Beneath the willow, you will find

A bit of hope, some peace of mind,

A heart still young and tearful-eyed,

Beneath the willow, beneath the sky.

Some seek comfort in endless light,

While others rest in the hush of rain.

Some guard dreams in the arms of night,

While others call to the dark in vain.

But whether you come in joy or pain,

Beneath the willow, beneath the sky,

Beneath this weary moon,

B...

The day Atticus was born, I think all the angels in Heaven died. I know that’s a horrible thing to say, but it has to be true. Because where were they? Where were they when it all happened?

I don’t hate him. I don’t think I’m even allowed to hate him. But I hate the things he did. And I hate that I let him do them, and that maybe I could have stopped them.

On my 6th birthday, Mom and Dad got me ...

A teary night. A lantern flickers,

casting warmth upon our

so-small world.

Each movement—soft, precise—

hands sculpted for both love and war.

Quiet voices whisper beneath our feet,

blood pooling beneath the

soles of our shoes,

death tangled in our laces.

The sun speaks of greatness,

mocking us with its roaring light.

Yet still, the teary nights return,

for where there is light,

there is always...

Last Sunday at church, during the silent prayer, Ethan started crying.

I didn’t know why. Ethan never cries. Not at church, not anywhere. He doesn’t even like going. He’s always slouching, rolling his eyes, crossing his arms like he doesn’t care. But when everyone bowed their heads, I heard something, and when I peeked at him, tears were sliding down his cheeks.

I asked him why afterward, but he...

Honeycomb teeth biting through

your skin.

You keep the water cold, fighting

to kill the warmth within.

You listen to the voices; they say,

“Keep on writing and you’ll

be empty of sin.”

But you can’t escape your hands,

the way a fish can’t escape its fins.

Do you see what you’ve done?

This nameless grave,

another hole bleeding out the ground.

Try your hardest to be last place,

begging for somethi...

Once in a motel, I buried my soul

beneath the floorboards

and left it there, because I

thought that was

what you were meant to do.

I dream of it some nights:

rotting beside the fractured

soul of my mother.

She must’ve buried hers too.

If there is anything I have learned,

it is that there are five syllables in sorry

when you really, really mean it.

And that not even the birds could sing

over the c...

Voice 1:

Everyone is dying.

Voice 2:

Well, I feel rather alive.

Voice 1:

A terminal patient is lively during his final moments.

Voice 2:

Pardon?

Voice 1:

Do you believe how alive you feel defeats how dead you’ll inevitably be?

Voice 2:

You’re gloomy, aren’t you?

Voice 1:

I think I’m honest.

Voice 2:

Can an honest man know his honesty?

Voice 1:

The way a ...

I dreamt the sun never set,

God never closed His eyes.

I never cried, only laughed.

I did not know death,

only its possibilty.

I accepted endless heat

for endless light.

I worried for God’s weary

eyes, but trusted

He would make do.

I begged the dream to

last forever....

I woke up

looking for you

in my bed.

Was I there?

No.

You were in the sky instead.

Am I

a star?

You

can

be

mine.

Don’t worry

about the moon, darling —

it’ll be fine.

I’m afraid

of dying.

So am I.

Does this mean

we’ll die

together?

Pray.

(in due time)

God listens

to...

I travel through the

heavens to get to your hell,

I make it back to

God with a story to tell.

Of anger, forgiveness,

and unrelentless spirt,

I speak it to God,

and pray He will hear it.

You’re dying, yet certain

you’ve already died,

You say you can’t bear it,

they tell you to try.

We are far away — so far

from future, so far from past.

I carry hope in my throat,

you carry truth on your...