Big boys don’t cry
You’re age five and fall off your bike and scrape your knee so you start to cry. And mommy says, “Suck it up, big boys don’t cry.“ You’re age six and hyperactive and sent to a mental institution for kids. You’re scared and alone and afraid of the dark and want to go home. You […]
Temptation
Tick-tock Tick-tock The second hand on the clock ticking away Tick-tock Tick-tock Seconds blur into minutes blur into hours Tick-tock Tick-tock The seconds counting down, the only sound aside from harsh breathing Shaking, a sick feeling bares down like the weight of their expectations Stirring, reaching blindly for another taste of freedom Tick-tock Tick-tock Ragged […]
Always second best
Bottle of cheap whiskey sitting on my desk Ruminations of how I got to this point Screaming into my pillow because I’m dead inside Screaming into my pillow because I’m too old to punch walls Screaming because this has built inside of me for so long And I don’t know how to let it out […]
Two days
Lump of breath catching in my chest and it hurts It hurts to breathe and it hurts to think It hurts to know that what we’ve shared is almost over It hurts to look at you and see what I’m missing in my life Blurry vision as tears streak down my cheeks And you don’t […]
Pathetic
Wrapped up in each other beneath the sheets But every night you have to leave And every time you walk away you steal another part of me You never stay Because he’s coming back in two weeks And I’m weak But every time you walk away and I’m left holding your warm spot on the […]
My love affair with books
Six days after my eleventh birthday, I was shuffled into a van by a social worker for the state of New York and brought to what would be my home for the next two years, one month, and eleven days. Located in (relatively) upstate NY, Mount Pleasant Cottage School is a residential treatment center that […]
I dream of you
In the time between laying my head down to rest And the yearning pull of blissful unconscious I dream of you Your features are vague outlines of the combinations of people I’ve loved But I know it’s you I dream of being on a porch and swinging on a bench I built for the sole […]
You’ve changed
They say to me “you’ve changed” What an asinine thing to say Did you expect me to remain the same after being shattered day after day? Disappointment clouds the windows of my soul And holds back what I’ve got inside from showing the world Invest every ounce of my being in hopes and goals And […]
Fading memory of perfection
Rich dark chocolate, illuminated by the tears in your eyesA gentle breeze blowing a few stray strands of hair across your faceA sole street lamp above throws long shadows all around usThe only thing on my mind is the salty sweet taste of your lipsThe feel of my calloused hand softly caressing your neckHeart pounding […]
More than a noun
What do you do?What do you mean? I do a lot of things.Yeah but when you introduce yourself to someone you say, “Hi, I…”“Hi, I like to write.”Oh cool you’re a writer?Sometimes.Well what about the rest of the time?I dunno, I like to read a lot too. Ok but what’s your job?Like, what do I […]