Toad

We are cast
In metal thick
Where water
In droplets
Would groove
Through unspeakable
Lengths of time
And fold upon
Itself into
Whatever cuts
Deep and bloody

I cannot answer
I cannot promise
I know my skin
Laid upon you
In strips
Drips down
To your knees
Where you beg
In the mud
Like a toad
Because you love it

Close

There is no there
Wherever you are
I am the fool
Do you own the chain
Around my neck
Knees in the mud
Because you love it
Blood in your teeth
Because you lick it
In the company of wolves
You sing in the shower
I fall all the way
Down the mountain
Drink another shot
Smoke again
Die of lung cancer
Tell me I’m not correct
Smell the flowers
Compass face
West
Where the sun falls

Jasmine

I meant we had to
have a reason I said
you were only there
for the window
and we bestowed
ourselves upon
the forest green

It never felt more real
the stranger's attic
he downstairs, I up
he in the garden
I smelling the jasmine

I told you there was a reason
you were laughing, did you
recognize the very place
before it all began
wherever you land

I bravely waited they said
on the bondage of me
on the damage done me

Soaked

he silver slippers
back down the steps
rocky roses fall
up into
grass clouds
she lights beneath
the citrus tree
compass face
slender waist
ripples
golden ring
palm tree
juice doesn't drip
smoke doesn't sing
hand in hair
we were distance
colliding where your
teeth tapped
gentle and hungry
i thought the oil
soaked through
the cuts
the rain made

The Cliff Never Lies - Image

The Cliff Never Lies

I don't need to
Try and make it right
Try to turn The Fates
Back in my direction
But wherever I land
I am laid bare
Another gasp against
The pounding rain
Flood me with your
Bright story, even
The heavens move for
The king, his joyous
Ravings eternally
Scribed in history's flesh
Against the grain where
Bones turn once again to dust
And is the dust beautiful?
So many questions for the poet
But they keep asking
Once you have taken up
With strings and hands and fire
You can never be brought
To the precipice
Yet what false dreams
We do believe
As the cliff never lies
And the yawning
Below bellows
And so we close our eyes
Forget the fall
And yet always, again
Crash down open
once more to dust

For the Moon

Just when you think
You know it all
Something rips
The bloody viscera
From your gut
How was this the choice?
I asked the gods
Laid myself
At their mercy
Naked, prostrate
Wounded, tender
Sparkling for the moon
I’m sorry
I can’t stop now
I’ve gone too far already

Please Stop

Water

Water running over my face

It burns my lips and eyes

The ocean waves sliding over and over me

A gasp for breath

Is everything ok now? 

A shadow passes across the sun

A ship, my ship, will they see me?

No, a bird... and another, and another.  

They are mocking my plight.

I feel the rough sand between my fingers

Bury me here I think, for what a fool I am

Fallen, broken

I am wrong wherever I go

And no tears comes

Just pain, for they will never find me

The mistake, their mistake

If I press my palms hard over my eyes I am there again. Not space, not back on the ship... back in dreams. 

Where this all began. 

Dreaming the ocean, the sand, and most of all, the pain. 

Bury me here then and laugh

I see them now, each one their own dream 

Buried deep in shadow and in plain sight. 

We will all kiss the flowers won’t we

We will all carry ourselves 

Climb up limb to limb

Sowing the wind

Day by day

Until we reap

The whirlwind 

Rewards

Something happened there

Violent beyond time

A breaking of stars

Held up in hotel rooms

Kissing in the mirror

Where dark matter

Formed our bodies

Did we forget the stars

Where they hid from us

A call out, a phone call

The master plan

Is more alive now

Then just you or I

Willed to change

Be brave

Be there

Gentle calm

Static pull

Can’t we always find

Our way back

Promise the stones

Kiss the roses

They said the world

Opens and closes

At will

And what happens next

Is burned into me

Closer they said

Make a mark

Over my heart so I know

What is real again

The trees moved

With my breath

The stars collided

Into bathroom mirrors

A strangers voice

Accepted me

And beckoned me

Come closer

Meet upon wet soil

Prepare for the end

Where we all belong

Below the broken sink

It’s flowing waters

Collide in kissing mouths

Make love

Uproot the forest

Buried under fallen leaves

Pretend to panic

But gently this time

Patience rewards

The stars are bright 

In the rain 

The Same

It's easy, it's so simple
it's the forest, it's the fantasy
another dream we both forget
it's easy, just keep going
remember the motion
always lie in wait
a brief encounter, blasted
blossoms, boundless
a lark, my heart
promise you'll stay
but let go
just the same

Wherever We Find Ourselves

the utterly crushing blackness
collides and pulls
breaking apart, smears
words and promises
interchangeable and wicked
fixed and manic
a masterful snowfall
the deep ice where nothing
survives
and reflects those tiny
stars
lost
in her great blackness

Hollow and Hungry

animals stalk my mind
hold me down
pull me back
ancient mystery where
have we met
before
focus deep into
the tiger's eyes
silence fills me
words along
the break
my hand grasps
in the dark
yes i know now
where we met
before

The Veil Is Lifted

I lean in
hold my hand out
put my lips close
whisper into the cracks
where the insects live
their whole life in layers
"Hello, I'm here"
and the spiders dance
"Don't be afraid"
the soft ground brings me closer
will they answer this time?