Mendings

one loss recalls another
and softens the heart
from the scabs of old hurts

but when silence greets
reconciliation

the only peace to be made
is within yourself

Recovering from Estrangement

Broken bridges
can be mended
as long as we exist
but only if both ends
stubbornly persist.

“Nice guys” who can’t get “female attention”

too late, the goodwill
and naivety of infatuation
is worn thin (and broken)
by the disbelieving cynic
who sabotages
his own relationships

Fiberglass

Why can’t I speak the truth?
Why can’t I unburden my heart?

You find it childish perhaps
but it leaks out from you all the time
in those passive-aggressive remarks

in the way you isolate yourself

and talk to everyone through
a thick see-through wall

I was sick alone
but with you
the case is terminal

Nest

Where has your heart made its nest?
I thought it was here within my own breast
Yet I find only abandoned eggshells
When I peer beneath —
bitter swell

The Introvert would like to be left alone

your intrusion is uninvited
also, your judgments
which mask your own insecurity

if I were an island
perhaps I would be content
with merely the sun

instead of fretting
for our positive
mutual understanding

Damsel in Distress

At night you reveal your tender part
of lips for words too delicate for light

And soft you touch with gentle hands
as if to prevent
a sparrow from flight

Do you think me a child
to be kept always
in our safe cocoon?

Do you find me only room
in the secret places
for treasure hoards —
the stowaway
you hide onboard?

Don’t fear for me, beloved,
and I am strong by your side.

Let me fight the good fight with you;
We have nothing to hide.

Sentinels

at the harbor
two stone monuments
but does the lion guard
the lighthouse
or does it illuminate
his way?

Your Shadow

Too long I’ve been
kowtowing to you
begging pardon for
the ways I don’t suit your mood
meet your expectations
or wear the right sort of panache.

Now you tell me I’ll never get up
and my eyes sting because
my knees creak, arthritic
when I try to stand.

I grunt and roll over
the asphalt a hot
slice
of anger
down
my
spine.

First things first:
You’re blocking my sun.

Get the fuck out.

Midas

Our hearts congeal
mildew mellow
caught in rigid routines that sink
deep in coma coldness

Give me a kiss of sun
and I’ll return to you:
the heat of now
far-flung orbits
tomorrow’s hopes
flight-prone

A touch of Midas
and I am gold again

A touch of Midas
and you my treasure