Awaking from my slumber,
Or am I falling asleep
From where I'd been awake?

I shake off the covers,
Pulling them quickly
Like a Band-Aid,
Exposing my vulnerable body,
Heated from my next,
To the cold world
Wither her unknown day-
A mystery to yet unfold.

I rise like a sun
Shedding light through
My fingertips
As I stroke the wall.

I check my reflection
In the silver glass.
This doppelganger can't possibly be me...
I stare her down to be certain.

To the right, I slide open the closet,
Unearthing layers...
It's peculiar that we dress in things
Other than our own skin.
That we don't know what our eyes look like.
We forget;
Adding one more stranger
To the list of unrecognizable faces.

Let the light shine through the window,
Reflecting on the walls.
Pull open the blinds,
And shed some sun on your face.

Golden warmth penetrating your cheeks
As opposed to the negative energy that seeps under your skin.

Where do we begin?
And where do we continue?
How does one sort what to keep
And what to discard?

Your tired smile longs to retire,
But your heart wishes to run free
On endless fire
Warming the troubled with your essence.

You always give, even when you have little.
I admire your passion, reaching out
And wrapping like arms of fresh green branches.

Deep carvings into the surface,
People seem to pay
More attention to the impressions
Than to the wood itself.

Yet the wood is dense & durable;
Reliable, trusty.
Though prone to dents,
A beautiful stain
Made up of life's chapters
Colors all sides.

It is no object,
But a living thing,
Born of a tree
That sprouted from the earth
Out of the dirt & worms.

It shot up towards the sky & planets
Crying out for-
Aiming for the great bodies
That harbor mystery & astrologies.

This wood once bore swollen fruit,
That hung like balloons,
Waiting
To rise up.

This wood is art,
Shaped and sanded from experience-
To function as beauty
To function as charity.

It is not a statue of laziness.
It is not a tool of greed.
It is transforming.

Forgive thyself for the unforgettable

Dissecting under the magnifying glass,
Poking and prodding,
Looking for answers,
But there is no why
(or why not).
Those are the wrong questions to ask.
I just am.
My feelings just are--
Raw, unapologetic,
Burning green fire,
Hissing emotive logs,
fueling my essence.
My passion
Rising
Every rising
As smoke & glowing ash--
A gift to the world
to not return or recant.
My spirit flies freely
Forever floating forward.

I planted the seeds.
I watched them sprout and then grow.
I saw them eaten.

I'm sitting right near you,
So close, yet alone.
Your wooden eyes glance at me
Seeping sweet sap--
I take it all in.
Two magnets separated by a wall.
My body wants to leap inside yours.
It would like to pull into you,
Not stopping at touch alone,
Until rules of physics are broken
And our two jars become one bit pot,
Collecting the rain--
Sweet water & liquid life
Filling with future memories & shared secrets.
My sun.
My song,
That sings in my head every night I sleep.
My breath,
That comes coolly through the window on hot, ruminating nights.
My water,
That aides my thirst,
That twirls & dances,
Until it becomes blood passing through my veins & heart.

I'm trying so hard to know you
And not let you just disappear,
But all of the hurt and pain remain
Because the love is still there.