in all the photos
he was a young man -
my father

handsome and smiling
a useful smile

i tried to find one from later
when he was a bystander
on my street -

older, unsmiling, obsolete
- there were none

i wish i had known
how he felt

now that i do.

r ~ 11/25/14

i once read
where someone said

'we run from rain
but sit in tubs filled with
water.'

and since that moment,
on days where teardrops
fall from the sky,
i have not skipped out
on letting them kiss my skin
and melt into my hair

because i want to feel
everything i can in this mundane
life before -

My love
refers to me
as an artist
I maintain
that I just paint
as this
color slinger
simply reproduces
the masterpiece
her love
creates

Roll me between your
Thumb and finger
Make me your art.
Hang me on your wall.

Maybe I’ll stay.

****** me
Into your pet,
Your tamed raven.
Keep me in your cage.

Maybe I’ll stay.

Let me drown  in-
Soak in-
Suffer through-
Your silence.
Ruin me.

Maybe I’ll stay.

Go to bed,
Wash your hair,
Don't pull down your underwear

Read some books,
Give nice looks,
Please oh please do not smoke kush

Play a sport,
Get a job,
Don't let boys meet your mum

Get good grades,
Always straight A's,
Don't let them take you away

Go to church,
the Burning Bush,
Don't give your soul away

Don't smoke crack,
Keep your life in tact,
It'll **** me anyway

Do homework,
Take Ty on a walk,
I already get home after twelve

Pay these bills,
Fight these wars,
It'll soon be over anyway

Here's a knife,
Here's the world,
did you grow up good, girl?

We keep to ourselves
not because we're angry
It's just we are not consumed by
the same things
as others
There is nothing wrong with not wanting to be around people sometimes
Because when our eyes meet
on some street
We don't have to say anything
And this is enough
to make me feel sane
and want to see tomorrow