The Water People

   It was the last glimpse of water she would ever see, in her heart she knew this.  She had grown up on the water, in the water.  It was in her blood, one of the Water People.
   But they were taking everyone, it had started quietly.  First, the elders would slip into the water and never resurface.  The men and women would follow, their feet would step off the boats and onto the dirt in the dead of night, leaving their children to fend for themselves.  The teens became scared when the babes disappeared.  They had posted guards, settled in the deepest portions of the water where no land could be seen anywhere around them.  Still the small ones had vanished.  All that was left of the Water People was a group of 3 boys and 5 girls, all between the ages of 16 and 22 years old.  But eventually, they came for them too.
   Tashia walked quietly next to Wairin.  They were the two oldest and the others looked to them for direction.  There had been some struggle, the Water People were proud people, but in the end there was no use to fight against them.
   She studied their captors as they pushed them into vans that were parked at the top of the docks.  They were dressed as though they were going into combat, shadowed face guards prevented her from making eye contact with any of them.  She braided her long golden brown hair as they began driving, the strands of her hair falling through her fingers calmed her thoughts.
   She made eye contact with each person in the van: Wairin, Nadia, Kyler, Bennigan, Ras, Ribah, and Nakhira. There were glimpses of pride and fear reflected in each of them.

Daddy's Tears

I saw daddy crying
he was sitting on the couch
and he thought
no one was around.

But I stood in the doorway
as the tears fell
from his eyes.

I walked over to him
and kissed his cheek,
because mommy says
kisses make everything better.

And it must have worked
because daddy smiled
and hugged me
and told me he loved me.

But I already knew that.


I didn't understand
but the years passed and
I learned the lesson
all too well.

As I sat on my couch,
tears falling from my eyes.

I felt a little kiss on my cheek,
and I wrapped my arms
around my son
and told him I loved him.

And he told me he already knew that.

Simply [poem]

We share a
beautiful understanding
rooted within a
deep misunderstanding
of the world around us.
And we call this place
love.
On the corner of
misery and hope
in the town of
unbearable.
And I wouldn't
want to be
anywhere else,
with anyone else.

that girl.

I'm that girl
they write about
in country songs,
that can bring
a man to his knees.

I'm that girl
standing in the doorway
with tears
in her eyes.

I'm that girl
serenading her steering wheel
wishing that one
special boy
was sitting next to her.

I'm that kind of girl
that cries herself to sleep,
and can't look herself
in the eye.

I'm that girl
that will face
up to her fears,
and stare down
her doubters.


I'm that girl
they write
songs about.

empty.

there are no words.
nothing i could say
that could make this
right again.

there are no actions
nothing i could do
that could change
your mind.

there is no love
nothing
to hold us
together.


there is a hole,
a piece missing
when i'm not
with you.

a piece of me
that's always with you
and i can only see it
when you're looking
at me.

but you don't
look at me.

not anymore.

don't walk away
with the part of
my heart
i have given to you,
without giving a part
of yours
to me.

drawing

I wish I could draw
your eyes when they're
looking at me.

I wish I could draw
your smile and illustrate
the way you laugh.

I wish I could capture
your passion and put it
into words.

But I still need more time,
more nights studying
the way you look at me.

Because maybe one day,
I'll learn to draw.

And I'll draw your eyes
when they're looking at me.

poison air.

this air
  is suffocating
me.

so desperate
     for any kind
of reassurance.
        that i'll
never believe.

i'm drowning.

and all i hear
   is your voice.
telling me i'm ok,

but i don't believe you.

i believe
   in your silence.
in your touch.

but i don't believe
   that i'm ok.

i'm still drowning.