Conversations

Late night conversations

Become longer and longer

Not because there is more to say

But because there is nothing at all to be said

Our 'how was your day?' segment used to take a minute

Now it takes days for the question to be asked and answered

And our goodbyes are shorter now, have you noticed?

We used to talk until we could no longer stay awake

We used to delay our goodbyes until we could no more

And now, here we are, rushing to them even before we get through our hellos

And sometimes I want to ask you what went wrong

As I struggle to answer your simple inquiries about my mundane life

But wouldn't that one question, so different from the usual

A relief even, from our carbon copy conversations

Wouldn't it be the very last asked?

So then shall we just leave Pandora's Box shut

And pretend we are as we always were;

Happy?

Dancer

Ah! You are back
With your smooth dance moves
Spins and bows
And rehearsed steps
You claim you heard the music again
The cursed music of the heart
And so here you are
Dancing for me again
And so I too don the stockings and ballet shoes
Tiptoe around you
As if performing on a stage of eggshells
And you
True to your chosen profession
Seduce me with your salsa
Make me fall in love with your tango
And then waltz out of my life even before the music ends

(Untitled)

When it's dark and quiet and I'm wake
Or when it's a sunny day and I'm alone
I break down the barriers between you and I
And give myself the freedom to think and wonder

And then I see your skin, like yellowed porcelain
And feel its warmth against me
And those sketches that turned your skin into a canvas
And those crisscrossing lines that scarred your arms

Then comes the flood of red
The way you would have bled
When you drew those lines
Carved them into your skin

And I worry about you, even though I need not
You are no longer the artist you once were
But I can't help wondering if you'll ever
Choose art on skin over words on paper

But darling if you ever feel the need
To see dark red rivulets cut through smooth terrain
Remember that you are so much more
Than the scars that cover your pale arms.

Daisies.

They will tell you that

You just aren't pretty enough

And even if they don't

They will let you know

In the way they pity you

And not notice you in a crowd

All the women who say

Beauty doesn't matter

Will tell you that

Makeup may help

All the men who say

Beauty isn't a requirement

Won't turn back for a second look

They won't remember your face

But darling

In a world of color

Purples and reds

Deep greens

It's your unaffected goodness

Pure as a full moon

Simple as a daisy

That will survive

Even on the loneliest day