inky-handed phen

May 20

we will kiss the words

i am burning up, afloat on dreams

twisting stories between my fingers

and holding on,

biting the insides of my cheeks

to keep from overflowing.

my head is brimming with warm,

flowery, perfumed air,

all that yellow light behind my eyes,

that starshine,

fading haziness of late-houred 

heat.

you are singing on windowsills

and your voice is filled with

bursting light like sunrise,

lounging and laughing

with your heart made of secrets,

your eyes are

what longing feels like. 

you carry the very violent sadness

of rainstorm-brewed august afternoons

cradled in your defiant hands.

you are,

i am,

bruised and alone.

we falter below the night sky,

too tired to be stubborn.

we will kiss 

the words to each other,

we will un-board our mouths,

exalt in the never-said. 

we were not made for these

bizarre and poisoned lives.

20 may 13

May 16

just realized that I’ve posted 100 new poems since beginning this blog
^_^ yay milestones awesome

edit: so that means 100 new poems since January 2012! 

just stop what you’re doing

your lungs do not have the capacity

for such heavy sadness —

 

the spasms of breath, the thunderstorm

downpour of tears, the gasps and sighs

and loud, ragged anxiety in the darkness —

 

regain your composure before

the sun rises,

and make sure you don’t suffocate while

sleeping.

May 13

May 06

ghosts are real

if had to pinpoint it, i guess i
started believing in ghosts when i met you.

because your eyes are colored
like the saddest farewell and even when you were
right next to me, my skin ached for you
in heavy sighs and bone-deep pains.

and i thought to myself one morning,
when the air was already thick and warm
with August and the sky was painted grey
like antique silverware,
that one day you were going to make me feel
stars collapsing inside of my lungs.

and i wanted to make sure
when that destined, raw agony began
to spark at the back of my throat

i was not alone.

 

6 may 13 crl

i watch a lot of ghost movies and deadpan tv comedies, according to my netflix suggestions 

i watch a lot of ghost movies and deadpan tv comedies, according to my netflix suggestions 

Apr 28

april 27

i still have scars left over from

when you liked to tear at my skin to

see the things i was made of,

to test how much

was too much.

 

some nights during a thunderstorm

or a new moon, i can feel

the ghosts of my own screams

ripping through my lungs

 

and i am startled by my own ability

for surviving. i am startled

by my strength for life.

 

i still walk around carrying scars

left over from so many years

never knowing my stubborn penchant

for standing up again

 

after being thrown to the ground.

 

april 27, crl

Apr 27

april 26, or Night Music for Worried Hearts


your heart is as big as your fist —

a pomegranate, a 

too-small-for-anything-worthwhile

tupperware container, a very nearly

deflated balloon, 

my fist if it had three extra fingers.

 

you are living stardust,

you once pulsated in the same

sky i sometimes cry over

when the night is clear and my soul

is tender.

 

maybe you are angrier than 

you think you should be,

you walk too slowly, speak 

too quickly. your bones

are filled with things you should

have said, 

 

but your hummingbird voice, the way

a sigh leaves your lips before

you say hello, your meandering limbs,

your sharp tongue,

ethereal heart, cosmic body

 

send shivers through my skin,

light my dreams on fire.

 

have you forgotten 

you are a miracle?

 

april 26, or night music for worried hearts, crl

Apr 25

25/30

i guess maybe you should know that i am really bad

at solving riddles and i hate the way your mouth curls

when you are holding back a secret. i try too hard

to be on time and the only dreams i remember

when i wake up are the ones that make me cry.

you said my name like you were in church the first

time we spoke in that messy crowd, that made me wonder

how the future could feel so frightening and

beautiful all at once. i know that you drink coffee twice

a day and you burn your tongue at least three times a week,

always on Tuesday, and my hands are anxious for yours

when we’re on the sidewalk, in your car, on the train,

in my bed. for every hello your arms bring my body

into yours, and when you said goodnight i thought

we would destroy each other.

 

april 25, crl