Expecting you to be there
Expecting you to care
Is exhausting
As I get lost in the echo
Of your hollow words
Whispers of emotions
You didn’t feel

Telling others of first sight
and first touch
but truly not recalling them

I became the victim
Of your “three word lie”
As I feel my heart die
knowing you can never
knowing you will never

Feel the way I felt
when I looked into your eyes

i watch you
fall at the feet
of those
who will never
know your name

im here
im real
i love you
and you
are distracted

or at least
you're not supposed to admit that they are
but everything is about love
or lack thereof
so, i think wholeness
is a lot to expect.
i think my chest
is gonna rattle no matter
who tries to fill it,
but i still wish for quiet.
i want stillness in my breaths,
and maybe i need to hold them
but maybe i need to hold him
and i think wholeness
is a lot to expect,
but regret stings less than loneliness
so i still write poems about love.

it's crazy...
how we put our whole lives into something, devoting every ounce of our heart and soul into it until we're left with the results we want...the results we never get.
but, maybe that's just it.
maybe the reason those devotions don't satisfy is because they never really were meant to? maybe our devotions should lie elsewhere...lie somewhere where can't even begin to comprehend.
suppose our devotion in life isn't anything selfish...anything that gives us gain, but rather surrender.
and in those moments our devotions and dreams don't work, maybe it's merely because they aren't the right ones to set our eyes on.
-Julia Aubrey Rhodes-

Sorry I can't
hear you any
—more.
I think we're

breaking up.


I think we're

breaking down
each other.

I don't believe every person has one soulmate

I think they have hundreds

The best friends who care about you when you can't care for yourself

The woman working at the deli down the street who always gives you a dollar off your sandwich because she knows money is always tight  

The man working at the bookstore who sets books he knows you'll like in the back so no one else can buy them

The little girl at park who's face illuminated with joy when you played hide-and-go-seek with her

Soulmates are not one person out of seven billion

They are everyday people

Ones who take the time to make your day a little bit better

Pen to paper...
or ink to tree?
A poetic
inconsistency.
slow it
            d
            o
            w
            n
take your time
avoid excessive
prose and          ...similar sounding couplets

Be real
Speak truth
deep from your gut
but know when to lie
to still make a buck

Know your audience
But write for yourself
and get used to the currency
Praise = Wealth

Always trust the process
But never
under any circumstance
process the trust
you'll never stop worrying
if each line is enough

AND REMEMBER!
There are thousands of words
so read 'em and know 'em

Now stop reading this
and go write a poem!