I had to try
The very best
Not to gamble my
Pretensions away
Somehow by gathering every
Seed of my innocence
At all costs
I stopped still
In the tracks of symbolism
As if my heart depended on
Resolving all the
Meaningless corruptions
That ever existed
Deep interpretations
Percolated up
Like a punch in the gut
I don’t recall
Any black eyes at all
Just the untarnished memories
Beating like mallets
On the membrane
Of the xylophone
In my mind
© GÄ
I am reaching
My crescendo
To accomplish the things
That as a human
I thought I could not
O what beautiful joy
To uncover courage
And the ability to fly
A sonata of
Immeasurable strength
To be considered
We don’t have to
Burn our books
To find our strength
Or tear our buildings down
Even the sweetest
Tangerine still has yet
To be tasted
© GÄ
Would it be that
They should control
The meaningless things
To make us feel disempowered
Would it be that
Freakishly they could
See beneath the skirt
Of that identity
Figuratively
Observing our truths
Negate all the more
Important things
Reveal and expose
My vulnerabilities
The value of said
Credibilities crushed
Never acknowledging
What counts
Like the garden
Of my heart
Holding my hand
Kissing my face
Instead swiping
Left, right,
And all over the place
Poking at
The superficial
All the ridiculous
Unnecessary casting
Box checking satisfactions
There is
Nothing remarkable
About that
© GÄ
When the phoenix rises
And the ashes fall away
There is a clarity
That prims the sun
Like a gong
These feelings are yours
But they were also
Someone else’s before
They were yours
When your grandmother
Comforts you
When your best friend
Comforts you
When the person you
Trust the most
Comforts you
And says
Time heals all wounds
It’s because they know
And they’ve been
There before
Falling differently
One day further away
Less defeat
More complete
I am more complete
We are more unique
When the ashes fall away
© GÄ
I have a memory of when
To begin was to begin
Not to endure
Not to pull through
Just to begin
As when we fall
Back up again
Footsteps in time
Will surely find
What to begin again
Feels like
A faithful friend
When we are faced with
What feels right
A new beginning
Is renewed
With memories
That in the end
Will rise
Before the
Dawn of time
Begins again
© GÄ
I thought I was hungry
I forgot my appetite
Or even that I had one
To watch me eat
Would it bring you
Great pleasure?
I am hungry still
But not for food
I have an appetite for
Life for living
For not saying goodbye
Too soon
For not telling a lie
But the truth
And maybe for
Catching you
Like a fish
If honesty
Gets away
From you
What if
You would be the one
That I would call
If I locked myself in a closet
And couldn’t see anyone
You could be the one
That I would call
If I were famous
If I couldn’t read the things
That people said
If I couldn’t search the web
You are the only one
Who would know me
Through it all
A different kind of hunger
If I were famous
A desire to be free
To be alone
Momentarily
Just long enough
To recall
How to
Take a bite
© GÄ
Something so sharp
Can come biting down
And for what
Quite so quickly
But for why
With each step that we take
And each smile we would fake
It will come
Sharply biting down
All around
I wrote down
What to think
I wrote it all down
Very quick
In green ink
I then tore out the page
And then gave it a day
Before crawling
Away to escape
Across the courtyard
And into the sun
Where I found the
Last place that we
Smiled without looking back
Without searching for fun
Without looking
At all
© GÄ
Darkened light
Climbs up through
A veil of black
Discounted hope
Abridged by
Optimistic prisms filled
With the fragrant colors
Of tomorrow’s
Open eyes
Pursed lips
And gritted teeth
Can only mean one thing
Less anger
More love
Blinding lights
Who can breathe
Like this
Sheets of emotion
Wrap themselves around me
There were many
Who never came
You never left
Don’t ever leave
There were many
Who never came
You never left
Please don’t ever leave
© GÄ
If birds can fly
Why do they choose to walk
Lots of things die
Even friendships
To be the
Salt of the earth
Is it also
To feel okay
In the skin that you’re in
Without anything but
Yourself
It can take awhile
To get back there
If you are ready
I want to send you
A signal
Like a present
A song you can recite
Maybe then
We can choose to fly
Like birds
© GÄ
Remember when we
Used to have fun?
I guess it was
Important for me
For you to know
The surprise of my story
That also awoke in me
The surprise of you
Such a small act of love
Shouldn’t be such a big deal
Expressing emotions
Satisfyingly real
Then to recognize this
Ode to honor more acts of
Small generosities and bliss
Acts of kindness
The gifts
That make ya feel
So much
Bigger in your heart
Nothing like the faults
That make you shrink away
Make you stop in your tracks
Like stepping into a ziplock bag
Blankets over your head
In some ways just the same
As wishing it would all
Go away
What happens when two people’s
Self worth clashes
Is it ever too late to
Renegotiate our identities?
© GÄ
Poétique 