One drop is all it takes
for one crack to form
and unmake
that which took so long to build
in the confines of the place
you thought was safe
-you must always test the elements
One drop is all it takes
for one crack to form
and unmake
that which took so long to build
in the confines of the place
you thought was safe
-you must always test the elements
Beautiful girl
you are more than the scars on your face
and the curves that don’t fit
into the jeans made by another’s eyes
You are just material
a vessel for that which cannot be undone
by the history of images
thrown at women
like rocks
scissors
and gauze
I sit in a new year
black coffee
in my Koala coffee cup
I learnt French for an hour
and am living in the decision
to be more than the wasted year before
~
I exist
one step away from the next
as though every day
could be tracked on a scorecard
~
Do you ever get tired of trying to win
this game you entered without reading the rules?
~
Do you ever just want to lie on the floor
of some shopping mall
and watch the surprised eyes
as though this were
the only action
that could bring you
face to face with your soul?
My body will always be
better than her
and worse than them
like the clothes in store windows
that are just so much more
than the ones worn once
wasting away in my closet
~
This is our disease
our collective noun
earn
spend
earn
spend
spend until your soul is dry
and your hands are always thirsty for the feel of something new
crisp
unused
and suddenly yours
owned by the conceptual stamp
sold to you in the pursuit of joy
~
But with every disease
lies the cure of old
many have glimpsed
in the stillness
between one purchase and the next
~
The need to be
instead of to buy
to sit in what you have
settled
and content
I am suddenly aware
of the places you hide
in the deepest creases
of my mind
you are the Devil’s spawn
wearing God’s own face
like a mask that has glued itself
permanently in place
I kiss the morning
with lips older than yesterday
and somehow
the air knows
more than it ever did before
My chest burns
with a faint sting
and the Sun
has summer’s bite
piercing each shoulder
and each eye
like an iron rod
fresh out of the flame
My hand exfoliates paper
as I brush it across the page
with sand
endless white sand
finding new places to hide
Be happy
even when you’re so sad
a smile feels like climbing a mountain
on a stormy day
Be happy
when the winds are so strong
your face becomes ice
and your arms flap wildly about
unable to tether you
Be happy
for the sake of tomorrow
when the sun will surely shine again
Be happy
when the rain retreats
so that you are stronger
when it returns again
I brew tea blind
in the dark
following peppermint waves
through shadowed hallways
~
the aroma dances
along the early morning air
leaving a trail of heat
like a calming hand
reaching out for mine
walking me steadily
into the light
We all have those moments
and I can’t promise they will ever go away
those moments we look in the mirror and say
things we would never whisper
to our closest of friends
We see so much wrong
and our insides curl up
further into themselves
like a wet towel
twisting until dry
But it’s ok
because moments pass
in the time it takes
for a Barista to make your morning Long Black
and perhaps you simply confused
one kind of exhaustion for the other