-all at once-

you were all at once

a bird and a tree branch

both broken, 

a stick in the grass and a trail

of feathers speckled with blood

you were a skyscraper

at dawn

back ringed by pink light

and a mute mouth

choking on promises

that could not be spoken

you were a sailboat 

with a broken mast and

the waves that stole it from you

both creation and

destruction

two colliding forces contained

by tanned skin and a 

need to fly

-untitled-

on the first night of the

new year we stood, 

smoking, surrounded by sculptures

with exposed breasts

and the air was electricity

our hands, conducters

we sent sparks into trees

and they burned in the dark

the only sirens were low, hushed

admontions of absolute fact

"it's getting late."

"our soles are touching."

"please, don't stop." 

when we got out of bed there

was ash in your hair

and my mouth was bruised

but i licked away the evidence

and sent the burden

of my secret out into the world,

spread out charred before

our feet

stealing beauty through the 

fire in our bellies