your vision, your voice
The whole landscape is pitch dark,
All that can be seen is the moon and the stars
The trees have grown still
And the air has a chill
All that is awake,
Bats, frogs, crickets, raccoons, snakes
All through the night
They glide in through the sky
Some leap far and high
Some swim in a crystal lagoon
Some howl at the glowing moon
When the sun begins to rise
They crawl into their den, close their eyes
And take a nap until
All the land is dark and still
Again.
Tall trees
With large fanning leaves,
Vines that run around the tree in a spiral
Reaching for sweet light
Above the rain forest.
A sloth gripping onto the mossy branches,
A red bird perched on a log
Singing a cheerful macaw song
Animals
Bringing joy, color, and life to our world
Each with their own intricate design
Beautiful and unique
A sea turtle
A radiant shell
With hexagon-like sections
Cascading down
Each section bursting with color.
Beautiful fins
Caught in a net
Tangled in our
Careless
Reckless
Actions
Struggling, hurting, longing to be free
Animals.
And while your smile
Still reminds me that I am
Capable of inflicting pain
At such a distance
It comes together into a
Tear tracing down my cheek
Into our hearts beating (sos)
And my fist clutching the hem of your shirt
What more could I have crooned to you?
Your cool hand to my cheek
The flutter of our white curtains
A shared song under our breath
What else?
And while there is no boundary between
How you love and how you are loved
Is there no way to become myself again?
Once you are so dear in another’s heart,
Is there no escape?
I have found no such thing as escape.
(And since what) love you have
Shown (came fro
We went out again–
‘Do you like American
Music?’ We love it.
We don’t have much to
Say to each other tonight.
We don’t need the words.
I hear you still. A
Flash of glittery something,
Heels stabbing at toes.
Laugh at ourselves
Fall to the ground, hands clutching
lifeblood Irish Cream.
‘Say something, say some
Thing, anything!’ We need to
Hear it, scream it out.
We twist and shout, and
We scream along with our hearts
Let the noise grow too.
‘Boys don’t cry.’ Let me.
I know I feel the same things
As the rest of us
Ripples of movement
Hit walls and bounce back, braving
the throng twice. We sing.
‘Take a piece of my
Heart!’ Haven’t we done enough?
Take another piece.
How much do you need
From me? I know I have no
Choice in the matter.
“I’m sorry but I’m
Just thinking of the right words
To say…” Promise me
That you will tell me
The answer to our questions.
As long as you know.
Release us both now
With your voice. We know
How to sing along.
Let the frustration
Billow from your moving form
And let it all go.
What could we know? We
Are the children of the young
In an unheard time.
Letting the night rise
Far above our eager heads
Forget us again.
They asked to see the garden
All they will find are rotten tomatoes
She never got to pick
All they will find are stripped rosemary bushes
Dead for the winter
Trying to copy their mother.
They might find a trowel, a spade
They might find her little glove
Just one, laying on the earth
I couldn’t know, I can’t bring myself to look
They could find her for all I know
What golden ichor of the gods presents
Itself as cheap as paper bills in hand?
What ambrosia overwhelms the sense
And dulls all mortal pain with no demand?
His drink, the greatest friend a man could find
No elusion like the scurrying game
Memories lost as though they had a mind
Hateful earthly arms set out to maim
What other choice does any man possess
Another addiction beneath his belt
The woes of life the king does not address
Into their toxic drink the men will melt
Until their lives return they will forget.
All they will be is reflected silhouettes.
they found a way to guard the house
three big angry
dogs
foam resting on their curled
black lips
coarse fur
untouchable;
anyone who dared come close
gone
within the second
perhaps i exaggerate but i
could not fathom safety after all
Remember when Christmas came,
We would all wake up early
and run downstairs to claim
our presents, the smell of the tree earthly.
Remember how we used to play all day,
inside and outside
Mom would yell to come clean up, but we wanted to stay
So we’d run in and toss everything out of sight.
Remember when we were closer,
When we laughed more and fought less
When time moved slower
and there was no stress.
Now that’s in the past,
for now I know nothing can last.
The little student handbooks
administration grasps
so desperately
outlines explicitly
1. No shoulders
2. No bra strap
3. No midriff
4. No thigh
5. No girl
The girl is distracting.
The girl is immodest.
The girl is ungodly.
Where is the rule
stating that little boys mustn’t gawk
at the cheerleader whose uniform
shows thigh and calf?
Where is the rule
that little boys mustn’t harass
our girls like 60-year-old men
in their direct messages?
Where is it?