Karma

nothing about this

is nice

the world spins itself

too many confusing ways

and we spiral out of control

the waves roll forward on the spinning globe

roll over hearts

            and push them away

                        roll the dice again

and again the wind cleanses

the earth

            sweep, sweep

            gone together

in breezy uncertainty we

lose our minds

            you've lost your mind

dragging a lost soul along too

many times there’s been a

wish, and then rain falls

and floods and swallows and

drowns that innocent wish

a tornado of falling, breaking

and falling and

wishes spinning and cracking,

like spinning icicle spears

from frozen, falling rain

and still the world turns

we’re out of control

you've lost your mind

what did I do wrong? 

Holes

the brown specks of everything

lay quite neatly surrounding the

little abyss you've created

            for such a terrible mess

more and more float upwards out of nowhere

I watch as your work

            oblivious

sometimes the dirt lands softly

nestling in my hair

and fading to scenery  

which you clearly

don’t notice

you dig and dig

and occasionally stand to cast me

an easy smile

            and I remember

the way I’m supposed to feel

and then I see more

speckles of everything and

            absolutely nothing

            because there's nothing deeper to dig up

but you continue

the specks speckle the

ground I sit upon, thinking,

but the greenest grass still shares its vibrancy,

and the flowers, their joy

and the sun

            it warms my soul

you dig further

            I can’t understand why

            do you expect gold and buried treasure?

            the seed of a flower?

            anything special?

what thrives so far from the sun?

you've gone too far

            all the little brown specks      

            you neglect to appreciate

were there for you

and I can do nothing

            only watch

as you dig yourself deeper into

your own little abyss

oblivious with that easy smile,

blank mind, and settled heart. 

Under the Sea

inspired by the words of Jacques Cousteau

we are tethered to 

earth as gravity

pushes us down, unrelenting

but as we let ourselves

sink

            fall

                        float

into a world that casts

a spell upon our hearts,

we are free

into the depths

where we learn that

true happiness comes

            from existence

            and purity

the beauty of unhindered interaction,

and that each being matters

because if the most extraordinary

of us don’t share our hearts

                        and minds

we remain stagnant

                        and hopeless

but we share a boat

people protect what they love—

the sea holds us as one

irrevocably connected,

held in its net of wonder forever

Inundation

the rain plunks steadily

a heartbeat

it falls carelessly

ignorant to its own significance

the grass glows green

happily absorbing the

crying heartbeat until

thunder

shatters the clouds and

raindrops and everything that

could be into

shards, broken

water collapses upon

hopes and reality

pulling sparkling shards down

with it

inundation

the grass cannot

cry out as the

befallen water oppresses

it, a cacophonous storm drowns

the life-giving heartbeat

lightning strikes mercilessly up from

the ground, a defense mechanism of

electricity which

cannot harm the brokenness

of the open sky

and the water falls still,

a promise broken

a sky broken

and the once glowing grass

is broken too.

Wilting. 

Solar

space never seems to

            be an issue

the clouds tighten their

hold on the sun

not even letting her set

they ask her how there

could be too little space

in her universe

            preposterous

she can’t grow

all the green traps her

in the sticky clouds

            so far down

            the way she used to be

but inside, she fizzes

she bursts

she burns brighter

than ever, but the

clouds make sure her light

illuminates no eyes

but what can she do?

she chose to be the center

to let the clouds hold her

and love her

and as quietly as they float

through the sky

            aimless

she would wander about

            observant

she never expected

            to wish for anything

            different, but

everything grows

and maybe it’s  time to

            let the clouds float as they please

            (they can hold the shy moon

            with whom she shares her light)

            let her world go

an indigo abyss greets the sun

with glittering lights

and she knows in her rapidly firing

core that

there’s nowhere to go but up.

WHY I HATE THE BEACH

she dips her toe into the

blank page of sand

slowly, she lets the ball of her

foot drop too

the heat that exudes from the

innumerable grains sears into

her heel as she releases

the weight fully

toe, ball, heel

            toe, ball, heel

she prances to a

flower printed blanket

with a crooked umbrella

how cliché

the comforting sun

envelopes her in a hug

each ray holding her closer

offering to never let go

she could fall asleep

as the birds chirp the

same melodies

without fail

a stagnant lullaby

she’s not tired

a spot within her soul

itches unceasingly

pulling one hand to her heart

and using the other to

swipe away her sand

speckled hair, she

walks towards the water

her eyes close

maybe if she can push away

some of her senses

she’ll see the beauty of this place

the waves crash hard

            but consistently

their sounds don’t change

but then again, what does?

she lets her eyelids lift up

the sun brings a sea of white light

into her vision

and then fades away as quickly as it was

there to begin with

and then she sees

what the waves are doing

they swim up to the shoreline

and the take the sand

            they take it away

raze it down

so that new grains can take their

place, until they, too, are taken

she sits down with her hands

stuck in the tangles of her

sandy hair

in despair

because everything changes

even though nothing really does

she wanders back to that

flower printed and threadbare blanket

with the umbrella leaning parallel to the

sand which won’t last long anyway. 

Blush

the warm sun

rises, kissing the ivory

morning sky

its rays flutter upwards

the palest pink

the birds sing quietly

as if under their breath

trying not to let the world

know just how

perfect their song is

their chirping little laughter falls over

the field as the sun’s

light grows more vibrant with surprise

and the butterflies’ wings

whisper simple sweetness as

they dance with the

wind, who falls

inward, a gasp

which turns upward

like an inexplicable smile

complemented by the roses

who neglect to fade in the

winter and turn ever

brighter as the sun

rises in the east

closer still

the green willow trees

cascade down but

press against the now lit sky

with youthful vitality

and the sun’s rays ooze a

pretty pink

but before the winds can again

be gasped for, the clouds

rise up, reaching slowly

for the

sky, who ever surprised,

recognizes a new sensation

and the sun lights up the noon

sky as it blushes

the most vibrant pink 

The Lonely Suburbs

that day I noticed

how clear the skies were

how the sun flooded the

world, glittering,

leaving the tips of my hair

shining still

and the blue was illuminated

brighter than usual, no clouds

on the horizon

no rainy days in sight

my eyes were clouded

by chosen naivety

and the idea that

things never change

but even the sun falls

and even though the stars

try to light up the darkness,

midnight blue overwhelms

those lonely suburbs where

we live, connected by just

the waves

did you know a

heart can be stolen

by the sandman? he

doesn't wait for resting eyes

but for vulnerability

            innocence or a

chance of happiness

uncertainty—like the dark

abyss that swallowed my

wishing stars

            the ones who illuminated

the moments before I was

taken by heavy eyelids

a faster change of states than I could imagine

aren't we all afraid of the

dark? because it’s then we

see the things for what they are

a cloud who comes in the night

where who would have thought

to look

who would’ve known the storm

was coming

in a shadow world, because there

are no street lights in these

lonely suburbs

because I thought the smiles

we shared brightened the world

enough, enough to make

storm clouds dissipate

but they don’t; the connecting

waves are now rough seas

where shades of meaning are

inconspicuous

and I can hardly remember to speak

I’m in a flood again

of memories, tears

and a fear of being

stuck alone

when I awake, though,

the sun will glitter,

reflect off my whirlpool

and maybe off a

sad smile

the kind who wants to

illuminate, but is too

similar to the stars—

swallowed by this midnight

blue world in

lonely suburbs