I’ve done a lot in exchange for getting you back.

You wouldn’t know because you were always on the other side of the world, other side of the bed, other side of where I always seemed to be…

I’ve made deals with my heart, other women, and other places. I thought that if I came back more healed, more emotionally skilled, and more cultured, the distance would’ve made sense.

Somehow, the deals off...

My smile is an invitation for takers.

My kindness, a declaration that meek is my nature.

The same dog that you see in you is the same that I got in me.

Same species, different pedigree, no leash, just roaming free.

I play the same game you play but I’m gonna win.

They say the devil is beautiful, my smile is my sin....

I’ve been penned through winters and longed for June.

Wished for days that showed up as noons.

Crossed my heart and prayed under plenty full moons.

I know why the caged bird sings.

I’ve extended my wings, brutally blocked by the cage.

Then I did it again, each sting soothed my engulfing rage.

And again and again, nearly breaking a chain.

I know why that caged bird sang.

When I transferred th...

Deep down, you’re actually really shallow.

Vast in spirit with a mind too narrow.

I had to dig deep in order to find it.

Wall after wall with nothing behind it.

My eyes were so bright and fists wide open.

But cheapened in the state of being your token.

You stood too tall to be so weak.

And way too loud to be so meek....

I see you for who you are,

And who you could be.

I trust you to be you....

Don’t let yourself float away to the moon, or you’ll miss the flowers under your feet that bloom.

Don’t miss the chance to fill your heart because you’re too busy trying to find the room.

Don’t leave your faith anywhere on that path by focusing too much on the formidable doom.

And most importantly, make sure that you’re here today because it’ll all be gone real soon....

From the parking lot, I could tell that the restaurant was as busy as it would be on a Friday night that also happened to be Valentines Day. I clasped my jacket closed, pushed pass the bitterness of the wind, and made my way inside. The sounds of chatter and clinking dishes greeted me while the host smiled and welcomed me in.

“How many?” She asked with the eagerness that only someone who enjoyed ...

My mom said we can’t afford a birthday party but I didn’t ask to be born the day after the New Year.

She said I can’t go anywhere without my little brother but I didn’t ask to be the first one here.

She said I can’t talk like that and I can’t walk like that but I didn’t ask to be born a girl.

She said she wished she weren’t mine but how could I know my existence would shatter her world?

I didn...

Sometimes, it truly amazes me that I can find so much warmth in ice.

I’m not cold-blooded, just hooded and covered, convincing myself that it’s something I like.

As I lay in the ice, paralyzed with pain, my brain relays something different.

It says “Think of Bahrain in the middle of July” and my heart readjusts it’s own rhythm.

And as it picks up its pace, blood rushes to my face, I swear th...

I’ve been the inspiration for many horror stories after we were through.

Spent hours in the mirror trying to figure out why I couldn’t see the person I knew.

Wondered how I could be in crowds of love and only felt seen by few.

And then it dawned on me, after streams of dreams, I was buried alongside you....