You make me nervous
Give me butterflies and make me blush.
I'm a teenage girl around you;
Skin burning with need. 
The air between us - weighted and electric.
I could reach and touch, but would I explode?
That way you look at me,
Sly,
Head slightly bent as if  you aren't looking at all. 
The way you touch me, 
Soft, warm, and gentle
Almost fearful
Are you afraid? 
It isn't worth the beginning, 
If you're not afraid of the end.

“There’s something wrong with the sky” she said
as a tear dusted her pillowcase
and the light faded from her eye.
It had been days since his passing
and yet it felt like none.

“There’s something wrong with the sky” she said
as the shine faded from her smile.
Now her skin grew cold
and her body grew old
as she knelt over the body of her
dead child.

“There’s something wrong with the sky” he said
as bodies
fell around
yet no type of retribution
could raise his son up from
the ground.
​
The moon was in the sky that night.
Scent of death
hanging in the air
as straight ahead the couple fled
onto another nightmare.
​

Fragile, lonely widow
Darkened New Hampshire farm house
Silent morning, dawn just breaking
Frightened awakening
Strange shadow in the doorway
A jolt of terror with the realization of what may come.
“I’m an old woman,” she croaked.
“You don’t want to do this to me.”
A sinister smile advancing his scheme.
 
He took his time.
Hands around her throat, invading body and mind.
Shockingly quiet as she lay
Eyes scanning the room – her once safe space.
I must make it through, she prayed.
Until blackness overcame.
She roused, bruised and bleeding
A stranger snoring where her beloved once dreamed.
Small-town Easter morning
And nothing will ever be the same.

I don't see a person when I look at her.
I see eyes that looked at him longingly. 
I see lips that kissed him passionately.
I see a mouth that spoke promises
and a mind spinning thoughts of betrayal.

I see a human with no regard for bonds sisterhood;
A selfish, lustful harlot's tunnel vision;
A snake in waiting ready to strike at a sign of weakness.

She assaults my mind at varying moments, 
Images of naked deceit,
Messages of an opportunity,
Doubts planted,
Trust obliterated,
​Speculation and questions unending.

As if in a fever dream
I lay next to Ophelia
Floating flowers in her hair
Pocket rocks and broken hearts
Breathe out and let it go.
She for love,
I for anger, 
Fitful sleep, fighting mind
Breathe out and let's rewind. 
​Did you enjoy it when it came?

Broken
Battered
Bruised
I throw myself at your alter
begging for reprieve
searching for acknowledgement
of what I used to be
A dog at master's table
Seeking scraps of meat
Wearing uncertainty - a scarlet letter
Veiled in anguish
And the desolation of deceit.

Bruised 
Battered
Broken
Dancing barefoot 
shards of glass
Sleeping bed of razors
Dining rusty nails
Patiently
Quietly 
Waiting
Master's merciful release
And though I cannot stop for death
I pray it sets me free.

She perched solitary, cheval glass in hand
His tie on the boards beside her, cast in haste with decision made.
Sometimes things don't work as proposed
As illuminated by the torn and discarded Dear Jane letter under her chair. 
Her eye the lightest shade of purple, 
Her hair of someone tossed - and that she was.
The ripple of her cellulite thighs nearly covered by her peignoir - open to expose sagging breasts and ashy skin. 
He was there in her spring,
Now in winter he turn callow
​As the supine often do.

I want to run down the street holding hands.
I want to slow dance in a crowded restaurant.
I want to ride the subway wet after kissing in the rain like our lives depended on nothing else.
I want to laugh until we cry
Our cheeks sore from smiling
A sparkle in our eyes.

What if it was just you and me? 
What if we ran away and started again?
There are always secrets,
Questions unanswered.
People always hurt each other
Hurt the ones who never deserved it.
Why are people such a fucking disappointment? 

She walked alone
This gloomy night
Tender beast her only friend.
Dark clouds part to vanguard her way,
Soft, white light glowing incandescent on the dock.
Fog so husky, claiming dominion over their passage. 
Black umbrella her shelter, 
​As she gambols toward repose.