holding him in my arms, amidst the wake of my waning waves of rage, nuzzling my nose against his head, I wade into his peace; gentle kisses of sorrow rippling from my lips remind me of who I really am – you’re my north star, bring me home each night. This poem appears in the … Continue reading Home

The summer cicadas are in my mind tonight. Their low droning drowning me – can’t tell if it’s one or two or maybe three – because they’re so loud in my head I can’t even hear myself think can’t even remind myself I can tune them out I can’t count them because there’s so many … Continue reading Drone

As a small child, I learn city, state, country, continent, hemisphere— I learn “here” and “there”— the makings of my identity. On a globe in my bedroom, I trace trips across the oceans, imagine inheriting other lands, wanting my body’s knowledge to expand to places unknown. Here and now has never interested me.

Imagine me as the smoke from your cigarette. Feel me hang from your lips. Breathe me into your nose, push me down into your lungs. Hold me before you have to let go. Think of me when you notice the smell of tobacco lingering on your jacket, so even when I can’t be with you, … Continue reading Inhale, Exhale

We built a house from our dreams and lived in it, ignoring its weak beams. The walls painted with a future that you soon realized wasn’t ours— there were no ‘forevers’ for us. When you left, the surfaces gleamed with your reflection. A shadow spreading across the rooms where I once felt free, painting the … Continue reading Abandon

In bed, his arms drape across me like willow branches, his lips planting kisses on the top of my head. In his bed, lips drape across the top of my head, planting kisses on me. His arms, willow branches. Together under the blanket, we lose ourselves to sleep. To sleep together – we lose ourselves … Continue reading Springtime

If you wait, the right person will come along. And at first, I thought it was you. Wanted you to untangle me under the light of the moon. Learn me inside and out. So, I waited and waited while the leaved turned shades of red, orange, yellow— and brown. They fell to the ground. I … Continue reading Revolution

I. It’s dark when you leave. The engine of your car hums reliably like the pulsing of your blood in your eardrum. II. Fog hangs. A backcountry detour extends to welcome you, but you’ve been here before. III. The road winds and weaves. The pills should heal the thoughts that are spinning as fast as … Continue reading Route 360

once, I composed choruses of the unsaid. I became a symphony— always stuck in your head. and you listened— hummed my voice in bed. until you chose her instead. but you forgot to look ahead. and back to me you tread. but I am a specter— I create dread. and I thrive because I am … Continue reading Spectre

Wrap me in a cocoon of denial. Let it restrict what I am. Let it paralyze me. Escape: a truth I can see— but not feel. Let your words mean nothing. Drip your voice into my mouth— let me taste the venom. let it choke me— swell in my throat— intoxicating me with emptiness. Share … Continue reading Rewind