New Year, Same You

Let me whisper it again, 

(behind the clanging bells 

and chorus cheers, 

under all the glitter 

and every piece of confetti)

listen closely, beloved:

your greatness 

has never been a question. 

Like the sun in the east 

each morning,

and the restless beat 

of the tides, 

you are more constant 

than the constellations. 

So shake off the dust 

of the well-worn year, 

and reach your fingers 

out to grab the new: 

good things wait for you 

there.  

Anesthesia

I will make 

a snow angel 

in the sawdust 

beneath the bench 

where they are 

shaving down 

your pride- 

I will Dance 

in your rough edges 

made smooth. 

Break my wishbone, 

darling,

snap it 

between your too big fingers. 

I will gladly stay awake 

to save on 

anesthesia. 

Mermaid Dreams

Some nights I dream 

we meet each other 

underwater-

two hands 

reaching 

for the same 

shiny coin, 

almost buried 

by seaweed 

and sand. 

I always wake 

with wet hair, 

fingers curled 

around treasure 

that is no longer there. 

Silent Night

Forgive me, darling,

If I love you too loudly-

I can’t hold it in. 

Patience

They are so long, Love,

these endless days of hoping.

Let me fill them now. 

Unwrap

Strip them away: 

the ornaments, 

the adornments, 

every single mask. 

I will cherish what is left. 

You have never seen yourself 

as clearly as I have, beloved- 

you have greatness hidden within. 

Shed yourself of the burdens 

you are cloaked in, 

Love sees deeper still. 

Reverie

In another universe

you pour cream clouds 

into a black coffee sky, 

and smile at me 

as I hand you the jam, 

sticky and red. 

You have forgotten 

to buy the Christmas presents again, 

but darling, we still have time. 

We sit together 

until the dog whines, 

and our reverie is broken. 

A Cold Day in Hell (aka Texas)

Draw me closer still,

I have been cold far too long, 

Warm me in your arms.

You Should Know

What more can I say? 

By now you know: 

I will love you 

on the days that 

you can’t love yourself. 

I will love you 

when your heart is too heavy 

to stay safely in your chest 

and your tears grow tired 

of hiding behind your lashes. 

I will love you 

on days when 

the sun is not warm enough 

to thaw the chill in your bones, 

and on each day that feels 

as dark as any night. 

I will love the pieces of you 

that you have hidden 

away from the world, 

and every single mask 

you wear in public. 

So what more can I say? 

By now, my darling,

you should know. 

Luftballon

Wind out of my sails,

Heart dropped deep into my gut

Your words deflate me. 

Gazebo

I do not need monuments: 

buildings of glass 

or bridges of steel, 

marble images of 

man made perfection. 

I do not need a metal plaque 

on a brick building, 

hard and cold, 

or a name at the bottom 

of gilded frame. 

But

my Love, 

my own sweet builder of 

castles in the sky:

give me a gazebo, 

as eternal as our bond, 

and string from it lights 

as pure as your heart. 

Every New Beginning

Here we are again,

wind-kissed cheeks and watering eyes- 

we have stood at this precipice before, 

daring ourselves to leap, 

stepping back after the first stone fell, 

gasping with wonder and fear and the heartache 

that comes when all that is hard remains. 

Here we are again,

believing that so much more is still possible. 

We weigh feather-soft words against rock solid reality, 

and find them more compelling. 

This is the start of something that has never ended, 

the zenith of the unbroken circle, 

the apex of all we hold silent and dear.

Here we are again,

though we have lived this day like so many of its brothers, 

it shimmers with hope. 

Let all that is white and new and fresh 

begin within us, beloved. 

We will see the dawn painted across a thousand new horizons, 

and we will no longer be afraid. 

December 6

Chocolate and oranges, 

Gingerbread men tucked in shoes:

St Nick has been here. 

Pieces

You told me:
I am broken. 
I am too many 
weary pieces. 
But I told you, 
that only means 
there is more 
of you 
to love.  

Love and Logic

Like the sound of your name 

on your mother’s lips 

or the warmth of the sun 

on your sleep-stained cheeks, 

I hope you know

(that you feel it, beloved)

I love you, 

which is to say:

I will believe 

the very best of you, 

even at your very worst. 

They will say 

this is illogical, 

but beloved,  

your existence has always 

been reason enough. 

And what do 

love and logic know 

of one another? 

Do Not Love Me Loudly

Do not love me loudly- 

hurling my praises toward the garish sun, 

beating my name into your too proud chest, 

shouting to me from peaks too high to hear. 

Do not love me loudly- 

over dishes clanking and knives scraping, 

over radios blasting or orchestras swelling, 

My love, you do not need speak at all.

Just love me quietly, darling. 

Breath my name like a secret, 

etch it on the inside of your favorite book, 

write of me in codes unbroken as our bond. 

East or West, I’ll Love You Best

Who do you write to, 

in the cold and lonely dark? 

Who gets your words, love? 

Thank You Haiku

I am so thankful-

after all these years and miles-

you and I are we. 

Look Ma, Both Hands!

So hold me tightly,

squeeze until I’m breathless, Love.

Some loves need both hands. 

Dilemma

I can go twenty-two minutes 

without you, 

and baby, it seems you’d agree. 

I know you need me, I hear 

your sweet voice-

it’s constantly calling to me. 

I can get done so much more 

when you’re absent, 

in your presence efficiency drops. 

I know the day is approaching, 

it’s coming, 

your need for me someday will stop. 

I dread the silence that waits 

in the distance-

the loneliness feels like a knife.

I know I’m doomed to spend 

my old age waiting 

for the voice that gave purpose to life.

Closet Graffiti

I write your name 

in each closet I hide in, 

I’ve spent my life hiding, 

it seems. 

Sometimes i’ll scribble 

a message beneath it, 

the date or a quote or 

my dreams. 

White walls are canvases 

begging for color, 

a marker makes quick, 

even strokes. 

I leave your mark 

on all I encounter, 

it’s better than matches 

and smoke. 

Someone will find it

eventually darling, and 

wonder who once 

uncapped pen.

They might paint over 

this monument to you, 

I’ll have to start 

hiding again. 

Who Needs a White Knight When You’re the Dragon?

So I will set fire 

to the castle, 

and paint 

the parapets 

in flame. 

Moats will dry 

to dust 

in the inferno, 

and the knight, 

once white, 

will be black 

with soot. 

I will reclaim 

the treasures 

that were stolen 

from me, 

with brimstone 

in my voice 

and scales- 

once more- 

across my chest. 

The day of revival 

and reckoning 

has come. 

In a Cage Fight, I’d Win.

You are

my favorite song on repeat,

the canvas I’m learning to paint, 

rose petals pressed between 

the pages of my favorite book.

I am

a Burger King jingle,

the crayon scribble on a receipt,

dandelion weeds withered against 

a badly rusted fence. 

The Truthful One

I’ve never uttered an ill word about you- 

I couldn’t, and, trust me, I’ve tried. 

Somehow intentions are judged to be false though, 

but which one of us has last cried? 

I’ve never pointed out flaws in your logic, 

and darling, those holes could sink ships. 

I’ve only stood here and doggedly loved you 

and prayed for the truth on your lips. 

Best Haiku Ever

The pirate was right-

death cannot stop true love, and

mostly dead’s not dead.

You Can Be Right (Or You Can Be Happy)

Are nosebleeds quite common, so high on your pedestal, 

tell me- does vertigo call? 

How is the weather so high above towers, 

do clouds ever gather at all? 

Can you see clearly what happens beneath you, 

does distance lend vision a blur? 

Room for one only, you’re right but you’re lonely, 

the curse of the righteous and sure. 

Homeless

So far away now, 

and we keep getting farther:

When will we find home? 

It is What It is.

By now we should know: 

life isn’t- has never been-

will never be fair. 

Winter Warm’d

And the snowflakes stopped, 

frozen in their falling, 

and the trees bent 

to slip their secrets 

into our waiting, enveloped ears. 

And my nose was numb 

and my feet were frozen, 

but my hands—darling, 

my hands in yours, 

have never been so warm. 

On the Bright Side, Rage is Good for Productivity

Silently, I rage.

There is so much to say still, 

but you stole my tongue. 

It’s Hard to Drown in a Desert

Where is the rope, love? 

I’m drowning in the desert, 

where’s the promised light?

Vaguely Specific

I’m so specific, the details all matter, 

like serving it up on a bright silver platter.

I’m painted in adjectives, layered so deep, 

but it’s hard to keep dreaming when I never sleep. 

I’m so persistent, a dog with a bone, 

like the ringing won’t stop till you pick up the phone, 

I’ll keep coming back to this, call me the tide, 

retreat and return until I’m by your side. 

I’m so expectant, just pregnant with hope, 

begging for answers, a little more rope, 

a bell starts it’s ringing, my mouth overflows, 

the seed that you water’s the one that will grow. 

Gray (As You Like It)

All the world is gray 
and the men and women in it 
merely shadows.
They have their dusks 
and their sunrises, 
And one man in his time 
is many shades. 
All the world is gray, 
but you have always been
the most brilliant blue. 

Deserving

You deserve love, 

deserve someone to hold you, 

someone to call 

when you’re feeling alone. 

You deserve help,

deserve someone to shoulder

some part of your burden:

a hand and a home.

You deserve odes

deserve sonnets and love songs,

someone reminding you

how great you are:

you deserve love,

how I pray that you’ll find it-

if ever you need it, 

I won’t be too far. 

Today (is a Good Day)

Today 

is a good day 

to exhale joy- 

to see it hang, 

frozen 

on the breeze. 

Release 

the breath 

you no longer 

need to hold- 

withhold no good thing 

from yourself. 

Today 

is a good day 

to start again:

to wake up 

and be great, 

and be thankful, 

and be hopeful 

for the relentless 

beating of your heart 

and the endless 

tapping of your feet. 

Do not 

hold back, 

my darling: 

exhale and begin. 

Boo Haiku

The scariest part

of every Halloween is

you’re not here with me. 

Mirage

I’m chock full of bad ideas, 

you’re too smart to buy this bridge, 

cynicism leaves you nowhere, 

somewhere hope just always is. 

I’m too full of good intentions, 

you’re intent on judging false, 

keep your anti-optimism, 

I refuse to claim the loss. 

I’m a river overflowing, 

you’re a desert, sand and dust, 

let us find our own oasis, 

a mirage your eyes can trust. 

Timeless

We’re broken-watch timeless, 

just can’t spare a second, 

spinning our hands 

praying we won’t regret it, 

and ours are the hours 

that live in the tock, 

the ticks drag us forward, 

we’re racing the clock.

Hide and Seek

Don't bother running- 

you know that I'm faster,

Claim sanctuary, 

you'll find I'm the pastor.

Climb up a mountain? 

The better to see you- 

soon I'll have you by my side, 

and a great view.

Dive in the deep, 

but you know I’ll dive deeper,

Creep away, quiet? 

(You’re not a great creeper.)

Hide in the forest, 

I’ll get you to leave,

I’ll find you, my darling, 

you better believe.

Emily Dickinson Said

I 

am not 

the I 

of this poem, 

and 

you are 

certainly not

the version of 

you 

that I have 

pressed into 

this page, 

but darling, 

if you and I 

were truly 

you and me, 

then nothing 

could be written 

that would change 

anything 

we’ve said. 

(Honey, You’re) Home

Home isn't walls, 

home is arms in the dark- 

home's not an address, 

home is walks to the park.

Home isn't pictures on walls, 

(though they're nice),

It's mem'ries than warm you 

soul deep, and thaw ice. 

Home isn't ceilings 

or windows, it's true-

whenever I am, 

home is right next to you. 

Reliable

My eyes are not reliable: 

they are not windows, 

not even mirrors. Tell me 

what you see, darling, 

and I will know the truth. 

My ears are not reliable:

they have stopped their

straining for secrets. Love,

sing me the song again,

I will join in soon.

My mouth is not reliable:

it insists on saying things 

my hearts rejects. Darling, 

give me your words now,

you always say it best. 

Rose-colored Glasses

You always have been,

I don’t think it’s the glasses:

you are rose-colored.

Cardshark

Seven is lucky

and even more, twenty-one.

But the house still wins.

Blood

Oh my dear one, 
nothing can be new 
without the stain of 
blood: your birth, 
the first love that 
warms your cheeks, 
entire revolutions 
are painted red with life.
So do not fear blood, 
beloved. Only through it
can we be made clean.  

Walnuts

Like walnuts, 
I’m allergic to liars: 
they make my tongue sharp 
and violent, 
so believe me when I tell you, 
I adore you. 
And by that, 
of course 
I mean your words are 
the soundtrack 
behind which I wash my dishes, 
and sort too small socks. 
I have a tendency to break things: 
coffee mugs, 
pictures frames, 
Styrofoam cups 
not quite emptied of liquid, 
so trust me when I tell you 
that you are not broken. 
There is nothing wrong with you 
that a fresh coat of paint 
and a few screws couldn’t fix, 
which is to say 
there is no skin as soft 
as the skin behind your earlobe, 
and the moons 
underneath your fingertips 
are all the light 
I will ever need 
in the darkness. 

Go Pack Go

A house divided:

Animosity and strife,

Here there is no peace. 

Made

I once believed joy would find me,

sunshine would dance on my face,

I thought the clouds would forsake me, 

the wind would blow through and give chase.

These days have just proven me wrong though, 

sometimes, I've learned, you can't win.

Sometimes you love something fiercely, 

but love is just where it begins. 

Sometimes the path set before you 

just isn't the path of your choice, 

swallowing hard, dropping eyes down,

sometimes you're robbed of your voice. 

Dig deep enough and you'll find it,

take the plunge, this is your life,

someday we'll feel more alive, love, 

at home on the edge of a knife.

Please don't abandon your hope, love,

time changes plans that are laid.

Love conquers all that would fight it, 

we'll lie in the bed that love made. 

Finley Nicole

So you entered 
the world like 
a tidal wave- 
swiftly, 
and without 
much notice;
but once the waters 
had ebbed, 
we saw 
the whole world 
made new. 

Yours Haiku

Don't let me have it-

Yours should be the final word.

Break this silence now. 

Decisions

Make your decision,

 just keep it 

or leave it-

know your mind- 

don't let it change. 

I know that fear 

leaves you breathless 

and shaking, 

and new isn't better, 

it's strange. 

(Everybody Knows) It Hurts to Grow Up

It overwhelms me: 

the desire to shield you 

from the onslaught of pain 

promised in every 

coming of age story: 

sharp corners, 

blistered badges earned 

from the bright sun, 

a heart too fond 

of an unfaithful face. 

I'm sorry 

I can't shield you 

from the darkness, 

but I hope you learn 

that for every sun setting, 

there will be a sun that rises

to paint the new day 

across the sky. 

Dunce

My heart

the sheath:

push deeper,

twist harder.

Damage done

once again. 

Lesson unlearned,

taught thrice.

Glue

The world is broken

and it continues to break-

The world is broken

and it continues to break-

The world is broken

and it continues to break-

Who will be the glue?

Madonna

The first time I saw you, 

pink and screaming, 

I knew everything I'd ever 

known about love 

had been wrong. 

Every time I had 

told someone 

I loved them 

I had lied. 

I had meant it, 

sure, 

but it wasn't even in 

the same universe 

as the ache I felt 

when you grabbed 

my finger 

and settled, 

still wet, 

against me. 

The first time I saw you, 

silent and lily white, 

my heart stretched 

and filled 

until I thought my chest 

would break into a million pieces 

and become the 

constellations 

in every midnight sky. 

I had loved before, 

yes, 

but I hadn't known 

a heart was capable 

of loving 

so many things 

so fiercely.

The first time I saw you, 

wide eyed and open mouthed, 

I knew that 

I would pour myself out- 

give everything I had 

and keep on giving. 

I knew nothing 

about you- 

this tiny giant 

so new to the world, 

but I knew that 

everything I was 

would never be enough. 

You made me yearn 

to be more. 

Aladdin

Be my Aladdin, love, show me new worlds, 

take me to star-gazing heights,

sweep me away, hop a carpet, we'll fly

to bask in some breathtaking sights.

Be my Aladdin and open my eyes, 

show me things I've never seen.

Just take my hand, I trust you, I do-

we've done this before in my dreams. 

You, my Aladdin, are more than you seem, 

my own private diamond in rough, 

You claim you're no genie, but magic is yours-

you change every thing that you touch. 

Deserted

I always thought 

you 

were a cloud: 

weightless 

and spotless 

and just out of reach, 

but you have 

never been air 

or water, 

and 

the sky 

has never held you. 

You are a desert, 

and 

I 

have always 

been the rain. 

Worldwide

The world is so big, 

darling, 

full of places to 

excite your senses 

and inspire imagination. 

The world is big, 

darling but 

my favorite place 

has always been

next to you. 

Without You

The world goes on 

without you, my love, 

the sun always rises 

in early morning oranges

but it is a darker place 

without you, my love,

and the sunsets are 

grayed by sorrow.

The oceans remain

without you, my love,

the tide still teases

each sandy shore salty,

but it is a quieter place

without you, my love, 

and the seagulls are 

silent with longing. 

The mountains still stand

without you, my love,

the peaks still scrape

the bluest skies white,

but it is a harder climb

without you, my love, 

and the air hangs thin

with weariness. 

The stars will shine

without you, my love, 

the moon still reflects

the bright sun, 

but it is a colder place

without you, my love, 

and my hope is as

distant as stars. 

The Goose's Song

I yearn for fall, cooler weather, 

a bite in the breeze and a chill,

I want to feel that same shiver 

that dances my body with thrill.

I need to see the leaves changing, 

to know that some things stay the same.

I wish the warmth of my body 

was felt due to hearing your name. 

I want to hear the geese calling, 

a love song to Autumn and me,

they know the thing about fall is, 

it never comes perfectly free. 

Above/Below Par

And I still 

cannot decide, 

even after all 

these years, 

if you are 

an absence 

or a presence-

If the ache 

in my chest, 

the squeeze 

of my heart 

is too much or 

too little 

feeling. 

On the Run

Little boy lost, black dog on the run, 

looking for trouble as if trouble was fun, 

searching for some thing, or maybe some one,

when all that you need is at home.

Errant explorer, your compass a- spin, 

searching the skies for what's found deep within,
headed to somewhere you've already been,

tell me, Love, why must you roam? 

(It's a dog eat dog world and you're still so ambitious,

chasing black cats like you're unsuperstitious, 

muzzle still wet, and I'm just so suspicious.

Come on now, throw me a bone.)