sleepless

splayed out across the bedroom floor
so fragile and so imperfect and so inconsistent
consistent only in the inconsistency
of everything and of nothing

there was no chemical reaction
only a reaction when limbs
started hitting the floor boards
laying despondent and still

words like paper airplanes
soaring through the air
yet never penetrating any ears
shot down, mid-flight
then set fire to the fragile paper
up in flames, never heard by anyone

sad habits leading to quick disasters
puddles to streams to creeks to lakes
to seas of disastrous regrets
hoping for a drought to make them disappear
up into the sky, into the clouds
gone forever
gone forever

limbs made of lead remain on the floor
the temperature down there is turning the blood to ice

f25

Tiny tigers/
You can't hide her/
I tell you, believe it/
Tiny bits/
By the time tide comes in/
We're closer than kin/
Gravity is in our favor/
I tell you, you can't save her/
But we're dancing tonight/
As graceful as two birds in flight/

onetwofiveseven

pressure points/
bet five bucks it'll hit your heart/

tugging on one side/
hitting nerves on the other/
until it becomes/
full body and mind/
euphoria/

it's nothing what you're thinking/
it is unexplainably a chain of emotions/
that is triggering your body/
to react in a way your brain/
does not want to acknowledge/
the stakes are high now/
but the game is too far in/
for you to fold/
and walk away/

pressure points/
bet 10 bucks/
it'll tear you in two

Grandma

She Is Gone
David Harkins

You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she’s gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she’d want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.