I never

i never want to see another child
with a mark of hate on their face
with fear in their eyes
with a scream on their lips
and a hatred of themselves
a thought in their minds that they deserve it all

i never want to see another woman
with scars on her heart and soul
battered, bleeding, alone
unable to scream from the damage done
by a man, or men, in the dark or the light
by her father or her brother
by society, by the world
by her lover or her husband
by the mother who sat on her hands
and never stopped the harm

i never want to see another teen
with scars on their arms, legs, body
from a razor blade in the bathroom
brought on by the desire
for their inner pain to be released

i never want to see another person
mocked for who they love or the color of their skin
or how they dress
what gender they have come to understand they are
what foods they do not eat
what they read, watch, or do for fun
who they sleep with

i never want to hear another person say
that a woman is nothing
that a girl is a slut for saying yes
or a prude for saying no
that a boy is queer
because he cried
or gay because he hugged his friend
because he loves someone

i never want to hear another excuse
that we have freedom of speech
that they are different
that she shouldn't have done it
that she was asking for it
that he was just being a man
that boys will be boys
that they are guilty because they're not white

i am sickened by humanity
by the cruelty
by the hate
by the refusal to accept what is different
by the assumption that they are lying
by the death, by the simple inherent evil
by the excuses

take a look at history
glance through the pages that detail time
and tell me that things have been fixed
for a woman, for a person with dark skin
for anyone who is not
a straight, white,
man.



(c) 2013

The Way

the way you blink, slowly
the way you laugh, at me, at yourself
the way we can understand each other, from a glance
you showed me how to laugh when i was sad,
weeping wounds on my side,
you took the knife away,
said, you're okay.

the way you move, gently, graceful
the way you kiss, sweetly,
the way you light me up, afire, ablaze
you gave me a new outlook,
opened my eyes, wiped the tears away,
kissed me better,
now i really am okay.




(c) 2013

Snow

falls down, pretty, white
settles in your hair, featherlike
melts into tiny pinpricks, droplets
on your skin, glimmering
in the half light, you're shining

how many angels on the head of a pin
how many snowflakes will collect on your skin
let me breathe you in
let me breathe you in

snowy silence closing in, breathless, cold
moonlight glowing vright as day,
wind-tossed handfuls, laughing, playful
tiny footprints in the snow, mine, yours,
side by side.


(c) 2013

Frozen

there, far down, below the stars
given form, breath of cold
frozen hard and feather soft
brittle, broken with a sigh

rime on buds and petals
flowers burst to life on window panes
threads to weave a starry coat
glimmer in a candle's flame

scatter diamonds through the leaves
brush them with a finger, melt
touch them with a beam, light, glow
throbbing, tiny, stars on earth

shimmer, shimmer, ice and storm
fare thee well, cold, frozen stars
wake the sun
watch them fade



(c) 2013