Jagged

Just a slice

A sliver

A tiny piece of heart

But slices add up 

Slivers are splinters

And tiny pieces

Can become a whole

And too late I realize there is

Nothing left to sustain me

Forfeit

No point in trying

Since in the pitch black no one

Can see you screaming

Purgatory

Master of deception

Father of lies

Crippling self-doubt

Mirrors don't tell true stories 

Tossed on the rocks

Discarded 

Abandoned

Left behind with only 

White cliffs as a prison

Using the rocks to smash

My hands

To make sure I can feel

Using the glass to cut

My arms

To make sure I don't 

Wanting to be seen

Wanting to be forgotten

Unsure where I belong 

Beacon

The wind and sun burned my skin

The salt stung my eyes

And still I didn't care 

I had to stay

Until my love returned 

And now my skin doesn't feel

And my eyes no longer water

He never returned 

And I am unable leave to leave

This lighthouse 

Even though our lights

Extinguished together 

Bindings

Eyes

Wrists

Elbows

Knees and

Ankles

All hugged with

Crimson velvet

Comfort in restriction 

Peace in immobility

Only you understand 

The trust I give 

Because you're usually wrapped 

In crimson

Tropical

Sitting at the edge

Feet dangling 

Toes drawing infinity symbols

In warm teal waters

Soft breeze tosses 

Jasmine my way

It's easy to imagine sitting 

Next to her when I close 

My eyes 

NaCl H2O

The panic sets in

I won't be able to make it

Back to you

The sun's going down 

The water's going up 

Just a matter of time before

I drown in tears

I'll press my fingers to the glass

And pray you find me

Before I can't come back 

Vampire

Two AM

Here's lookin at you 

I toast to a mirror

With no reflection 

Surely that girl isn't me

She's sad

She's ugly

She cries too easily

And smiles too little

She has internal scars

Carved in her wretched face

Where laugh lines

Should be 

That's what happens when

The music stops

And the muse falls dead

Search

Sudden desperation 

As the discovery of loss

Takes hold and becomes real

Trying to find 

That lost thing

That was precious

Once

It took losing

To miss 

A thing taken for granted

partingGift

The sucker punch landed

Mouth agape

She twirled on heel

And vanished away

And I realize the disbelief fell not

In that she was leaving 

But that she was even mine

To begin with once upon a time

Eclipse

And the tarred and blackened thing

Reached up from my soul

And wrapped its fingers

Tight upon my heart 

Squeezing until no love was

Left behind 

Squeezing until there was nothing

Left but charred imprints 

Squeezing until there was only room left

For hate 

Shredded

Marked

For death 

He creeps around the corner

Stalking

Just out of sight 

But I see his scythe

I smell his decay

Easier to give in

Than keep running

My legs 

My heart

Broken

And there isn't enough glue

To put me back together

Carnie Val

She has no clue

As she sits there 

That I'm so close

A pane of glass away

She's sitting on the floor 

And looks like she's resting on the beach

Knees bent

Torso and arms making a triangle 

With the floor

And her posture would indicate 

How comfortable she is

Unless you spied the bindings

Her face is calm

Unless you noticed the tears

Her smile is serene

Unless you detected the grimace

A doll on display

The very last thing that should 

Be gawked at this 

Freakshow

She's beautiful

I wonder how to steal her

Make the tears belong to me instead 

Cosmos

A tiny soul surrounded by 

Velvet sky 

Alone

In the galaxy 

Left behind

A single star

Burning out

Lost for 

Eternity

Growth

If I see tomorrow

Should the sun rise again

Hold me close and

Remind me you missed me

The eternal night

Must lift eventually 

And nothing craves dark

Like molds

Bottles

The apothecary is closed

This time of year

Dust and webs

Cover the vials and potions 

Herbs have long gone stale

It's winter in this heart

And nothing grows in the cold

Maybe the return of spring will

Warm and coax that which

Hides away

It's not personal

It's just that time of year 

When frost dominates love

And warmth never stood a chance

unPerfect

Be The Perfect

Wife.... Cook and clean and

          Make sure your spouse is happy

Mother.... See the child is fed and 

          Clothed and never wants in life

Employee.... Never miss a deadline or

          Add to company drama

Friend.... Be available and understanding  

          In case something upends 

Person.... Never complain or let them

          See you cry 

All the perfects.

I'm set up to fail

For I can only be the 

          perfect storm.

Breathless

Practical girl

I'm shy

Words are difficult

Beautiful girl 

I'm smitten

Feelings are tricky

Troubled girl

I'm scared

Weapons can hurt

Clueless girl

I'm yours

If you want

Everything girl

I'm nothing

Without you here

Exsanguination

The ribbons of red

Fan out in all direction. 

It's not just my eyes. 

It's my feet. My hands. 

Stigmata dripping blood

For the world to see. 

Inward pain directed out, as if 

Manifestation reinforces to you

What I already know to be true. 

A thousand voices confirmed.

You don't belong here.

And I'll prove one last time 

How right they are as it becomes

Impossible to separate

Blood from bath.

safeHaven

A nighttime full of terrors.

Dark, twisted things

Stirring things stored away

During the light of day.

A battle with no sword.

A war with no guns.

Demons pummel 

The only spot they can: 

My charred and exposed soul.

The sun comes up and

My life depends on finding 

A new hiding spot. 

Unlikely

A long time ago, and

Far far away

There was a fractured girl.

Every night she prayed

Ravens would gather her up and

Take her away. 

Hurt and abandoned, she 

Optimistically held onto hope that the

Ugliness she felt would fall away.

Giants and lovers would 

Hold her close and 

Take the wretched darkness away.

Marque

That look you give.

You know the one.

Eyes full of fire that

Threaten to smolder my soul.

A look of promise

That devours sanity. 

Brand me again in places 

No one sees. 

Harvest

Falling into the blackberry brambles

I knew going in would hurt

And I fell into it anyway 

The blackberries were too sweet

To ignore 

And now each thorn I pull out

Leaves a bigger and bigger hole

In my side

In my flesh

In my soul

Until all my tears and 

All my blood are

Mingled on the

Hardening autumn ground

Left for next season's benefit

Or for someone else to walk over

Meaning

It's impossible 

To tell which carries more weight

LOVE YOU or MISS YOU

Stand

I get to stare out

From my glass box.

Everyday I see 

People glancing from the corner

Of their eye

As they run to work.

Children pressing fingers and noses

To the grimy glass to gawk.

Ladies holding hands with

Gentlemen as they stroll 

And make their wish lists.

And all I can do 

Is stand

And look at a world outside 

That's so beautiful 

Plastic tears stain my

Wax face. 

antiMatters

It's impossible 

To mourn something that never

Existed you Fool. 

The Clockwork Heart

All the clicks and clacks

The gentle whirs and stirs

Mesmerized by the tiny gears

As they spin their magic

The clockwork heart

It beats and ticks

And carries on

Never stop little rabbit

For fear of rust

Run and run

And run again

And don't you dare break

You'll be tossed in the trash 

Unwanted

Unloved

Discarded 

Worthless

Reverberation

A word

Shouted into nothing.

It bounces and echoes 

In the canyon of the universe.

Eventually one word

Becomes cacophony 

And the noise becomes

Unbearable. 

Ears left bleeding and deaf

And I'm one-fifth less a person

When it comes to finding you

Urchin

Skipping stones

On bits of broken glass.

The city is dirty

And ragged.

The smell of industry and oil.

The washed out color palette. 

Don't share.

Take what you can.

Steal when you need to.

No one is here to help you

While you escape the rain

Under the trusses.

Fend for yourself 

Forgotten Soul

While the city tries to

Retch you out.