mhmm

We spent months unaware of each other-
(it was easy to get lost
amongst the hundreds of uniformed white and red.)
The first time I heard you speak
you were giving me a delivery of flowers from someone else.
Who knew then. . .

I had freshly ended,
you had never begun
but watched-
a face in the crowd who disapproved of the public display
of disrespect.
All you needed was that night-
You saw me cry, and you would not have it.

We figured it out slow-
very slow.
VERY slowly
unraveling the layers of each other that
we both protected so much.
But because we knew
we gave way, and let them peel back
like rose petals in the presence of sunlight
anxious to let the beauty in
after so much rain.

It's strange,
alien even.
I never understood the symphony
in simplicity.
For years I had felt like a dog
for years
and scraped and tore
into myself
and into him.

In my case you have to
know
patience.

I know patience.
But now I also know respect
and truth
and someone
who was never taught
how to hurt.

rough draft

let me know your thoughts on this?
It's still a work in progress



13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT WALLS

It was said, when it began
"this is a wall to keep them out."
but it soon became 200 yards of mines,
dogs, and machines
to keep everyone in.

Walls have holes from tacks,
spots of paint missing from ripped tape.
Punctured and peeled-
but sealed.

Not even walls
can harbor
every color in the
spectrum.

I am often tired.
But then I feel guilty
because the walls of our atriums
consistently pulse-
pushing and stretching
to transfer the essentials
and turn the tired blue
into an oxygen-rich red.

Walls separate and categorize the necessary-
writing from WWII,
chemicals from calculators.
The mind
from learning new ways to speak.

Some called her an architect.
She created the most spectacular walls.
They kept the world at a safe distance
and they were very efficient.
She worked and designed for only herself.

Frames of words or moments at standstill
"Remember this?"
Walls are an icon of raw strength,
they carry the weight of the past
without resistance and without say.
They carry it all, and they still hold their ground
without wavering
or crumbling.

Walls will put up a fight-
you have to know how to tear them down.
Caution signs will warn you
to not cross the yellow tape
without excessive patience.

Some build walls to keep each and everything outside.
They usually don't block all sounds-
but they muffle
and do the best they can.

"I don't quite know what to do with this wall.
Maybe it's the color, it doesn't work.
It doesn't flow with the others,
it's always been the one that's given me a problem."

It braves cliffs
and the most uniquely impossibly peaks.
A sanctuary from evil-
Tell me of any other wall
that is visible from space.

I watched from the kitchen
while you banged your suitcases
against the walls of the hallway.

I felt like that wall-
beaten and scarred by
something that is never coming back.
You can't spackle hearts...
can you?