Sure, I would rather be awake than asleep

I would rather lay beneath the vast infinity of

The sky than

Beneath the peeing paint and

Faded glow-in-the-dark stars

(Dollar tree, of course)

Of my bedroom ceiling -

But someone has to act first, and it’s

Not going to be me.

Think of any Messiah,

Any Jesus Christ or

Greta Thunberg, I guess.

They ended up how?

Nails in palms,

Palms full of blo...

When the Queen walks by, everything stops.

Because this is not some simple-minded media prop that smells like cotton candy and exists so that shady people can operate behind a lovely face with a high approval rating.

This is the Queen.

Her armor is dark, form fitting, there is a gun at her hip and a dagger on each leg. Her hair is fire, a deep orange drawn back into a tight French braid that fal...

So I am this lighthouse

This outpost

This saint of loneliness and light.

So I am this statue of solidarity

Sunk up to my knees in frigid waves

Standing in the steely sea.

So you say.

I am not

Self isolating

I am safely growing in the shade

Under the blanket of an overcast sky.

I am not

Worse off

Without your skyscraper frame sitting

Heavy on the beach beside me.

What you don’t see

How ...

He opened up the window

And I opened up my heart

He handed me a cigar

And I smiled in the dark

I pretended to ignore him

He pretended that he cared

He said I wasn’t shy or stupid

I said I wasn’t scared

My reality was dark and grim

But with him there was this light

I was drawn to him, moth to candle

Held in everlasting night

Nothing helped, I wasn’t sane

My heart and mind weren’t level -...

Sometimes,

I just need to hit the trails

Ride them as far as they go

Pedaling furiously and

Cornering sloppily,

Dangerously close to tree trunks

Sometimes,

I just need to fall

Tires spinning out in

Loose soil

Stinging scrapes and bruises remind me

That I am human

My head hits a root and reminds me

That the woods are real

And I am so glad to be wearing a helmet

But it’s all worth it, becaus...

She was staring at me. I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head. It was getting ridiculous at this point. It had been going on for hours. ‘What kind of person stares at someone for hours?’ I thought.

And her eyes made it all the worse. Her eyes were alarming - a stunning, vibrant blue that was impossible to ignore. They stood out, even though we were all cloaked in blue, surrounded ...

Light - show us what is and will always stay

Shadow - illuminate what isn’t and might be

Everything is the same, every day

We are bound by rules, never free

But shadow and light keep us sane

In their glorious defiance of all

We think is true, try to maintain

Expand our minds, no longer small

Shadow and light - a balancing act

If they are too similar, then they

Are too mundane, not abstract

Defea...

She was called Avalon, an archaic name she disregarded, preferring the name Ava instead. Her hair was dark, chestnut brown that fell just past her shoulders, framing a face that was like an acorn both in shape and color. And then there were those alarming blue eyes that were almost constantly being rolled in annoyance. Those eyes could stop you in your tracks.

She was short for her age, and had p...

I’m so glad that you think I’m funny

So glad I could make you smile

I’ve grown numb to it, it’s been

Like this for a while

I went from ignorable

To annoying

From studious silence

To raucous laughter

Before,

It was

Different.

Before…

I was so glad my grades were good

I was happy to assist

With any schoolwork,

I would quickly check it off the list

But here’s the thing about people:

Smart k...

She has so much to hide

A soft exterior conceals her instability

Soft, sleepy hills of green grass

Can always open into a sinkhole

A soft exterior conceals her instability

Perspective is all that masks her true self, she

Can always open into a sinkhole

A river of pain

Perspective is all that masks her true self, she

Could be out to get you - or perhaps

A river of pain

Obscures the fact that she...