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?