Lockjaw

 You know the phrase

“That’s easy for you to say”

Not for those with 

Mouthfuls of curled tongues 

We choke on the words 

Suffocating in stifling 

Life’s lessons locked our jaws

Speaking is dangerous 

Don’t.

 

Don’t 

Disturb my butterflies 

My head swims in your smile 

Face flushes 

When you call unexpectedly 

I can’t separate it 

Friendship and feeling 

Queasy pit of my stomach

If you don’t like me

That’s fine but 

I don’t want to be a 

Bargain bin therapist 

I’ve given up pieces of myself 

So many times 

If all you can offer is 

Another empty space in me 

And a gash to my heart

Just don’t. 

The Worst Pain

Wide enough 

To crack the spine 

Shuttered heart 

Doors left ajar 

I let you know me

I let myself be known

This is why I feel stupid

This is what I regret

Be Still

Stop
Just stop for one second
A minute
Make it fifteen
Fifteen minutes isn't long
Just breathe
Be present
Feet rooted to the ground
You are flow
Systems of your body
Thoughts in your head
Release
After these few moments
You can go back to it
Productive
Daily grind
But stop just for now
Take in your surroundings
Feel the space you occupy
Center
Acknowledge
You are here
You are loved
You are worthy
Right now

Chapters

My soul is so bound to 

What if’s 

As though I’ve never read 

All the chapters in a book 

Like I don’t know that stories 

End. 

Honey

Brown sugar eyes

Framed with freckles 

A summer moon sparkling

Against starry skies 

Last June

My pulse rose

The crashing waterfall

I recall the tension 

Nature in tune

My fear and anxiety 

Slippery footing 

How I poured

Collided and drowned