No my dear,
Don't blame yourself
Or torture yourself with those
Thoughts of what could have been.

No my dear,
It was no failing of yours
No amount of love or care could
Have protected that child any better.

No my dear,
Don't give up so soon,
You were young and unready
And scared and trapped and shaking.

No my dear,
I can't know your pain,
But I can share it with you,
You shouldn't have to face it alone.

Yes my dear,
You can
I promise you can
And next time will be better.

Losing sight, sound, coherence,
The world shifts beneath me and I'm somewhere else,
Somewhere quiet, but deafening,
Filled with monsters longing to hug me
And I feel nothing but my legs,
Kicking, flailing against the desk,
I'm falling, in colours and pain,
And my voice is calling out without me,
Too loud, no fear, only pure panic,
As my brain loses touch with my spine,
And all I know is nothing.

Death is not the end
As long as memories live
Your story remains

I've got to get out
Of a cage
That I built with me inside
I've got to take off
The cloak
That I made too big so I could hide
I've got to untie
These chains
That held me out of sight
I've got to be free
Of myself
Tonight

I've got to forget
The fear
And walk on my own feet
I've got to release
The pain
And turn from my defeat
I've got to believe
That I
Can be more than just a rewrite
I've got to be free
Of myself
Tonight

Waiting in the empty hours
The fading hours
When loneliness holds my hand
Hoping for different company
Or company at all

Waiting in the solitude
A multitude
Of memories haunt me
Draping themselves around my neck
And my thoughts

Waiting in the pointlessness
The uselessness
Of staying up later than planned
Praying for some purpose
To my dreams.

Waiting as I always do
Always knew
That I was in love with 1 AM
More than I ever was
Or ever could love you.

In the texture of summer air
A hope lingers
A promise
Of future warmth
Brighter days
Simpler ways of living
And almost tangible
Touchable
Tasteable love sits
In every breath
Building up
Bubbling over
And straining to be released
Into the world that cries out for it
A people who long for it
A community that thrives on it
As light pours out
And joins the divided.

Fragile wings
Frantic wings
Beating faster than eyes can
Track across the sky
On summer air
Summer currents a prelude
To summer storms
That batter the flight
And bruise the journey
And fill the sky with darkness
And drive them into hiding
But those wings find a way home
And a way out
To the light
And in the wake
Help flowers grow.