Free-write on Valentines Day

I hold things against myself often.

Like the way I dream too much

And don’t write enough.

And lately, I’ve been burning up with

The pressure of all things that wish to be

Let go.

 

But you’ve got me growing habits,

Growing slowly in the soil I’ve

planted beneath my nails

the sunflowers of our unspoken promises

like to hide there,

still waiting to blossom in the garden

of our exhales.

 

Now I laugh more than my lungs know how

To carry,

I use my angst as skipping stones,

And carry soft words like pop-rocks against my tongue.

There’s a rainstorm held between my lips,

You’ve taught me to keep it there

for the days the sun burns.

 

And today the sun is burning.

so let the dew drip across

Your chest and pool shamelessly in the crevice of your clavicle

This is a waltz I’m still learning how to dance.

And I have things I need to tell you.

 

Like how there’s a constellation

duct taped against my chest. It’s

For the night you told me that

Home is never too far away,

You said, “your heart is an open window

you just have to let the breeze in.”

 

So keep speaking softly,

those whispers make me feel small,

infinite enough to hold myself against

stories

and the parentheses of our arching bodies.

In secret, I use them to annotate our closed eyelids

when we can’t fall asleep.

 

And there’s something’s I have to confess,

Like how I don’t consider myself religious

But there are night’s I still find myself baptized

In the blue of your eyes, and how

Your breath against my skin is holier than

The churches I’ve been turned away from

But they don’t know I’m still within grace.

See, I’ve spent weeks kneeling in the pews between

Your fingertips learning that God

Only answers prayers behind closed doors.

 

So close the door behind you,

Because the lord has been praying

Within the well of himself that

Someday he’d create something of beauty.

He took the root of his sweet tooth,

Planted it in his left ventricle and grew you.

 

So this is for that moment,

This is for the spaces between your breath where

Halos rest.

This is for my hummingbird heart.

The one that flaps its wings so fast you can’t feel it

But you know it’s still there when I look at you

So smile,

Because your half-moon lips give me permission

To rest and love a while

And these rusted ribs refuse to cage the birds beneath my

Chest.

 

Drink these words slowly, your smile is stolen lines of poetry

And I can’t keep racing without risking clichés.

I hold things against myself often,

So step closer,

Slow down tonight

This is for us.

Reviews

[Que]

Loved it. Very emotional. One of my favourite lines was:
'Now I laugh more than my lungs know how
To carry,'
Great job, I really enjoyed reading it. :)

[whispereversolightly]

Like the emotions presented. This is wonderful writing, quite enjoyable.

[J Todd Underhill]

Bravo! Love this piece. Should you ever want to come to Denver and read your work I host an open mic on thursday nights. Poetry at Five Leaves

[Cascara (aka Sprint Goe..]

Really sincere.
Good imagery and emotions also.