A “wait for it” love poem — 13, and craving my first kiss My peers so far ahead on this road to adulthood I can no longer see them beyond its curves Lost and left out, I walk it alone Then… friend of a friend Classic would-be bad boy at 14 Our first kiss an awkward dare, a…

There’s no one other than you That I want to sit beside As we white-knuckle The swirls of white water On this river that is life.

Possibly pointless ponderings of the past — I wish I hadn’t sent that email from the truck Where I sat with a fractured heart What if I’d waited another week, To talk over rehab with our family therapist? …

They may not break bones, but they can hurt — Words are weapons I have not always wielded wisely There are things I would unsay Words that were not untrue, but not true To who I am Betrayal made me reckless, using words Without worry Wounds aching, wanting retaliation Words whipped out with wanton abandon Careless with my serpent’s tongue In moments…

Home isn’t always a place — We planted our dreams — of love, of peace, of freedom in one another’s hearts Over time, they took root, and as roots do, they grew unruly and in unexpected directions They greedily drank in the love we shared and flourished They entangled so deeply inside us that it is no…

But oh, how they tried — I was born whole Into a family that was irreparably broken Capable of love that was merely token They could not see that love is not control Pushed (away) and pulled (back in) My sensitive heart a punching bag Crushing my ego, a favorite gag If only…

A pain-induced insomniac rant —

November 7th, 1995 — His voice should not inspire me I shouldn’t want him by my side His lips I long to kiss, though I should only long to see them form a friendly smile Upon his phantom face He does not belong to me, this man, who is little…

October 25th, 1999 — I taste her venom on his skin, and shiver in his arms He pulls me deeper into him, and tries to touch my calm Remembered rain pours over him, he fights the pain it caused I hold him fiercely to me, and whisper, I’m not the one who was…