begin

i can't reason
with brilliance

i was never 
that smart

i can't talk
to the emotional

i was never 
that perceptive

i can't seem
to make you
understand

that what you
think i am

isn't real

the walls
we have between us
are filled with the trust
of completion

but the essence
of desperation

either stay with me
and love

or walk away
and live

the choice is yours
to have

and for me
to deal with

for the rest of my life

no matter what comes
i lose

(begin)

poem inspired by this prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2015-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-30

letters

i tried
writing you a letter
recently

but my heart
was leaping
out of my skin

and i couldn't
calm down
enough

to put pen
steadily
to paper

i don't understand
what you do
to me

i can't think
clearly
as i walk through
my day

because
the thought
of you and me

walks steadily
across my
brain

driving me insane
with hope
and possibility

oh be that one thing
good in my life

remind me
what living is for

remind me
that there's
something more

than darkness

poem inspired by this prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2015-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-29

it was a dark and rainy night

it was a dark
and rainy night
outside of the restaurant

a reflection
of the inside
blurred
with the outside
on the glass next to her

she saw
a ghost of herself
trying to hard
to be human

at a table
full of strangers

she wondered why
things had to be
the way
they had to be

love
in pause
apathy
in full play

eyes darting away
from what was
being said

and what wasn't

how long
can you live
a life of avoidance
just for the chance
of happiness?

she watched the lights
far away from her
as they twinkled
in the distance

quietly beckoning her home

poem inspired by this prompt:   http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2015-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-28

no regrets

just had
a gravy sandwich
with rolls
and butter

no regrets

just burped
and the taste
of cherry cheesecake
was on my breath

no regrets

no regrets

poem inspired by this prompt:  http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2015-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-27

hasty farewells

shut the door
abruptly
on my heart

beat a hasty
goodbye
to my memory

don't wait
until my image
blurs 
in front of your eyes

before you
deter yourself
from thinking
of me

as any more
than a tragedy

to run quickly
away from

in the dead 
of all my night

(go)

luxury

i need
to stop thinking
about you

as a luxury

a richness
i can't afford

i need
to believe
that i deserve you

that your goodness
is right for me

i need to give
as much as i take

feel
as much as you
feel

and stop hiding
the truth

just to suit the mood

you are
the one for me

you believe
in what can be

i need to see
what you see

and be free
in the knowledge
that what we have
is really there

(priceless)

poem inspired by:   http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2015-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-26

echoes

it seems
like all i write
are echoes
of what you say
to me

and the words
that i want
to remember

fall between 
the syllables 
on the page

protecting the heart
from the pain
protecting the brain
from sorrow

helping me walk
through to-morrow

with a whisper
of the past
to see me through

(true)

poem inspired by this prompt:  http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2015-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-25


art by: Jasenko Đorđević
http://toldart.com/portfolio