Poem 24

Self-Inflicted

I tried to block you out.

I turned away,

barely saw you.

It hurt not to see you.

But it didn't work.

While I still craved your smile,

You didn't see me.

You didn't turn.

That hurt much more.

Poem 23

Look Deeper

You don't know me --

You don't understand me.

You look at me and think you don't want to.

But I'm sure if you tried

You'd find I'm not so different from yourself,

Only human --

And then maybe

You might care.

Poem 22

Alone

"My friends should be around here,"

he says.

He scans the crowded hall,

finally jumping down the stairs

to a group of people there.

You follow.

You strike a pose near him,

as though watching for

somebody else.

But he doesn't notice.

He's forgotten you in their jokes

and the rolling of eyes.

Dejected, rejected,

you sit alone across the way,

watching him through unmoving lids.

Once, he glances in your direction.

Poem 21

Blessing

You'll realize, in time,

How much you take for granted,

How your heart beats in your chest,

How your mind is uncluttered and free.

You're blessed.

Look around you.

Ask me, I know --

If you can, you are rich.

You don't need to depend

On people you've never seen before.

You can do so much.

Take your chance.

Be free.

Poem 20

Pass or Fail

Tell the truth.

Don't flatter me,

Don't please me,

Tell me

the

Truth.

Tell the truth.

Do you even care?

Or do you just put up

with me?

I want to hear

what I mean to you

So tell the truth,

tell

the truth.

I want to hear

that you care,

that you're there,

that I mean something

to you

but

I want to hear

only

the truth.

Poem 19

Kiss in the Air

There might have been something

between us in the air.

Who can tell if I imagined it,

or if you were actually holding back

and a kiss for me lingered there?

You could have put your arm around me,

smiled, stroked my hair --

or did I just imagine

that kiss between us in the air?

Maybe your mind was on other things,

your focus not quite there,

for I studied the eyes that never turned to me,

in the face that is so fair.

But something made me stop and wonder,

for you moved with so much care,

if maybe I didn't imagine it --

our kiss still in the air.

Poem 19

last night as i slept

-- last night as i slept
i dreamt all i loved was locked in a cage
by white coats that wanted to study it.
i pleaded and cried
and tried to save it
but they stood stiff as ice.
it was wasting away,
all alone behind bars
that weren't its fault.
i never managed to succeed,
though i tried with all my heart --
and by the end it had passed on.

When I awoke
I remembered you were gone.