the sun slants through my window
the final lights of day
the smell of lavender and raspberries linger
the zephyrs blow
my hair into a crown
all round my face
like an upturned umbrella

I wait till I can see the dandelion crater
till the shadow of our planet engulfs 
the reds, pinks and yellows of the day
just to reveal the hiding treasures
that we couldn't see at dawn
they sparkle and shine
charismatic to their comrades
that make...

girl in the butterfly wings,
why aren't you flying away from here?
girl in the butterfly wings,
do you ever want to disappear?

the world is broken and hurt,
shadows chasing light out of the sky;
bloodstains cover your pink skirt,
yet i never seem to hear you cry.

is there something i can't see?
how much pain do you bury inside?
you could be gone, even free,
yet you choose to stay, suffer, and die.

perhaps one day i'll...

the cancer crept up on her;
one day she was laughing
and the next there was a lump
like a golf ball on her neck,
there was a needle in her arm
there was a needle in her chest
and there were her friends,
hopelessly hoping that death
would say not today.

as her hair fell out
as her body got thinner and thinner
as the chemicals invaded her body
as she threw up at 3 am, 4 am, 5...

half an hour, half a bite, half a life
there’s a lot of things i haven’t told you of the late

haven’t whispered in your ever listening ears
or told your coconut hands
that always catch the words in my tears

when I yawn I fall into the vacuum behind my ears
where magicians find their pennies, and on the good days
quarters

the fan is silent tonight.
it is every night.

and yet as I thrum with exhaustion,
I...

Dear infant me
That CT machine looks scary, I can imagine that's true
Just imagine it's a spaceship
You're gonna be the first child on the moon, aren't you?

Dear two-year-old me
The hill is the only way home, even if it looks steep
Don't close your eyes when Mommy drives up it
Open them, and look at the trees

Dear three-and-a-half-year-old me
You have a little brother! I know you wanted a girl,
But hey, at least he won't...

She couldn’t have been more than five or six. Her curly hair, restrained and tied back into two pink beaded pigtails was flying around her head as she spun, delighted, her hands clasped around her prize. She peeked through her fingers at the clump of milkweed seeds, their puffs akin to a dandelion’s head. She laughed and started walking dizzily towards a clear patch of grass, holding the seeds as if they were the most precious and delicate things in...

ah, the beautiful sea.

my hand blossoms out to touch the glassy water

the smooth, supple touch— 
it draws me closer to the waves

as if a distant voice is beckoning me to join them..
Listen! The whispering tickles your ears so you go pink with elation. 

i dive below the vast sheet of reflected sunlight
i feel my body submerge 
and become one with the sea

i am a mermaid, a siren, a dancer,
a single measure of silk.
...

Colorful shadows dancing in the light
Exploding chaotically like a rainbow disco
Light refracting despite the dark nights
The world as we know it in constant limbo

A lively carnival full of radiant twirling colors
A party full of vivid games of beauty and chance
Spotlights bumping into each other like lovers
Together in the shadows, we take a final stance

A reflection of colors onto the ground
Right where our paths somehow collided
The impossibility of what we've found ...

the rain patters against the windows
a soft tap, tap, tap
as though the night has opened its jewel box
and scattered glass beads upon us
to bring back the memories
falling
like salty tears
 
~~~
 
I remember
how we would sit together
me, you, Dad, Mika
on the old leather couches
that smelled of peppermint tea
and home, and family
underneath the funnel-lamp
spilling warm golden light
as Mittens purred softly
and the rain purred outside.
  ...

Victoria, 2042.
The sunlight flowed through the window in a golden stream, illuminating the smooth white walls in radiant light. The bright blue of the sky outside was in harmony with the lush green of the lawn surrounding the building. The posters that decorated the walls were bright and happy, filled with phrases like ‘Keep Calm’ and ‘Hang in there’.  The cat poster was the bane of Kelar’s existence. He stared at it morbidly, but with a grim satisfaction that...