Waking Up Alone

Coffee brewed black
cold now as your side of the bed;
kisses never leave such bitterness.
The teaspoons you've given me
aren't deep enough to carry
the sweetness of your words.
Your love crept into my cavities
rotting me from the inside,
stretching roots into my jaw so deep
I could only speak eight letters,
all for you.

Below Zero

Winter born of bone, flakes like krill
in gaping mouth. Champagne powder
settles on our heads, thick sheets of
worry packed in valleys of past
become white noise -
blizzard, brain, and nerve.
"A static mind leaves freezer burn,"
you say as I kiss your frost bite back,
sweat beading like hail, lipstick melting in fever;
"You'll never feel anything warmer than here."

Changeling

Feather waves, indigo ripples
into amber like a burnt sun,
quasar tendrils shining.
Prisms of green - Mint, Mantis,
moving from Moss to Mud.
I am worn thin; aural vibrations crack
me open at the sternum,
cells blossoming in heat.

There is magic, and then there is
here. I almost forget there are others
beneath our leafy kaleidoscope.

I turn back to my feather but she is gone.
How long have I been standing here?
No one knows, so we build fires
and burn our own trails.
"What if there is no other side?"
Palms sweaty with anticipation,
We grip branches like baseball bats,
leaves exploding like confetti.

Weeds too thick to leave footprints-
we move quickly, spreading us markers
to echo how far we've come.

Anglerfish Envy

It's easy to lose yourself
in the dark, forget where
you are and face the
abyss empty handed.

Driving At Night

Light peaks around corner,
pooling on pavement. Brake

and continue.
Such is life: Speeding

in the dark toward unseen
dangers shining around corners.

Driver Woes

Dead leaf snagged in my car wipers,
our bond is superficial. 
I know eventually it will rain and I’ll be forced
to use them, clearing my view
while freeing your corpse.
I’ll watch you fly away and, knowing you’re lost for good, I push forward. 
We make eyes only for a moment because
I am seconds too late;
you’ve been eaten up by other dead leaves,
sopping heaps amassed along the road,
shaking and swirling in my rear view. 
Maybe I should pick you off with my hands before the ride starts;
I might rip you apart but it’s better than watching you leave.

Calm Before the Storm

My lips are a stone shore

but my mind is an ocean, moving in waves,

in and out of controlled consciousness,

sifting through your logic and leaving

epiphanies imprinted on my memory.

The tide rises and my mind pushes forward,

slowly eroding my lips' grainy blockade

but they remain sealed,

locking in secrets - things better left unsaid.

Moon passes overhead, the tide recedes
and I find myself wandering the treasure littered coastline,

reflecting me in the water's surface.