18.

I've been up all night,

writing

poems in my head

not fit for paper--

perhaps not even

for my head.

The words that

fail to say--

well, anything

at all--

are just a waste

of time and

energy is nothing

more than burning

calories. You laugh

because you know

there's no other

reason to

keep on reading.

These words,

they are simply

nothing. Written down,

filling up space

to pass time.

Because it's

funny

we're both

still here.

17.

i woke today

to lean into myself

and learn to breathe

in steady rhythms

like the beats

that dig into

my knuckles

loose and chasing bends

in conversation (i try

to keep control)

but spin out past

the boundaries

landing where the branches

hold like father's fingers

(coincidence collides)

i grit my teeth

and breathe as

time reminds

and i wake to learn

into myself and lean

to breathe in steady

rhythms like the beats

that dive into my knees

loose and chasing

bends in concentration

16.

the concrete's cold
down here
loose pebbles dig
into my skin
into my elbows
as i lean
in and whisper
strong to you
hold on to truth
we're more than
the dirt we lie
in to prove
we're higher
than something
we can stand in
our suffering
we have a
whole world
to move
to its edges we'll run
broken into one
love will carry us
home

15.

jagged lines

break

time

break

skin

break

hearts

break

into

silence

maybe

pain

is better

felt

on

purpose

these

marks

bear

proof

of battles

lost

of being

crossed

over

into

waters

left

forgotten

to

sink

down

to the

bottom

and hope

some day

they'll

fade

and

we

will

still

remain

whole.

14.

in red

bright

moments

last breath

lingers

we cling

to memories

as death

clings to us

they take

the ground

we fought for

our fingers

limp we

lose our grip

and the light

holds on

to us

13.

in lines

we get

twisted

like lies

we get

tangled

and we

can't find

where one

ends

or begins

or which

ones

we

have already

crossed

in lines

we forget

where

we

came from

who

brought

us here

how we get

here

why we

got here

in lines

and so

lost

12.

As I wake up outside myself

Wake up into myself

Wake up into the outside of myself

I find myself shrink into

The inside

Sink into the outside

I find that I am

Found more in

The outside

Of who I am