My neighbor is doing Duolingo across the street,

He’s in his sixties learning a new language

And I’m just eating leftovers, watching him,

Wondering if he’s practicing French for his husband.
 

The elderly lady is walking her poodle today,

Even though it’s been raining since six am

And I’m just scrolling mindlessly on my phone again,

Wondering if she’ll go home and do a puzzle with her grandkids.
 

My brother went for a fifty mile run yesterday

In the blazing and relenting sun,

And I’m just putting on my headphones and staring at the sky

Wondering if he’s taking cold showers afterwards and styling his hair all nice.
 

The little girl with the sparkly pink dress is reading a book in the corner of the library,

It’s for someone twice her age, but she reads it on the edge of her seat

And I’m just tapping my fingers against the desk, waiting,

Wondering if she’ll want to grow up until she wishes to be little again.
 

There’s this girl that’s twitching her fingers against her phone, as her tears hide her blank stares,

She’s too young to be sad, and too old to be happy,

And I’m just sitting here writing sweet nothings about life,

Wondering if I’ll ever see that girl again and hold her when life feels like nothing.

sarcastic jabs and quippy lines

I hope you know I usually don't mean it

and I know my best is not enough

but that's what being human is all about

I don't have to worry about perfection

I will overcome compulsions

and when I am set back, 

maybe I could try reaching out to the autumn sunset

and ask her for guidance.

To me,

The words hope

And light

Are interchangeable;

To me,

Perhaps it is hope

That will let us see clearly

How in the night sky,

So brilliantly lit,

We all look to the same stars

To find ourselves reflected

In their gaze

And guided 

In their constellations;

To me,

Perhaps in their hope,

We can see our mistakes

As they pool like blood

At our feet,

And the light in our hearts will brighten

So heavy that we sink

Into one another’s arms;

Perhaps we will be healed

By love’s sweet sap

As we begin to find light

Threaded between us,

Growing stronger and fiercer

With hope’s starlit armor;

To me,

Perhaps this is

The truth.

Long, exhausted bars of light in my window
Chase away the late night that came before them,
And prime me for the next one.

In the blue hours, I am free from myself.
I think maybe I’ll keep chasing the life long high 
Of an overworked mind forever.