To the teen sitting on the step

I am approaching a four way intersection

on a summer weekday

Stop signs making traffic hitch and pause

As people wonder what the rule is for who goes first

You are sitting on the step of the house

at the corner

Dressed in all black

black shoes

black socks

black shorts

black shirt

dark hair

Your arms are wrapped around your knees

Chin hiding behind your forearms

Your head moves slightly with each car passing

I turn my gaze back to the traffic

I wonder what is going on

Did you not take the garbage out when asked?

Is he drinking already (it’s two in the afternoon)?

Did she end it with a text message?

Or were you told, again, how worthless you are?

I am now in the stop sign queue

four cars to go

Debating if I should turn to look at you

Now that I am almost parallel to you

I recognize the body language

closed

feet tapping

caged

yet afraid to run

I chance it

our eyes meet

I can see the red highlights around your eyes

Feel the hate expressed through the

    “What are you looking at?” expression

We break our glance at the same time

I feel guilty that I can’t change anything

    because I’ve sat there on my own step

I push the gas pedal down

crossing the intersection

Glancing into my review mirror

I see you are still sitting

Slowly becoming smaller as I  head to school

to be certified

By the Red Cross

to save a life.

Nothing Lasts Forever

So they say that nothing lasts forever

But I’ve discovered that they are wrong

Our Pasts

Our Yesterdays

Will always be

    Every moment you had

    Piling up like stones

    The weight breaks your collar bones

    Cracks in your heart from every lie you told

The past is forever

    Photos

        And social media posts

    Memories

        And letters in shoe boxes

All have ramifications for the present

The past filters our vision better than Instagram

 It dictates what future we can walk

    It predicts our scraped knees

        And ruined relationships

Because they say nothing lasts forever

But they are wrong

 The past is resistant

even to the end of the world

For my future is not guaranteed

    I don’t even know when my last breath will be

But the words I’ve spoken are now a part of our history...

And we are running red lights

And we are running red lights

Rushing through morning traffic

    unaware of the cars

        waiting to turn

Rushing on speed control

    so that we can spend our time

        on a screen posting filtered memories

            that we only recall when notified

We are running red lights

From jobs to frozen microwave dinners

    and children that say everything was fine at school today

        while never looking up from a screen that alerts them

            three years ago you shared a picture of the two of you

            standing by a lake

                tiny fish in both your hands

                eyes bright

But we continue to run red lights

    too busy rushing to lives that only glow

        when we touch a screen

And We All Fall Down

And we all fall down
    Our pockets full of troubles
Dreams burnt to ashes
When all we really want is to be free again like children

Time makes our days turn into months
And our months into years
    Taking us away from hours spent
    Playing in the sunshine
        Dancing in the grass until

We all fall down
Scrape our knees
    Bruise our elbows
Only now we have to
     Dust off our own pants
Fix our own bike chain
    And find a way to dry our tears

The nursery rhymes have faded
      Only echos now
Happy memories that wilt our hearts
       Like dying posies

Watch

Watch

As my words

Crumble

Like the glaze on a day-old donut

Stale, yet still just good enough to eat

Watch

As my words

Pile up

Like a 13 car accident on the highway

Horrific, yet glad it is not in your lane

Watch

As my words

Fall

Like the autumn leaves late in October

Beautiful, yet crushed underneath your sole

Watch

As my words

Fade away

Like the tingle of a first kiss

Intense, yet not ready to fully commit

Watch

As my words

Fill in

Like a coffee in the morning cup

Fresh, yet sipped with groggy eyes

Watch

As my words

Become

Like a butterfly in the summer

free, yet already starting to die

The Point of Now

Count the ways

    to a single point

More than South

    West

    North and East

A 360 degree map

    a point

        from A to B

        but to C and Z, also

See,

    there is a time

    in fact, it is now

    even tomorrow

This point is accessible

Even for those

    who believe they are lost

If I had the Words

If I had the words

    I would be able to tell you

    that the way you turn your head

        when you laugh

        is the definition of Joy

If I had the words

    I would be able to describe

    how the curve of your hip

        sharp against the night

        is the line of Desire

If I had the words

    I would be able to express

    how holding my hand

        to walk into a store

        is the moment of Love

If I had the words

    I would be able to write

    how your nicknames

        spoken by family

        is the song of Motherhood

If I was a better poet

    or skilled wordsmith

    or even half a Romeo

        I would have the words

        to move your spirit

But all I have are these words

I love you, always