they don't know, nor care
they laugh over her battle
of despair and rage
of how she crawled to get to
that desk they see as her cage

I looked at the bay
it glared back streaks of sunrise
a soul at my shore
the fleeting burn tells my own
I have known those eyes before

enlightenment in
perceiving one's existence
comes with suffering
of knowing one's nothingness—
reason to stop existing

your dark ocean eyes
surpass the depths I have known
will your tides be here?
if I ever scared your waves,
will you want to conquer fear?

with faith I prayed at
your halls, awaiting advent
a priceless heaven
until they charged some coin for
a bottle of your spirit

long streets make tired feet
her words formed intersections
as if roads could rhyme
from the last dead end, i hope
to walk with her one more time

the flares of my eyes
are nothing but a warning
that fire seeks the air
found in sacred cavities
of your heart and memories

Woman,
strictly
be
a

r
i
v
e
r
unto
your
self.

I see you now
Unraveling the past in my future

On days when my mind is like a bramble brier
I’ll find sanctuary in a single bloom on your jagged stem

Patterns of attention
Fractals of thought

In the storm, Each wave greater than the last
Until calm and the terror of the doldrums

Turn off the world
Retreat into the sanctuary of bliss

What a perilous gift this is
The power to write and to speak
But what choice we have
These precious days

To snarl and bicker like fractious dogs
Or to make such sweet harmony
That life itself seems too good to waste

The depths of fear and pain and terror
Are as real as the tombs of living souls
Yet one smile on the face of innocence
Is all it takes to enter heavens door

My path is clear
Each day to be lived