Snowflakes

Snowflakes have always

been my favorite muse

as they float through the skies

and melt under my shoes.

Everything's pretty

when it's covered in white,

and in this dark winter

they bring out the light.

I can't help but smile

when I see the snow

it reminds me of childhood,

reminds me of my home.

BirdSong

The phoebe and the chickadee

the whip-poor-will and jay,

I thought I heard their songs

as the sun came up today,

but then I woke and pulled my shade

to find I was alone.

My dreams were being kind and made

me dream I was at home.

The phoebe and the chickadee

the whip-poor-will and jay,

they'll wake me from my dreaming soon,

today is not that day.

Regarding pretty much every decision I've ever made:

I want to chase that rabbit

all around this town

I want to run forever

I want to chase it down

down below this city

down where there’s no light

away from all the hubbub

away from all the fights

I want to chase that rabbit

and see where it may go

I’ve got to chase that rabbit

or I will never know

Lucky Charms and Advil

So maybe Lucky Charms

and Advil isn’t exactly

the Breakfast of Champions

but it will continue to be

my Breakfast of Choice

so long as I have

Lucky Charms

on my closet shelf

and milk in

my mini fridge

and no time for breakfast.

So maybe You

aren’t exactly

my Prince Charming

but we all know I’ll keep you

well stocked on my

closet shelf

for when there’s

no time for breakfast

or Stupid Boys.

Happy Birthday

Cupcakes and hugs are

nice,

my sweet tooth is happy,

I guess.

People have been

kind

but I’m a little

overwhelmed.

And so my

Big Day

was celebrated

alone,

in the library,

with a hefty,

well loved,

copy of

Norton’s Anthology of Poetry,

flopped open to page

262.

Goosebumps tickle my arms as I

swim through

Sonnet 55,

floating on its buoyant imagery,

falling in love with its

cocky perfection.

Peel the Bible-thin pages apart to reveal

page 801

and I have to suppress my happy chirp when I find

my other favorite William

and his beautiful daffodils.

MountainChild

The winter woods have always been my home.

They do not judge the girl who walks alone.

Their skyward branches lift my spirits high,

the snow is my white blanket when I cry.

The trees have heard my songs and seen my tears,

the rocks have felt my joy and know my fears.

The mountaintops have always been my stage,

they do not judge, or tremble at my rage.

The wind will stop and listen when I speak,

the forest makes me strong when I am weak.

The winter woods have always been my home,

for the embrace the girl who walks alone.

Younger

Everyone looks younger when they’re sleeping
When pleasant dreams settle over daytime woes
Like sunshine drying rain-soaked grass
As heavy eyelids search for peace and flutter closed
And daily worries and their wrinkles fall away
Everyone looks younger when they’re sleeping
When darkness overcomes the fear of night
No child or man can run or hide
From that gentle dimming of the light
As the sky falls from rosy gold to dripping black
Everyone looks younger when they’re sleeping
But everyone looks older when they’re dead

ॐ

even if a man stands as an island

the movements of the sea still shape his shores

and even if we shoo away the raven

we’ll still hear from the rooftops, “nevermore”

so turn not your face from summer’s light

do not fear the warming rays of sun

force no smile from your eyes

for no one is truly ever one

every heart beats in rhythm with each other

the trees and the rocks each hum along

the falcons and the sparrows fly the same skies

with nature’s voice we all can sing along

This song always reminded me of you, now I can't get it out of my head.

You are my sunshine

when skies are grey

but sometimes I just

need a break

from all those harmful

UV rays

you bleach my hair

you tan my face

you dress me down

you keep me baked

and then when all

is said and done

the moon’s as pretty

as the sun

I'm Still Waiting for the Punchline

I’m praying to a god I don’t believe in

I’m hoping to all hell this shit is true

I’m wondering if life has any meaning

I’m wishing I could get some sort of clue

You’re running from a life you can’t escape from

You’re hiding from a man who sees it all

You’re telling me there’s nothing to be scared of

You’re saying that you’re just too big to fall

We’re on a crash collision course with everything

We’re running out of time, you know it’s true

We’re gasping for fresh air but quickly sinking

We’re both thinking what we can’t deny is true

I Wish Everything Were a Forest

I've never been one for mornings

but with you I rise with the sun.

I crawl from the depths of my

heavy wollen blankets

up the trunks of trees that feel

like your soft skin

up to the emerald canopy

so that I can look out

through your green eyes

at the landscape of our

bodies, creating mountains

and rolling hills, between us,

the shallow valley that disappears

as you, still asleep, pull me closer

to your dreamstate.

And as forests grow together,

so that once a boundary is no more,

we slip together back toward darkness

to walk along the forest floor

I'm too old for nightmares...

dreams are not real life

dreams are in my mind

dreams are not the future

dreams get left behind

when I close my eyes at night

and I see you falling slowly

when I slip into the darkness

and you turn your anger towards me

I can’t save you there

I can’t make you smile

I can’t bring you back

I can’t close the miles

but the darkness does not last

and when the sun breaks through

those nightmare chains are broken

and your ghostly hold is too

Simple Relitivity

there it goes

That Moment

The one marked with a

big red circle

on the family calendar

is over.

It came and went

And all that

Anticipation

Anxiety

Excitement

fizzles out

Leaving behind

echoes of silence

accentuated by the sound of

One pair of lungs

Maintaining

One heart beating on,

For some reason

so much louder than

two.

As we sit down and wonder

Where all that time went

That we’d been counting down

Months that fell apart

into days that clicked down to

seconds

That dragged

-like puppy claws on a shag rug

When it’s time for the vet-

The lead up is always eternal

but the moment is already passed.