Draw me in with your honeyed words
your silently scribbled songs.

Show me what's buzzing inside
that brain of yours.

There's only so much I can learn
from listening
and watching that mask you perform under every day.

I learn so much better
through poetry and prose.

Teach me who you are
through your ramblings and rants,
your stories, your judgements, and memories.

Please, share your words with me.

White lines score your arms,
memories carved from
success and struggle.

Speak to it
softly at first,
so as not to frighten the poor thing off or discourage it.

Recite it affirmations
about how beautiful its flame will be
dancing in the summer breeze,
or how its brightness will scatter the thickest of shadows,
and its warmth will be a balm
to cold, desperate hands.

Tell it stories,
of bonfires, chandeliers, and matches.
Inspire it with all it could be.

Fill the air around it with expectation.

Then, when you see the wick just itching to spark,
ignite your match or lighter
and hold it inches away.
Let it feel just how much impact a single flame can make,
before allowing it full life
and full breath
as it dances in your hand,
eager to glow and fight the shadows of the night.

Listen now,
the night is speaking.
A cool breath on the back of your neck
that traces your outer ear
like the breath of a lover
in an empty bed.

You can tell yourself
that it's only crickets
car engines
the breeze
or the air conditioning.

But we both know the truth.
The night surrounds you
dark arms cradling
nughtmares and reams alike.

What do you hear
in its soft whisper?
And why do you insist so much
that it isn't real?
Why does your heart pound so quickly?
Why does it scare you so?

Bodies are traitors
once sickness takes hold and your
nose wants to explode.

I wish that I was sitting by the ocean's edge.
The sand soft beneath me
and the tide's rhythm running through me,
keeping time with my heatbeats.

I wish the scents of saltwater and sunscreen filled my nose,
while seagulls call out jokes as they jog by.

I wish I could stand up and leap into the water
letting it carry me wherever it wished,
and that I could float on it for hours
days even
and forget about everything else for a while,
except the sun and sea.

Shadows flicker and
flee the flames, lashing out through
heat resistant grates.

Simple sounds in a rhythm, coursing
through my veins. Keeping my heartbeat
going strong, my feet tapping
the ground in time. Hearing
it takes away my
worry and pain.
Music makes
my soul
​dance.