Why be afraid of
his tiny fire when you are
the entire ocean?
Haiku 6
In that instant I
realized that my life was
that smashed butterfly.
Tanka 1
My father told me
to avoid you, for you were
a raiding vessel.
In fact, you are a dinghy,
small on I, the vast ocean.
I’m doing this because I care about you
Beware, you beautiful flower,
evil is drawn to your looks,
your smell,
your life-giving energy;
not everything that comes to you
has good intentions,
cause even amongst the pollinators,
the butterflies and the bees,
there will be thieves,
the flies and the wasps
that will steal your nectar
and eat your petals
all in the name of
“I’m doing this because I care about you.”
Tears flow from both eyes, a salty drink for my lips
With my lips, I drank you in
And with my eyes, I cried you out
It has been awhile since I last heard your voice
Your words persist forever
But this love was not meant to last
Our worlds march forward
But those words hold me in the past
She Takes Long Showers Part 2.
She takes long showers,
Not because she needs to clean
Or that she takes her time,
But because it’s the only time
That her cold skin ever warms up;
Her frozen heart pumps with life.
Only then does she feel
Like nothing ever happened to her.
She can even pretend
That when she steps out
She won’t feel the shame
Cling to her skin again.
Then she would be fine—
She would never be fine,
Ever again.
Works of Art
We were the couple others admired
Yes, we were inseparable
An extension of the other
I, the present moon
And you, the companion star
We caught the eyes of those below
Making them believe in love
Aspiring to be like us above
Yet it was all an appearance
Me- reenacting what I knew,
A reflection of reciprocated affection
You- giving coldly expressed attention.
These distant galaxies of which we take part
Shape us into these pedestaled works of art.
Haiku 5
Why are you touching
and kissing me the way that
you do with Mommy?
Snap
Snap
Her family doesn’t like
Her boyfriend
What he talks about
How he calls her “Girl”
The way he treats her
They heard them arguing
Snapping
Growling
Screaming
They think that he hits her
So her brother hit him back
You could hear his nose snap
Her family tries
To tell her to let him go
To say no to him
To split them apart
She says that
They don’t know his heart
They don’t understand her
They don’t see them
For what they have
So until they do
She won’t see them
She’s had enough
They’ve pushed her so far
That she’s finally snapped
The apartment used to be clean
Because of her
The conversation had continued
Because of her
The meaning in their time together
Was all because of her
Now as the silence grows
As the dishes pile up
As time together matters less
Like the mess on the floor
She’s learned to not care
Just like him sitting on that couch
Eating his pile of snacks
Snapping up the silence
The Fantastical Truth 