Platform Infinity

A stranger passes by wearing dusty, old sneakers,

neck hung low, eyes exhaustively licking the concrete.

Dried romance lingers on his lips, fading with the color

of his once not-so-white skin. A newspaper dangles

loosely between his fingers as if it weights far too much

for any average mortal to carry.

He’s tired, no doubt. Tired of life and its complications.

There he goes, tie twisted, expression as damp

as the sweaty tears frolicking against his pupils;

one foot before the other,

memories failing to remain like the hair on his small head;

a vault that used to possess the most brilliant of minds—

not quite Einstein’s, mind you, but one familiar with the

definition of “living”: adventure, family, air!

And now..

His face lowers into the stench of malcontent,

shoulders drooping with the stress of decaying skin

and heavy, lonely midnight meals.

Deeply Entangled

How many days do we left together?

One, one hundred?

None?

When they say it's time to go,

how will they pry our hearts apart?

I'm entangled in you here,

arms around your neck, fingers in your hair,

tongue buried in your mouth,

eyes closed in fear that if I open them,

you'll disappear.

I'm talking to you without words,

repeating "I love you" in every tear,

missing you though a thread couldn't

fit between us now.

My only thought is holding on;

my only fear is having to let go.

My greatest pain is the breakage inside my chest;

my only joy is in how near you are.

I try pressing deeper against you,

somehow hoping I'll melt onto your being

and remain there permanently

to be close to you forever.

I can feel you trembling heavily,

swallowing your dreams in hellish ache,

but how do I swallow you?

How do I fight the urge to grasp your hand

and run anywhere?

I don't care where we go,

because when I'm with you nothing else

seems to matter.

Just you and me, and all other needs

are completely, deeply, quenched.

It's not that I forget myself;

I end up loving who I am,

growing like a vine shaped by your

perfect stem, minimizing my flaws,

your embraces fading my scars.

I'm not lonely for the first time

lying beside you, hugging your soul,

wrapping my legs around your waist,

sighing sadly into your veins,

hoping you know you mean the world to me.

I want to be one with you;

I want to tie us in a knot so tight

that after one glance in our direction,

no one would dare to tamper

with our heartstrings.

I yearn to find a quiet place,

somewhere peaceful where there

is freedom to appreciate you

as a best friend, as a soulmate,

to kiss you softly.

To exist with you.

But if we don't get there,

please remember one thing:

if we are ever separated,

if we are torn from each other's arms,

if we never see one another again..

I am always part of you.

Less Than A Month

Less than a month and I miss you.
A boundless yearning seeps through the flesh of my heart,
pouring into every vessel within my frail body.
Three weeks without you and dysfunction has overcome.
I cannot sleep at night--not beside this empty space.
I try to fill it with pictures, pillows, and promises,
but nothing can take your place.
A throbbing settles heavily in my temples, 
bashing repetitively at the failing walls of logic and reason.
You're not here-- what else is there to it?
Intricate visions of a timeless replay torment my poor brain,
and I twist and turn and pace and lie,
but rest is distant; agony thrives.
My arms fold across my waist in a pitiful attempt
to mimic the comfort you warmly brought.
But my hands are small, thin, and weak;
they cannot grasp the sense inside the way you could,
and so I curl solemnly in fetal position against the wall
hoping to disappear.
I wish you were near. Oh, I wish you were near.
Tears spill like untamed rivers beyond the eyes 
you've kissed, the cheeks you've kissed,
the lips you married. 
Then-- they were passionately heated and smoothed.
Now-- they are cold, lonely and scarred.
Is there a cure for this disease spreading through me?
Is there a way to stop this profound madness?
I think to pray, but the only entity that hears me
is silence.
My stomach churns, my chest hurts, and as the lights grow dim,
I realize a single truth: less than a month is more than
my soul can fathom;
I clearly cannot live without you.

Reality Played On

Thorns tear the flesh of a naive lover
who believes in the actuality
of childish happily ever after.
In truth, red roses bear brutality
and symbolize imprudence at its peak
as hopeless romantics display madness
never finding what they lengthily seek. 
So much wasted time and bitter sadness,
but the innocent mind still attempts faith
in something that may never exist.
Reaching for Cloud Nine, they land on the eighth,
a cold, gray orb of pitiful, lone mist.
To say this, understand my heart is gone,
for when dreams hushed, reality played on.  

My Completion

When I met you, I never did expect 
I'd dream of your presence and perfect smile
every night after, and now I reflect:
they were hopes of walking down the aisle
with you stepping gracefully by my side,
our eyes lost in each others, hearts entwined.
For years, secret yearnings to be your bride
filled my thoughts, because I knew I'd not find
anyone so gorgeously befitting.
Now, trailing gentle dove-white satin hem,
I'm fully prepared for this committing,
knowing that with our love this lonely stem
will blossom precious moments beautiful.
Husband and wife pronounced, my soul is full.

Defiant Heart

Hurriedly, she ran with sharpened scissors
faced upright despite the premonitions
of rack and ruin, for noise in blizzards
is muffled and fails tried intermissions.
Through hail, rain, and scorching sun, she pressed firm,
while the world watched in utter amusement,
like fishermen tarrying to confirm
the silver sliver has endured torment.
Gladiator battling with Hope-sword,
teeth clenched, eyes bright, determined to conquer,
she grappled fierce Destiny's clutch toward
the crestfallen semblance in her mirror.
Alas, what is written in stone remains;
not blades, but glass pierced the defiant heart's veins.

A Thursday in October

A plain black and white clock hangs heavily on the wall behind my chair.
12:00, it reads. It's Thursday.

I swallow an ocean's worth of anxiety.
So afraid. So unprepared. It mustn't show.

My hands rummage clumsily through an old, multi-colored rucksack.
What am I looking for exactly? I only see you:

two large hands, strong shoulders, a chiseled jaw, a captivating smile;
two bright blue eyes changing color in the course of night and day.

I forget to breathe; I forget myself entirely.
What is my name? Where am I from? All I know is I belong with you.

A string uncoils from the rim of my heart, climbs my parched throat,
and slowly drifts in the air to the soft opening of your ripe lips.

My pulse excites fifty thousand beats a second at the least.
A hollowness grows as the ribbon of my life escapes me hopelessly.

To lose such control, to allow this weakness to glimmer in my aura--
I am ashamed and yet so entranced.

If there was anyone else in the room a moment ago, I can't remember,
but I am fully aware of your casual sighs, your fast movements.

I struggle to keep pace with this unnerving rush flowing through my veins.
Sad thoughts linger of a future you choose to avoid and a past you've already forgotten.

Self-blame explodes into a poisonous mist hovering within the depths of my stomach.
Do you notice the change in my features from a week ago?

Freshly printed papers are scattered across the blank table.
Where is the writing? Why do you seem so far away?

I try to divert my attention to the nearest window, but without success.
In my imagination, you're holding me in your arms by the warm cafe entrance.

Hold me tighter, please. I feel utterly alone.
Don't let go.

You enter, exit, and reenter the enclosed box in which we sit, a quiet group.
When you pass by, a mallet beats my chest. Won't you stop to say "hello"?

I beg my body to muster strength so a voice could express these emotions.
Is it love? Is it confusion? Results of neglect? All of them?

If a narcotic would numb the ache pulsating my temples, I'd ask for a hundred.
Let me overdose instead of watching you close the door in my face.

Secretly, I wish I could cry now. Wish you would look at me.
Wish you would remember my existence.

Little taps on my frail shoulders, childish laughter close to my ear,
whispers of typical gossip, but none of it interrupts my contemplations, unfortunately.

What are you thinking? Are you doing this on purpose?
Are you even aware of how immensely you're tormenting my soul?

You appear absolutely innocent, like a newborn baby.
There's an urge to accuse you and to kiss you.

Stereotypes flash in a realm of wonder. You've done this before, haven't you?
I should've predicted the outcome months earlier when you meant nothing.

Now you've carelessly stolen everything; my thoughts, dreams,
my heart.

Why did you make big promises ad-lib? Why weren't you thoughtful?
Don't you experience regret? Time is painful.

I trace my fingertips across the skinny figure of a pencil,
barely brushing reality. I want to go home.

An acidic sadness settles in the corners of my tired eyes.
My shoulders cave; my head falls; my hopes diminish. You open a book and disappear.

Scribble rubbish on the paper. Tears are blinding anyhow.
Grasp my reluctance to expose this. I mustn't surrender.

But what do I have left sitting here like a fragile flower stem?
You're my water. Rain, I'd rather you drown me than let me thirst horribly.

You're so near, so beautiful, too powerful. Suddenly, you glance directly
into the mirrors of my pain and I break apart; I surrender.

I forget to breathe; I forget myself entirely.
What is my name? Where am I from? All I know is I belong with you.

You turn away and I follow your gaze to the plain black and white clock hanging heavily still.
1:00, it reads. 

It's Thursday.
You pack your things and all I've learned is the way it feels to die alive again.