Poems and Musings

I am hollowed by loss, grief still trailing me like smoke I am anxious about the new move, wide-open unknowns I am plunged into deep thought by the scientific article I just closed I am kissed by dawn, slow-sipping my coffee I am gasping with laughter, tears shining on my cheeks at the scene we just playfully acted out I am grateful to embrace my loved ones each day I am overjoyed at the thought of forever with you I am. What a privilege – to simply be alive.

I am powerless – Adrift in the galaxy of your gaze, trapped in your luminescent smile I am defeated – Hands woven with yours, electrocuted by the sparks of your lips I am conquered – Shouting love to the heavens, surrendering to the gravity of us Yet I am me – Full of power, unconquered, and unable to be defeated. I am me – for you, for us, for always.

Most of us spend our lives chasing what we think we need and want – thrills, affirmation, validation, and every fleeting pleasure that can fill our brief hours. Yet that is only part of the picture, perhaps a small sliver. To fill our life’s canvas, we must also decide what we won’t accept. We must delegitimize negative experiences and push them clearly out of sight. True balance comes from acknowledging both light and dark – choosing not only what to pursue, but also what to reject, refuse, release, and relegate to irrelevance. Only with this firm foundation of “no” can we truly recognize – and fully cherish – what we deserve.

unapologetically feral suffocating kisses, bone-crushing handholding howling laughter – jokes outlawed in daylight straight-jacket devotion, heart-hammer embraces bear-trap hugs, mile-wide smiles sleep-shredding 3 a.m. confessions tribal hunger, mouth-watering want full-throttle romance – unhinged and diabolically offensive that’s love