I heard you say you give up
You said “I give up.”
I put glitter on my face
and went to Paris
she said she won’t ruin London
and won’t come here for just us
(She didn’t say that but you know, she said it)
I blackened my own eyes
because you’ll never land here
in my heart
you said you HAD to give up
But Mother is as cool as a lemon tree
so I understand, I’ll salt my hair
and be followed by the stars

When pasta smells like church

A book takes you to your knees

It’s Ludlow and Broome

Gold dust in your hand and
on my skin
crossing the street

I want the music to eat me entirely

I want the blankets to be so extremely heavy and

if you’re lucky enough to grow

into drooping wrinkly elbows without regrets

please tell me how

Winter made summer
a memory
Damp hot skin in the snow
Fire eyes to
Coldest toes
Bound in a house with a
big
beating
heart

So when the sunny pools are emptied and
Stale chlorine sticks between dirty tiles
Let his toes wiggle on tables:
Keep it in boxes
Keep it sacred
Keep remembering this

You’re the world’s best
because you brought him to me

Where is the good wolf
How many are there
How many restful hands will it take
To save you from this salt
Random pink flamingos make me quiet
right
down
With pieces of music
This embrace can sober me
Oh your glass skin
My sweets, you’re at the end of your pretty
Wear red lips
Wear sequins
Bring photos
And care for your own heart,
How it bursts,
Where the blood goes,
And who it touches
Because time swings back
and fourth
back
and fourth
Words hurt you?!
What a privilege
Born a visitor

Make wishes on airplanes
Little ghost
had to learn so much all on her own
Told you were for radio,

Sweet winter fruit
You have been forgiving for so long,
we know you’re tired.

I’m gonna crush everything into lavender dust
Because how many last chances are we allowed
You’re a distracted bird         that I can’t hear         that doesn’t call          unsure of your rules             and where you fly
My eyes are gonna make it beautiful though,
I’ll see a blue sky in a mess
Even when death arrives hiding in trees, dressed in bright colors like a disappointing peach
No bother, I’ll slip inside a rainbow and stay as long as I like
Probably just as long as I like

An act of love
touching toes
I can’t wait to climb the rope
because I adore a woman
who hates flowers
Where are the people
who drank early?
I started drinking coffee too late
I’ll even take New York in January
if that’s what you’re offering
Tomatoes and cigarettes litter the sidewalk
and I can only think
of how my heart jumps
knowing you love me
Don’t tell me what we’ll always be ours because life is so uncertain
all I have to do is close my eyes
to see our faces forever reflected
in the train window
as everyone else disappears

If she had known
about plants
and pink moons
she’d add a panda to her memories
and rebel more
She would never drive in anger
and spend more time without covers
If she had known
of these terrible parallels
seasons of betrayal repeating
through the seeded soil
through the souls
(now she doesn’t have to go fast
she’s got bodies to listen to)
But if she had just known
there’s not one kind of pretty
and not one kind of plenty
you wouldn’t have been her last wish
of wonder

Don’t be gone
flex your muscle
take your heart out
I owe you so much
Little moth,
please stay
I want to know you
and your friends
Sheep have a bad reputation
but they stick together and I like them
I forget the year sometimes and he forgets the day
so between us we maybe can live without age
or the illusion of time
I’m distracted by my own yellow
over this rainbow
tattooed by time
mirrors are hysterical and
you have left so much inside of my heart

Racing the birds
I smile easily
I never care to win
he has so many smiles
I hope to always know them all
Does he know he’s the best
Does he know how grateful I am for his existence, his love
What kind of place
do we pay everyday
with whose wings
What did little Rose possibly want
that you couldn’t give her
so you forgot to save her life
(We could have saved her life)
What will happen next
for a baby goat
when a 7 year old child leaves too early
it’s not her fault

When a girl showed up

She didn’t know

She wasn’t wanted

But her skin knew

So through the years the message traveled to her heart

She could still pretend better than anyone

She could forget and forgive so well she deserved a little trophy

Until he said it

Over tiki drinks and tears, “I didn’t fight for you. I didn’t know what to do with a girl.”

Like one hundred spinning tiny painted cocktail umbrellas (doubly stolen)

by this tropical themed bar,

she felt them pierce her

she didn’t move

hoping this moment would disappear, that her eyes wouldn’t reveal the soul ache

of this truth

that truly didn’t need to be said.

Stolen was the experience of her being loved by him.