The Immortal’s Lamentation

when the human race
is merely bone fragments
poking up from dirt
begging to be put
back together
like a puzzle
shoved into the back of a
child’s closet
never to be bothered
with again

I will be left standing
but not you

I will be forced to observe 
as this universe’s most prized creation
desperately calls out to 
whoever may listen
begging to be saved from itself

you will be abandoned among the
discarded remains of your brethren
and I will ignore your 
cries and go somewhere
where they can’t be 
heard
where I can’t be 
heard
as I mourn
what once was and
what could’ve been

a room with no flaws

a room with no flaws
begs to be scrutinized

it sits symmetrically
with its eye-pleasing color scheme
and wonders why humanity
must project their fear
of judgement
onto an innocent space

the fireplace deserves ashes
the floor would look better with
at least one scratch
the chandelier would be happier
with a flickering lightbulb

this room cries out
pleading with its designer
to allow just one sign of life

to give it the beautifully human gift
of imperfection

a room with no flaws

a room with no flaws
begs to be scrutinized

it sits symmetrically
with its eye-pleasing color scheme
and wonders why humanity
must project their fear
of judgement
onto an innocent space

the fireplace deserves ashes
the floor would look better with
at least one scratch
the chandelier would be happier
with a flickering lightbulb

this room cries out
pleading with its designer
to allow just one sign of life

to give it the beautifully human gift
of imperfection

Loading...

There’s a Fine Line Between Defending and Destroying
Inspired by Loneliness by Lawrence Simonoff

somewhere an oak tree
holds onto her last leaf
wrapping gentle fingers around it
so the cold air can’t reach it

she’s known these winds for centuries
she knows how much they give
and how much more they take away

gazing at her once full branches
now bare and brittle
she sighs
wishing
she’d held the rest of her leaves
protected them

if only she’d known there would soon be one left

as a gust approaches 
she tightens her grip 
anticipating it’s too-familiar talons
that had snatched almost every part of her
and torn it to shreds

with all the strength that remains in her bones
she clutches the little brown leaf
knuckles flashing white
eyes firmly shutting
as the wind flies through her

and though it felt like hours
it was only a few seconds

slowly opening her eyes
and standing up straight 
she exhales
and gently releases the leaf from her grasp
crushed into unrecognizable shards
it looks up at her one last time 
and falls lightly to the ground

Loading...

inside, looking out

light a match
toss it in
and I’ll serve my purpose

I was built to keep you warm
and that I will do
until the end of time
it seems

oh, how I wish you would
appreciate winter’s sharp bite
and the silent blanket of comfort
it brings
I quietly question how you find the artificial
warmth you take from 
me 

more desirable than the beautifully frozen state
of your world
a gift undeservingly bestowed upon you
and left unappreciated

you are able to go outside
and let it engulf you
winter leaves its arms wide open
waiting
yet here you sit
in front of me
staring
wishing it would go away

Loading...

inside, looking out

light a match
toss it in
and I’ll serve my purpose

I was built to keep you warm
and that I will do
until the end of time
it seems

oh, how I wish you would
appreciate winter’s sharp bite
and the silent blanket of comfort
it brings
I quietly question how you find the artificial
warmth you take from 
me 

more desirable than the beautifully frozen state
of your world
a gift undeservingly bestowed upon you
and left unappreciated

you are able to go outside
and let it engulf you
winter leaves its arms wide open
waiting
yet here you sit
in front of me
staring
wishing it would go away

Yellow Tulips

yellow tulips unfurl 
the sound of their unanimous bloom deafening
they reach out to the rejected
they reach out to the discouraged 
they reach out to the hopeful
and the hopeless

so when your heart decides
it has fought its final battle 
and no red roses or lilacs can fill in the open wounds

lay it to rest in a bed of yellow tulips
and they will gladly accept your offering
turning orange as they drink in the sweet nectar
of failure and despair that tastes so
deliciously human

as they close
absorbing the last of your heart’s rotting flesh
they wait optimistically for next spring
because as blossoms burst 
then shrivel
with the seasons
humanity remains unchanging

and in time 
the rejected
the discouraged
and the hopeless
will return
broken beyond repair
to surrender what they used to cherish

Narcissist’s Apology

pour the core of your being
each broken piece
out into my hands
and I will carry them in my pocket
so you’re always with me

I’ll put you in a vase on the mantle
to live with picture frames and knickknacks 
that accept you as one of their own
and gaze at you with a twinge of human understanding
because they have been where you are

one day

these fragments will have to be returned to you

I suppose

but first they will be held and cherished and guarded
tangled and toyed with and tossed 
because I know no other way to love you
than to tear you away 

and mold you like a starved sculptor
into who I cannot be

Narcissist’s Apology

pour the core of your being
each broken piece
out into my hands
and I will carry them in my pocket
so you’re always with me

I’ll put you in a vase on the mantle
to live with picture frames and knickknacks 
that accept you as one of their own
and gaze at you with a twinge of human understanding
because they have been where you are

one day

these fragments will have to be returned to you

I suppose

but first they will be held and cherished and guarded
tangled and toyed with and tossed 
because I know no other way to love you
than to tear you away 

and mold you like a starved sculptor
into who I cannot be

when the fountain sleeps



when the fountain sleeps
and the windows turn away from the sun

when the curtains drift
and the rug unravels itself, thread by thread

she will appear

in this place where everything pauses

then resumes

in this place where no one knows what time it is

in this place where you look around

see her

and think

this must be heaven

when the curtains drift
and the rug unravels itself, thread by thread

she will appear

in this place where everything pauses

see her

this must be heaven

a dream, fragmented

in this crawlspace
where the ceiling caresses my hair
and the floorboards creak 
continuing their conversation 
unbothered by any invasion

I am stuck

like a fly who doesn’t know how it ended up inside
and doesn’t see a way out

I sit
head lowered
as if deep in prayer

yet I ask for nothing at all

except some sign of life
of you
or whoever listens to the thoughts that blink 
across my mind and 
leave as quickly as they came

asking for signs never worked before
for you
or me

but who knows now?

I am aimlessly searching these boxes
sifting through books coated with dust
and trash that I suppose used to be treasure

looking 
but not seeing
wanting
but not pining

in this attic
god is just a man

and you are merely ash

as I gaze at this monochrome
frequently forgotten
almost-room
full of everything you once begged the heavens to give

I can’t help but wonder
where 
among all these cobwebs
are you?