a little romance with life

Walking around with a broken heart There is not much to say Except the throat promises to burst any moment And the chest, it’s still figuring out what to do With all the space Now that the heart is recoiling and shrinking Hugging itself in the warm shower The pretense of being loved Despite the prickly broken-ness The lie of laughing a little too loudly Hoping someone will understand That the damn joke is just not funny Walking around with a broken heart Like carrying your severed arms in your mouth Dragging your broken legs in the burning sun Punctures, wounds that keep spilling The pain drips like water from a cracked drain Picking it up in glasses, you have a bag full of hurt Trying to clean up after the bleeding ruptures of your broken heart.

When you find yourself just an inch away from Falling in love with someone else Ignore the blush on your cheek, the punch in your heart And tell your friends as genuinely as you can That this is just the natural human curiosity to want to know another human To want to crawl under her skin and look at the world the way she does To want to see if the water tastes any different, when you take a sip from her glass; To check if your heart can still skip a beat; A test to see if it can break again, after years of being protected; Her eyes dare you every day to embrace a fire To enjoy it even when it threatens to burn you; It’s been years, you’ve forgotten what it’s like to ache For somebody else’s touch; You know her so well, you can complete her sentences And now the delicious feeling of being startled by an unexpected Gesture, remark, characteristic, joke The excitement of peeling off the layers, of discovering a new person, She’s beautiful, isn’t she? ...

Frilly skirts, off-shoulders, v-necks Sweaters, suits, sun-dresses Hairbands, socks, and fancy gloves With pockets on the tips for the fingers so the hands continue to function freely, padded bras, push-up bras, sports bras boxers and panties. Last I remember, Dogs, cats, wild beasts Insects, birds, flowers and trees Were unclothed Somewhere along the way Humans decided That beauty was ripping the fur Off of our skin, That beauty was about How well one can hide All that is within.

How to paint a human (on a canvas) Your instincts will tell you Scarless, flabless, flawless Straight back, well-built muscles, gorgeous smile Eyes that do not point in different directions Shaped nails, thin nose, bouncy hair Perky breasts, tight butt, flat tummy Well-trimmed beard, hairless chest, The man has to be taller than the woman. It will terrify you to the bones The thought of drawing The penis, the vagina, the butthole Pimples and punctures And asymmetry A leg shorter A hand missing Or eyes burnt with acid. When you begin to paint your human Question first Your limited view of Who you think a human is.