Choke

She said she loved me As her claws sank deeper into my collarbones And she leaned in to peer into my eyes To watch me squirm while she let go. "The way of mothers," she coos to a ghost. I mostly avoid corners if I can track a rounded turn Yielding to physics and friction …

Metronome

The first time I heard her singing Her voice vibrated in my eyes Until my entire body was numb with resonation. Sometimes when I am alone I play that song until I can feel it underneath my ribcage With a pulse so giving I would almost swear She wrote that about us - If only …

I Insist.

Sideways steps through curtains of ivy and moss Lead seldom to the stillness that would satisfy the ache of a temple Whispering instead to voices of the past reanimated. Unwelcome moisture melts into streams that carry to sea The sweat and spit of a thousand small screams Expecting only to be swallowed. A missed exit …

Alt.

Sometimes queens change places in the dark Patriotic fluidity under watch of the moon Called always by crisis. Throne to globe, to crust, to core, she extends Projections sometimes recognized To fault the reality of stars. Omniscient cave troll, once beneath a hill -- Take your turn for the worse. Melt me, too, when I …

Turbulence

Violent air rattles the window in a small room. I hear the sky scream your name. Why won't you answer me? I cannot seem to remember how it ended Only the perfect storm that brought us near. There are few pains as heavy as unrequited love. Thick rain plows into the rooftop I wish brought …

Alone is

The space between words I would not fill if I knew it would hurt Where we find cold resolution Not to continue Like a path abandoned for the fallen debris Like a book returned unread for its depth Like a name called but unrecognized Like the last time you looked my way And decided it …

U-Turn

Why were you up Walking at night Where the cars blow past and would not stop Even if they saw you? I missed you that one time (With-my-heart-not-my-car) And I want you to know that CHANGE IS REAL. Please do not question evolution the way You questioned me.. Proof is in the petals. My chest …

Aunt Grace

It is loud outside as we pursue quiet places. A two-year-old October cloud delights in the crunch of leaves beneath her feet. Her frosty eyes find stillness in the steady swing of childhood rule. I push and coo to her as if our lives depend on it. Now is not the time to learn about …

Man-cave

Before her perch on a bookshelf, watching dancing refraction, She must have been a warrior. Gray cotton ball cat with shoulder blade wings locked into eternal malcontent Surveys our new domicile before giving an okay. She will protect me here too. So many nights before, the sound of paw pads approached Quickly to gain focus …

The Discount Doctor King

The sting hits first With minimal resistance. What scares you, do you know? Where's your mountain castle now? I'm sorry but you just weren't high enough. Go ahead and correct my grammar but ignore the meaning. Let's go back to our beginning, Back when your smile was inescapable - The temptation of Christe. Takes two …