My face flashes from grimacing to batting lashes,
from hope to fear, from please to thanks,
to challenging, to I
Flagrant
Topless with the windows open.
Dramatic Flair
Life’s a beef stew,
and what’s a better way
to show what the flavor of a mixture
boils down to
Villain’s Heir
Without the love,
where’s the safety?
Without the safety,
where’s the peace?
Harbor
Your respect for me stands as tall and immovable
as the cliff. You ebb and flow,
as the lapping waves.
Outsider Complex
Sometimes I would like to be a hero—
Clean-handed, showing up,
averting eyes while all the villains
fall on their own swords.
(After I stare morbidly
while my beloved bargaining chips cry.)
Secret
I hung the skeleton on the outside of the closet.
Funnily enough, the skeleton looked like me.
Collide
I love you with
all the relaxation
in my shoulders
as your lats
bump my traps.
Cavern
Cedar and birch drift beneath stone arch,
carrying you, carrying me, like the aliens we are
through black hole into universe unknown.
Crop Tops and Claws
They’ll spit the word “fashion”,
as though what they’re trying to vomit out
isn’t un-silenced, honest expression.
They’ll tell you how to dress, as though
they’re not saying how to feel.
They’ll condemn all impermanence,
as though phases aren’t actually stages
Alphabet Ravine 