Poem: Still Beating

Hand to chest where I can feel
The rhythmic beating of a heart
That still pumps and beats and
Lives inside my body even when
My chest feels empty and my heart
Hurts from the invisible wounds

Poem: Lazarus Heart

The heart is a miracle
It is the only body part
The can be crushed
Ripped completely apart
And still be more than

Poem: Turnabout

Write out your pain for me
I want to see you bleed on
The page the way I have
Bled for you and your art
I want to know the shadows
Kept in the dark corners

Poem: Unpacking Old Things

There’s a lot here to unpack
Years of things put away
Pushed back into corners
Locked away in dark places
Meant never to see the light
Waiting patiently moldering

Poem: Another Never Again Day

Sleeping in the shadow of willows
She laces her fingers through dirt
Trying to feel connected to anything
Trying to keep herself from floating away
It’s another never again day

Poem: Wound Wound

The needle is the key
Sunken deep in her vein
Wound up like a clockwork toy
She teeters through motions
Slowing movements winding down

Poem: If Self-Doubt Was

If self doubt were a person
It would be Maria
Telling the voices to shut up
That whisper to her
About all of her shortcomings
The doctor prescribed her pills
To quiet them down

Poem: If Hurt Was

If hurt was a person it’d be you
Of all the broken bones
Fallen scraped knees
Wounds and scars I’ve earned
As parts of adventures or lessons
They’ve all healed eventually
Not you though
You are the hurt that persists

Poem: Lounge

On the stage under hot lights
Sits the old grand piano
Older than her great grandparents
Who would’ve never made it in the door
On the club where she stands now
Leaning against old grand
Hair falling down to her shoulders
Body hugged in a cardinal red dress
Her lungs filling with whispy smoke
With her red lips making love
To the mesh of the microphone

Poem: Guitar Strings

As her fingers walk along the strings
Her hand picking at them at time
She tries to catch the vibration
Of the universe in her strumming
Riding a wave emotion straight through
The defenses of those listening