We said

We would never let go

That this love

Was worth every tear

Every misunderstanding

Every hurt

And maybe it was

But how can you stand

If you depend on me to pull you up?

How can I dream

If I rely on you to be there too?

How can we live

If we don’t keep our own hearts?

I’m here for you

But I’m not yours....

I’ve been here before. But it didn’t happen like that.

When she kissed me I felt her wet tongue on my lips and I drew back, surprised and feeling silly.

“I’ve never done this before,” I say, my words all breath and excitement, before diving back forwards and opening my mouth to hers.

She tastes unlike what I could have imagined— warmth and sweetness. But mostly I notice the textures; her teeth cl...

She promised

To love me

Forever

This is what

Forever

Looks like

Ashy bones

Trodden clothes

Flowers decaying

This is what

Forever

Sounds like

Wind whistling

Through hollow hearts

Endlessly

This is what

Forever

Tastes like

Lips gone rotten

Slug slime on teeth

Foul dirt on tongue

This is what

Forever

Smells like

Cold earthy silt

Dried grass

Fresh blood

This is what

Forever

Feel like

Our...

Loyalty hurts me

I stay true to you and yet

Well, what do I get?

I trust and tell the whole truth

But you won’t be transparent.

I care too damn much

I love so damn much harder

I stick right by you

Through all the phases of grief

But at least you are here too....

I see the devil.

I see him in my smile. In my eyes. In my shoulders. I see the gears turning wickedly in his head. I see his hands itching to sin. I see his feet stomping over hearts. I see his teeth poised to gnash. I see his tongue thirty for pain. I see his cruelty.

I see me....

The shutters won’t shut

The blinds won’t budge

The curtains are cut

The screen is stuck

The shade is sheer

The glass is gone

The window is open

I can see right out

I can try not to look

But the wind blows through

The smell of the trees

And the earth is strong

And the rain will come in

It will flood from my eyes

And somehow I will

Realize

That you also look in

Paralyzed...

“It’s just fireflies,” Allen says.

“I think it’s flashlights,” says Sidney.

“Are you sure? It looks more like candles to me.” I say.

“Why would there be candles in the middle of the woods?” Allen asks.

I shrug. “Should we go see what it is?”

Sidney and Allen share a look. “No.”

“Come on,” I say. “All the grass is dry over here. There might be something nice to eat over there.”

They sigh and frown....

Don’t sit at the pier.

Just trust me. Yeah, it’s safe. But it’s haunted. And if you don’t believe in ghosts, that’s fine. But if you believe in love, that’s where they get you.

They have skin as pale as moonlight. Their hair ripples in glossy black waves. Their eyes are milky pearls, their lips blue and cold against yours, until they start warming and you feel their breath in your throat.

But by ...

Love is a punch

Love is a punching bag

Love hurts

Love liberated

Love splits skin

Love can take the damage

Love was made for this purpose

Love is the perpetrator

Love is the victim

Love tastes like blood

Love leaves purpling bruises

Love breaks bones

Love throbs

Love aches

Love burns...

He blows his nose. And yeah, sure, I don’t have anything against blowing noses in general. But like, excuse me. Can you not blow your nose in my direction? Can you be farther than six inches away from me?

I tilt my face towards the window. God, I wish I got aisle.

He stuffs the hard tissue in the pocket of the seat in front of him.

And then he pulls out another tissue.

“This is gonna be a long ...