Verse: Song of Tammy P.

For @tammyphinney

every day i
chase light
i seek chance
and change

and i
try to catch
conscience
by its short tail

but the world
remains the world
whatever i do
wherever i go

so i
am grateful
for the night
which brings silence

it reminds me
to sit
to embrace promises
i made

to make
an invitation
to others
with no restriction

this life unfolds
for anyone to discover
but it belongs to me
and you.

Verse: Vampires

we were ghosts
before the bruises
set in

before we knew
which shapes
to take

before
we had names
to distract us

before blood
had even tasted
our hunger

before the wound
of your mouth
spread to mine

before
we joined
the feast

Verse: Sunday Morning

they
inch along
in the shade
as if
to avoid
the eye
of god

but i
walk by
in the glare
of the sun
insurmountable
seeing only
blue sky.

Verse: Conquests

i see you
compiling an index
of names

pushing
the night aside
like a stranger

denying
even heaven
a home in your heart

and as you
go forth
confident in your stride

i ask
only this
of you

do not pass me
without so much
as a goodbye

at least
will you let me
introduce myself

before
you dismiss me
with a shiver
of recognition.

Verse: untitled

i
while we
were looking
up at the stars
wondering
what they are

we did not notice
that they were
looking back at us
wondering
who we are.

ii

if you
are not
a star
then why
do you
illuminate me

i am
not here
to shine
i am
only here
to dream

and i
only dream
in this
one brief
instance of
pure love

when we
are brave
and unguarded
when we
say goodnight
and embrace
the dark.

Verse: Kisses II

your kisses
are safe
with me

i keep them
sheltered between
my lips

until
you are ready
for them

until
you are ready
to give me
mine.

Verse: awake

every day
is a letter
slid under the door

open it
and the room
floods with light

if you
can swim
you will not drown

just reach out
with your arms
and rise

and all
your dreams
will fall away

settling
under the bed
where night lies

waiting only
for you
to close your eyes

Verse: how to be photographed

it is much easier
when you
concede nothing

just give them
a blank canvas
to work with

let them project
what they want
on you

and you
can see yourself
as they see you

you become holy
because you
attached nothing to it

not your fear
not your rapture
not your soul.

Verse: Lake

(For @gilesmarie)

the dust
of the day
is settling

and the lake
is like glass
now

a mirror
a frame
for everything

for the leaves
that wonder
who they are

and bristle
at the sight
of themselves

or the sky
unsatisfied
with its reflection

dismissing the sun
and unveiling
countless stars

in the cool night
i see
its breath

quiet and calm
a frame
for every thing now

a frame for life passing
in moments ever ending
like this one

a frame
for me
to shatter

as i
slip beneath
the sheet

and float
out of frame
into the night

in a dream
of life.

Verse: escape

tired
of the constant
surveillance of
my shadow
i taught him
how to dream
and i
have not seen him
since.