It started when we stood hopefully, 
with our thumbs outstretched
by an English roadside.
We were heading towards Italy and Yugoslavia
without maps or money, 
or sense of direction.

I peed on a stick
…and a cross appeared.

A child to come.
A child when I was told I could never have one.

I talk about the soul a lot

The soul being tarnished and how it can never return to its once innocent state

To her it felt like a Category 5 tornado blasting through her psyche without warning

This can't be all there is for life. But our lives get greedy.

Hill folk understand. The very wealthy understand.

You told me that you know it's too late now.
I don't know what late is anymore. 

i was sexualized at work
by a drunk man
who told his buddy that i had,
"nice assets";

When I quit scrubbing our snot-green stove
he bought me a brand new range to roam
and a refrigerator-freezer that stood side by side
closer than we ever did.

Wise, 
but still lost,
And so far from being put together

Joe got a cup of Jane

Give me the cliché and I’ll rewrite it into something beautiful
Something you have never heard before
That you are craving without even knowing it

I catch myself humming bits of
songs that I used to know
     just to remind myself
     while everything changes,
nothing changes, really.

The pain is often hidden. 
Other's demons we cannot see. 
The depth of struggle kept so secret, 
did you know that could be me? 

Check mate

My dad is teaching my beloved
Mother how to play chess.

Your hands are cold.
Your chest some sort of gracious cave
With you, the seasons collide,
and I'm not sure why..

The Poets are writing poems against the war.
They stand in the storm, 
Raising their small, thin voices,
Ignored in the din of raucous, thoughtless shouting.

It's so easy to trip into darkness-especially when it's available after you feel you've exercised all of your options and efforts. But climbing out of that dark hole...is far more testing and challenging once you're in there than you known. Fight hard to stay away from it please. Don't give up. Don't assume you are worth nothing and no on sees you-even if no one sees you.

I am a moo from behind a Beryllium oak.
I am a knock on wood for luck.
I am only one of 63 personalities that I hide.
Moving fast, faster than a mustang.

50 months of infertility
Never thought I’d see the day
50 months of trying
No baby on the way

Proper Grip

I run my fingers over the edges and dips of the knife in my pocket. 

It is 6:30am and it is November. The sun has yet to offer peace of mind and the street lamp timers still believe the sun rises at 6am. 

There is power in the woman who fights..
whether cut, bruised, or sore...
she continues
She fights for the sake of herself-for a peace within-
She fights to live and be free instead of solely exist
For dreams, for family, or whatever it may be, 
she continues...

To reconcile the divide between
hope, and reality.
The tension between
wanting, and having.
To experience enough, 
to get lost
in contentment,
and still keep growing.

I found the sun in the middle of winter,
and a rose in the middle of a storm
Shelter when hail fell from the sky,
and though Life's wind chill was bitter, I was warm