castle

My mind's a messy bedroom,
and I don't know where to start
when it comes to climbing through
the cluttered chambers of my heart.

I tiptoe through the trash heap.
To function, I must ignore the piles
that grow bigger, louder by the day
'til they scream and stretch for miles.

I cover myself with clothing
that's been picked up off the floor.
"It's okay," I tell a wrinkled shirt.
"I've been there many times before."

My mind's a messy bedroom
I don't want anyone to see.
My heart's a dungeon of indecision,
my body both beauty and beast.

A chattering enchanted castle,
teeming with sentient, out-of-place pieces
longing to be lifted
from their spells, to be set in their places.

The spells are always lurking,
so if you see me in a wrinkled shirt,
please ask me how I'm doing,
if I trust you, I might offer a tour

of my mind, that messy bedroom
and my heart, that prison cell.
Could you possibly find a princess
in this crazy, cluttered castle?

premiere

It's not on the tip of my tongue.
It's not obvious, like a drum.
Quiet feet start to tap
and my mind starts to hum
that shapeless song, the prospective poem.

The trance ends when you walk in the room.
Our mouths speak but our hearts are on mute.
Leave me 'lone for a while,
in my home, on an isle,
and the poem will quickly resume.

It's not the American Dream,
It's a walk in the woods, two tired feet in a stream.
It's swimming in sadness
that no one can see.
I follow the poem to the bottom of me.

Will you ever be able to follow me here?
Will you ever break down these tall fences of fear?
I keep taking it slow,
I don't know, I don't know.
In the end, all I've got is a poem to premiere.

ghosts

I am lonely again, and lie in bed
listening to the wind blow worries through my head.
If I called out to you, I know you would come,
but I'm paralyzed again with gloom.

How can I ask you
to stay in a haunted house?
How can I ask you
to share your space with ghosts?

elsie (part 2)

I greet Elsie in the hallway
with a smile every day.
She says hello with an even tone
and stares ahead with a stony gaze.

Her mouth is nearly motionless,
as flat as Illinois.
Her expression has no curves or hills.
She walks with purpose and poise.

But I have seen her smile
in the lunchroom now and then.
I have seen her stone walls soften
in the presence of a friend.

I have even seen her laughing,
but just when it seems the way is clear,
I reach out to her again
and walk straight into a glass door.

A heedless, happy robin,
slammed into the ground once more.
Will I ever find the key to the house
where Elsie's smile is stored?

She speaks to me of poetry.
She hints at darkness deep.
She tells of a great dragon
in a faraway cave, asleep.

I fancy myself a mother bird
offering fat worms of hope
to dragons or children in tangled up nests
who need to know they're not alone.

painted sky

I'm twenty-two, and drive to work
while the sun rises every morning.
If I'm lucky, I can see the sun set
as I drive home in the evening.

I feel like I just discovered
sunrises and sunsets this past year.
I used to think that the really beautiful ones
were an exception, something rare.

But now the sky lights up differently
every morning and every night.
The clouds' soft edges boldly gleam,
and vibrant colors fill my tired eyes.

I'm twenty-two and never knew
that each day held such a gift.
I discovered it when I needed to-
when my soul began to slip.

New masterpieces every day
that move my heart to praise
His mercies, new each morning,
and His never-failing grace.

He lifts the sun so lovely,
even when most of the world sleeps in.
We ignore the beauty just outside
our curtains or our skin.

Faithfully, He paints the sky
each morning and each night.
Until we know we are in need
we will not see the light.

let’s go

I bring you my heart
all tied up in knots impossible to undo.
I place them into your kind hands
and my heart falls down like dew.
Your hands, like little green leaves
in the sweet morning light,
scoop me up safe from the air,
tangled strings to unwind.

You hold my freed heart,
a waterfall fluttering wild.
I dream of being the frost
on the grass of your smile,
hardening into one happy whole
no hot sun could ever steal.
Let’s stay, fluttering frozen forever here.
Let’s go, flying forward with no fear.

el poder de una palabra

“La angustia abate el corazón del hombre, pero una palabra amable lo alegra.” Proverbios 12:25

La angustia (noun): anxiety, concern, distress, anguish, sickness

Abate (verb): shoots down, brings down, knocks to the ground, demolishes, defeats, depresses, disheartens

El corazón (noun): the heart, the core, the center

De (preposition): of, in, from, with

El hombre (noun): a man, mankind

Pero (conjunction): but

Una palabra (noun): a word, a promise

Amable (adjective): gentle, kind, friendly, nice

Lo alegra (verb): cheers it up, makes it happy, livens it up, brightens it up.