I 
think 
I
speak 
and 
can't 
stop 
it's 
painful 
noisy 
and 
under 
my 
skin 

I 
stood
smelling 
the 
trees 
and 
I 
thought 
how 
they 
didn't 
smell 
like 
the 
trees 
at 
home.

I 
listened 
to 
his 
voice 
sing 
Willie 
tunes. 
I 
never 
noticed 
the 
wind.

the 
trees 
swayed 
with 
the 
howling 
wind 
even 
when 
the 
wind 
wasn't 
howling

the 
petals 
blew 
around 
me 
like 
a 
storm 
and 
I 
couldn't 
see 
his 
face

a 
smart
beautiful 
confident 
talented 
lady's 
work
is 
never 
done!

I 
told 
him 
I 
needed 
him 
more 
and 
he 
told 
me 
he 
needed 
me 
less.

my 
heart 
was 
breaking 
in 
love 
when 
he 
told 
me
he'd 
been 
in 
love 
for 
months

I've 
got 
a 
hero.
He's 
fast
and 
he's 
strong,
he's 
always
fresh 
from 
the 
fight.

Everything 
in 
the 
universe 
has 
a 
rhythm, 
everything 
dances.

-Maya Angelou

I 
don't 
want 
to 
tell 
you 
how 
I 
feel 
I 
just 
want 
you 
to 
feel 
it 
too

the 
caballero
moved 
me 
and 
I 
felt 
taken 
back 
somewhere 
I'd 
never 
been 

and 
my
stepsister
ran 
away 
with 
carnies 
and 
sometimes 
peed 
her 
pants

how 
when 
the 
sun's
out 
the 
houses 
look 
bright
when 
it 
rains 
they 
look 
drab 
cold

when 
every 
song 
on 
the 
radio 
sang 
of 
love 
and 
taught 
me 
about 
it 

I 
wrote 
until 
my 
hand 
hurt 
I 
wrote 
until 
my 
pen 
went 
dry 
I 
wrote 

I 
wore
a 
scarf 
and 
sat 
at 
the 
desk 
I 
was 
a 
really 
real 
writer

her
heart
was
heavier
than
most
days
and 
the 
rain 
wasn't 
helping 
much

her 
earrings
felt 
heavy
and 
her
skirt
was
tangled
she 
felt
very 
old

as 
I 
passed
each
pretty
house
I 
got 
greener
and 
greener
with 
envy

she 
walked 
through
the 
tunnel
there
was
no 
light
it 
just
kept
getting
darker

orange 
and 
blue
are 
by 
far
my 
favorite
complementary
colors

she 
tanned
her
legs
in 
the 
sun 
the
children
played 
in 
the 
mud
it
was
sunday

he
wore
a
blue
trucker's
hat 
and 
when 
he 
smoked
he 
didn't
use 
his 
hands

while 

you 

were

gone 

the 

snowdrops 

bloomed

some 

of 

the 

dandelions

went 

to 

seed

jive
talkin'
you're
telling
me 
lies
yeah
jive
talkin'
you
wear
a
disguise

-Bee Gees

I'm 
cool
with 
you 
livin'
here
spider 
long
as 
you
don't 
bite
me 
in 
my 
sleep 

I 
thought 
there's 
nothing 
right 
in 
this 
whole
world  
then 
again
I 
might 
be 
wrong 

she

sees

sounds

of 

summer

in 

spring

and 

hears

lights

of 

winter

in

the
fall

he
stood
at 
the 
street
corner
smiling
at 
nothing
and 
at 
everything

the
saddest 
thing
I 
can 
think
of 
the 
happiest
thing
I 
can 
think
of 

It's 
not 
at 
all
like
I 
thought
it 
was 
and 
now
I 
have 
to
rethink
it.

love 
is 
bigger
than 
you
if 
you 
open 
your
heart
it
eats
you 
alive

sun 
tea
warm
potato
salad
cold
hose
water
grill
smoke
bug 
spray
grass

the 
sun
glorious
on 
my 
skin
I 
could
rule 
the 
world
with 
it 
or 
sleep  

I 
stood
in 
the 
yard
with 
the 
scattered
toys 
and 
thought
how 
good 
my 
life 
was

the
night
winds
were
not 
comforting 
they 
sounded
hollow
just 
like
I
felt

the 
traffic
lights
swayed 
in 
the 
wind
and 
that's 
how
I 
could
see
the 
wind
sway

our 
lives
drifted
apart
then 
of 
all 
things
it's
death 
that 
brought 
us 
together

I 
drove
past
the
library
the 
post
office
the 
old
homes
of 
my
youth

driving
and 
crying
the 
petals
were
pink
and 
white
the 
grey
river 
shone

all 
a 
sudden
every
goddamned
thing
he 
ever 
said 
came 
back 
to 
me 

I 
know 
you
so 
very
well
now
but 
some
day
I 
won't 
know
you 
at
all

she

wears

flat

shoes

at

all

times

just

in

case

she

needs

to 

quickly

escape