Short and Simple Stanzas

  Me and this man, and our dogs were talking once He said “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you have sad eyes.” Like the warning somehow always cushions the hurt And then added “But I also see a lot of life.” As if sadness isn’t a part of it.  As if sadness doesn’t create it and birth it and give it meaning. Because sandwiching open cut insults with the salt of compliments Makes them sting just a little more It’s merciful sadism.

The very air that I breathe, on Earth, ill dignified Emotions overflowing, cup spilled over onto fire, passion snuffed out Water and air, fair weather friends Just as air feeds fire, so does Earth Neutralized, fire and earth make a short story They can’t be spoken into life, only felt for a moment in time She fans your sparks, I give you fuel I burn, and burn away For you and only you.

They say we change with the seasons That letting go is like letting the leaves fall off of our trees As if life is a perpetual autumn But they don't tell us that sometimes grieving the loss of our pieces Is like having our leaves torn out of us prematurely by summer storms And we have to make peace with that