Last night, he waited at the end of my street in his red pick up
while I snuck out of the back door in my shorts and a hoodie.

We drove around and talked music for hours
and between the exchange of our words
we exchanged a perfectly rolled blunt.

Somehow we ended up back at his place
on the back porch with a cigarette in one hand and my fingers intertwined with his in the other.

At some point his extremities began to graze my leg
slowly moving up towards the inside of my thigh.

And how I wanted so badly to give into his touch
But all I could offer was a kiss
that tasted of desperation and nicotine.

When all that was left of his cigarette was the cherry at the end of its filter,
he asked if he could leave his mark on me.

And with the nod of my head, he put the small roll of tobacco out
on the same place where his fingertips fluttered over just minutes before.

With his brand on my inner thigh and my tongue in his mouth,
I felt extraordinary lust and helplessness in the pit of my stomach.

A child's whisper
A faint glimmer
We're never really alone
Are we?

Look into the mirror with me.

You see that girl?

No, not me, luv.
Look at yourself, for once?

Yes, that girl.

I love that girl.

I love everything about her.

Her body.
Her mind.
Her soul -- a touch of youth, but old at heart.

The way she talks.
The way she walks.
The way she breathes -- deeply at first, but softly as she sleeps on.

The way she writes.
The way she draws.
The way she creates -- with passion, but with a calmness unlike her.

But most of all,
I love the way she loves me.

I love the way she holds my hand.
I love the way she kisses my lips.
I love the way she loves -- cautiously as if I'll break, but then unbridled when she sees that I won't.

She holds my heart in her outstretched hands...
And I won't try to take it back.

You and I
breathed each other in
and now we burn on
each other tongues
like the cigarettes that
sit between your
beautiful lips.

When I think of the word passion
I think of him
And the look that shines in his eyes
When our lips barely touch
And we begin to kiss
The glimmer he shares
For just me to see
A look between lovers
His passion for me

Sometimes I just wish I knew,
how to keep you happy,
without dragging myself down.

It's a constant cycle,
you're drowning and I'm a lifeboat,
but someday I'm gonna need,
some space to figure myself out,
because right now, focused on you,
I've completely lost track of myself.

Sometimes I wish I knew,
how to keep you and your cerulean eyes
from drowning in the pain that,
weighs you down.
But now I'm focused on myself,
for it's something I've neglected,
for a long while now.

I'm done saving you from the demons you refuse to shut out.
It's time for you to help yourself.

If your lover
Your mate
Helper
Partner
Loses zeal
Loses beauty
Looks twisted
Unrecognizable
Unattractive
When you disagree
Fight
Argue
Breakdown
Then you aren't loving

But my friend
My best
My favorite
You are as handsome as ever.

When you wake up to
the sounds of birds chirping from
her window through your
phone and you both
just so happen to
wake up at the
same time...
that's how you
know you're in
*love.