I Saw A Small Bone On The Sidewalk The Size Of My Pinkie Finger I Sat With It, Wondering Of The Skeleton

I don't like anything I wrote today It's all too depressing And I'm not depressed I don't think

It's just January dragging me down Down into the snow No one's dreaming of white anymore No one's dreaming of January

The grackles are sitting in limp trees Shifting around quietly, waiting For the ground to thaw But it will be several months still

The food has been dropped off again And I can't put it away And it's all I can think about That I need to put it away and can't

But my hands are getting warmer And my fingers are starting to burn And my body feels like it's vibrating And the food needs to go in the fridge But I can't put it away so I fall asleep

I wake up and the food has gone bad I'm afraid it's gone bad so it's bad And my dad says that people are starving And I've wasted more food again

So I pull the blankets over my head And I do nothing all day Because I couldn't put the food away Because I couldn't get up and move And wonder if maybe my brain is melting

He gathers pennies to spend at the store, Lowering his voice, he looks down at the floor And says, “If I tell you, you won’t love me anymore.”

It’s days like these that we don’t speak As much As we used to, Instead in a language of knees weak And such As lovers do.

He counts the change but hates the word. “So many pennies,” he remarks, “it’s absurd.” He speaks so that his thoughts go unheard.

At the end of the day he has my heart Still, Always, to keep. And I would carry him if he fell apart Until We went to sleep.

We’ve stayed like this for the better part of a year And he worries as the end of December draws near That he might blow away and we won’t be here.

You were there Maybe you didn't know You weren't aware

But was it fair Of me to ask you if you knew That you were there

To come back unannounced Just in the air around you

Well I was there When a storm came crashing down And soaked your hair

I was unprepared So startled when I woke From that nightmare

To find your hand on my heart Starting to repair

When it's dark And it's too quiet It all feels like too much to bear

But then you're there Even when I worry That you don't care

You know I worry too much Maybe it wears you down

And when I don't declare My presence Still I think you know

You knew I wasn't going anywhere Because you still know me

Next time we're there Let's go back to the meadow Where we put flowers in our hair

The people walking past Won't see us Sitting in our chairs

I said your name You turned your head It was just a whisper in the air

You knew it wasn't just the weather You can't see the wind

That's how I know That all this time you've known That I was there

We aren't so different You and I

Birds nestled under Ocean sky

Though

You are an osprey Taking flight from sand

And I’m a kiwi Watching you from land

I didn't put you on a pedestal for worship I lifted you up As high as you deserved Which was, of course, very high What is it like in the sky? I am grounded I promise It was never just the idea of you How I wish you would touch me down here

She covers herself In tattoos And piercings Dyes her hair Many vibrant colors Then says She doesn't like Modified bodies And uses it As a reason Not to be with me

We are all down to earth here Even the birds in the sky Especially the beetles and bees and flies All as one on our mystical sphere We are all down to earth here

We are all part of the dust If we piled it up, what would it be? Would we create a new being entirely? The magic of our world is hushed We are all part of the dust

Life flows freely through cold rivers While I sit in my stagnant pond I need to be cleansed Before the algae covers me completely

We could have been green together Further down the river We could have been blue too The frogs are leaping as I stretch my legs

Here is my hand. Hold it, touch it, embrace it. The hand that reaches out for you Is a solid hand, a steady hand, A writer’s hand, A lover’s hand. It is your lover’s hand.

The hand you hold Is the hand that holds you. It is the hand that dries your tears, The hand that grazes your lips, The hand that is gentle with you, Strong with you, Passionate with you. It is the hand that is with you.

My hand feels you. My hand feels your heartbeat, Your breath, Your tension, The heat of your skin, The release of your stress, Your desire. It is the hand that desires you.

My hand alone sometimes trembles. Sometimes it is lost, Sometimes it is scared, Sometimes it’s unsteady. My hand is cold without yours, My hand needs yours to grab, Its fingers locked between yours. In your hand my hand is safe. Your hand is safe in mine.

Your hand is my hand, And mine yours. Where your hand goes Mine goes too. My hand goes with you. My hand is always with you.