pedestal 

I have placed you on. 

I Love You (Period)

And after 

we find our 

happily ever after, 

darling, 

give me commas, 

(never stop loving me)

Let us 

never see 

the end of together, 

come what may: 

colons and semicolons, 

alike

Mark my words, 

and I will exclaim 

my love for you! 

Why 

should you ever 

question it? 

Our love 

will punctuate 

the world

23

Then cries my heart, 

for you are lost to me.

Raindrop to River

I slide

slick-

silent down 

sills of sorrow, 

sweet. 

You 

are the river: 

restlessly running 

through the rough 

ragged rocks.

I am only the rain, 

chasing you. 

The Door is Always Open (Just Like Your Mouth)

If you showed up at my door 

ten years from now, 

I would still let you in. 

But I have learned 

not to listen to love songs 

written for other people- 

it only ends in me 

singing the blues 

to an off-beat tune. 

So I'm relinquishing 

your hand-me-down ballads 

darling; 

you can keep them. 

You never were very good 

at keeping your word 

anyway.

Great

The hardest part 

of loving you, darling, 

has always been 

convincing you 

that I mean it. 

Squeeze tight my hand, 

and I will never 

let you go. 

We are destined 

for greatness, my love. 

With you,

I am halfway there. 

Do Your Best (and Other Platitudes)

I will run my own race, 

I will stay in my lane, 

I will give it my all 

despite carrot or cane. 

I will strive for improvement, 

whatever my goal, 

adding pieces to puzzle:

someday I'll be whole.

Hail to the Chief

You do not see 

the color of my skin 

as a threat, 

only the stretch of 

my lipstick smile. 

I would blend into the background- 

to your whitewashed walls, 

if only my hips 

could stop their dancing. 

I am only as dangerous 

as your worst nightmare.  

I Wish

I wish you clear eyes, 

I wish you warm smiles, 

cool evening breezes 

and quick easy miles.

I wish you friendship 

no distance can sever;

a partner in living,

for now and forever.

I wish you safety, 

at home and abroad-

wherever you go, 

the protection of God.

I wish you freedom 

to be who you are, 

that your hope never dims 

like the light of the stars.

I wish you patience 

to wait for the good, 

and a heart full of joy 

not weighed down by the "should."

I wish you laughter, 

adventures and fate,

I wish for you, darling, 

a life that is great. 

Good Nights Turn to Good Mornings

And in the morning

when my skin still smells of you, 

I will know it's true. 

Lightning Kisses

Kiss me electric.

There is power in your lips;

Sparks fly between us.

Song of the Sisy

It takes courage, 

they tell me, 

to step blindly 

into a new adventure, 

without a hand 

to reach for 

in the dark. 

It takes bravery, 

they tell me, 

to push a rock 

up this mountain, 

certain that it 

will succumb to 

gravity's siren song, 

sure that each new morning 

will bring the same 

tedious task 

as the day before. 

It is noble, 

they tell me, 

to carry 

an unending burden, 

knowing that it 

can never 

be set down. 

But darling, 

I am neither brave 

nor noble 

(in truth, I am a Sisy). 

Run away with me 

and we will 

hide ourselves 

from angry gods. 

Melancholy Musing

Deafening silence,

Searching through words long worn thin,

I have lost my muse. 

Fart Poem

The worth of a poet is all in his art

(if you stop creating, you ain't worth a fart).

Age is Just a Number (and So Are Hours of Sleep)

Somehow I lost what I thought was the best of me: 

shiny gold star, well I still have the rest of me, 

my melody soured to noisy cacophony. 

Started out strong but I'm coming in slowly. 

Somehow I missed the award show, I'm prizeless, 

still runner-up every morning I rise less. 

One of these days I'll forget how completely, 

look under my covers if you ever need me. 

Mosquito's Lament

It's an itch that I can't scratch,

won the prize but there's a catch.

Silver linings grayed.

Life's too short to waste on woe,

where you follow, there I'll go.

And nothing gold can stay. 

Little Girl Lost

Sharp pain to dull ache:

the hole never goes away, 

but edges soften.

Shallow

Shallow catch in shallow breath,

shallow grave for shallow death,

shallow dive in shallow pool,

shallow girl loves shallow fool. 

Breaking Point

I never knew, darling;

I was so young and naive.

But I have learned that

broken things can still break-

can keep breaking- 

may continue to break-

long after the first crack appears.

You are not safe from pain 

after the first bruise fades, 

and hearts, once broken

may never heal completely. 

Timeless

Do not speak to me of time.

I hold no worth in ticks and tocks.

I have no patience to track the passing 

seconds, 

minutes, 

hours, 

days. 

Do not speak to me of time,

and it will be as if none has passed.

Dive

Dive in, beloved-
though you cannot see how deep.
Don't you want to fly?

Haiku Hallelujah

It's overwhelming.

My worth is found in your eyes;

Your love defines me. 

Because You Will One Day Leave

It is because of this, darling, 

because you will one day leave me, 

that I love you so ferociously now. 

So forgive me if I hold you too tightly:

I am only memorizing the feel of your cheek 

against my neck in the darkness. 

There will come a day

There will come a day, 

dearest, 

in the too near future, 

when I can no longer 

carry the burden of 

you. 

My arms tremble under you, 

and my back aches 

with the weight of your 

love. 

There will be a time 

when all I can carry 

is your heart 

in my heart, 

dearest. 

My arms will tremble 

no longer, 

and I will ache 

with the weight of 

passing time. 

Hold My Purse

They tell me, 

the past is gone.

But I know that 

we don't lose time, 

we accumulate it: 

seconds add up like 

coins in our pockets. 

Like pennies, 

time gets heavy, 

and I am tired, 

so tired, darling, 

of carrying time 

on my own. 

They tell me 

we cannot go back,

but I know that

we are never truly gone.

Our history stays with us,

etched into our faces 

and folded into 

the creases of our fingers. 

Hide and Seek

You will find it, 

beloved. 

It hides 

under flame-dressed logs 

and in the whisper of leaves. 

It dances 

below the waves kissing the shore 

and sleeps 

between dusty pages of dignified tomes. 

You will find it 

wrapped in a child's laugh,

nestled under white blankets of snow. 

You will hear it 

softly murmur, 

calling your name between dreams, 

until one day, 

you will find it 

buried in your pocket, 

or wrapped around a tendril 

of your hair.  

You will find it.

You will find peace, 

beloved. 

And I will be found there, too. 

Benediction

There are as many 

reasons to dance 

as there are 

raindrops 

in the darkening sky. 

Throw your arms open, 

look up

and receive 

a blinding benediction.