steady

stripped down of your feathers
and cones
and hard shell
cut free from your brittle
honeycomb
what would be left
show me your tender, fragile
pieces and i promise
i will keep steady
my hands.

~

RNH

fume

smoke wreathed, coiled
and spun black cotton tufts
around both ears, the bloom
of anger
billowing quickly fueled
by your
ineptitude and lack of grace.

~

RNH

pinky

she hung herself from the ceiling
by one pinky
strapped in white
dental floss
twine
and cursed
at the lack of circulation
and perspective when her
toes still touched
the floor.

~

RNH

Authenticity

Capricorn in a suit
well-adjusted
to the outcome of playing
by her own
rules
buttoned-down by
the three
do not show fear
do not show envy
do not show
them anything but what you are.

~

RNH

signature

the pen spun
beneath a confident hand
a slow, strong grip
a purposeful lag
time, waiting
for the pause that would half
the time between
us, upon completion
already there
and not
remembering how we left.

~

RNH

curtains

in the coil of each letter
posed a woman
figuring
that the best way
to hold your attention
rested
in looking
like she was asleep
the whole time
still
knowing
that her eyes watched
from underneath.

~

RNH

muse

brush to the watercolors
pools of pigmented circles
dabbing the idea
into bright red
into blue

wondering where next
to place the many strands
of concept
and pursuit
wondering in which
i might find
you.

~

RNH

unaffect

the leaf ran down your forearm
made of a billion tiny leaves
this fern's sinewy palm
black as your cat eyes at night
i blink, in the uncomfortable
fluorescence
and act as if i
am unaffected.

~

RNH

stain

the pattern bled
i miss you, too, he
said in pauses, in small
little comments and jokes, she
picked up the stain
and purpled, too.

~

RNH

within a heart

heart shaped mane
framed just as tender face
held just as fragile look
imbued with colored, broken light
filtering down
like streams of confetti
splintering diamond
dizzying love
waiting to fill your open, cupping
hands
saving what would be lost.

~

RNH  

nape

if identity was simply
a matter of hairstyle
you could sweep it
back and become
someone else
and when i touched
my fingers to the nape
of your neck
you could safely say
you were mine.

~

RNH

queen of cards

she was not a queen
by any dimensions of her own
they had already disrobed
and dishonored her
name with her body
she chose only
to wear
her fierce glare
until they retreated
and understood.

~

RNH

constellations talk

stars whisper in the sky like tin
foil pricking the silent
space, the cover
crinkling the kind
of emotions i could not
contain, strewn with glee.

~

RNH

the spot

said i would not walk the tightrope for you, again
slithered, instead
on my lengths of ropes of lies
trigger finger winking
one eye under
the microscope
the spotlight
healing
and indecipherable.

~

RNH

Holding

ringmaster stuck to truisms
crafted blue schisms
into her soft, white
skin and the leather
bent and twisted
spun and lifted
the cries into black
incumbent night.

~

RNH

thief

tip-toed around this dream
like a thief in the darkness
stealing a look
at what should not be seen
masked face and gloved
hands
hiding
fear or desire
both
concealed within my palms.

~

RNH

frames

when the frames in my house
are all soft-tilted
will you fix them
when my perspective, too,
needs some shifting
will you wait
and let me make
these minor adjustments
if you are patient
I am trusting
we all just need a little dusting
to show our best sides to the light.

~

RNH

SCREAM

I'm afraid I'm forgetting the infinite good memories
The bad ones scream
and blind
me so
with doubt.

~

RNH

scorpion

striking tail of bitterness
stung in sensitive, hard to reach
places, where vulnerability attempted
to hide, but witnessed
its own clarity
revealed
substance as a target
whether you run from the fire
or take the aim
either way
you will get hurt.

~

RNH

appearance

you could not escape your skin
even if you wanted to, could not
peel back its layers
so attached
are you
to the semblance
of appearance
your sticky-side to opinion
and I gnash my teeth at your claims
of sovereignty.

~

RNH

erase

wrapped up in a cloak, I carry
this past, like a envelope
sealed, I cannot open
nor lift
its heavy edges, linked
to such slender
bends of periphery
a twig of an ankle
twisted until breaking
I feel
I must
erase the entire contents.

~

RNH

Recoil

Note to self:

Please stop running away from things, just because they are hard.

Okay ??

~

RNH

construct

i am not within
all of these things
i am not
without them.

~

RNH

When in Doubt, Give...

I think, sometimes, that we are brought into this world to rescue other people. Not that they are helpless, but that everyone, on some level, needs empathy to be hopeful and feel inspired. We are that love that sustains them, the substance that grounds them, and the light that guides them through the darkness, as they are for us. I can think of specific moments when someone's kindness or small act of reaching out truly rescued me. I am forever grateful to those whose strength has been my buoy. As we search for the courage to illuminate the path within our own struggles, we can also be a beacon of support to those around us. I do not think being vulnerable is a weakness. I think sometimes the only answer is to give. We were meant to give, so we could save each other.

~

RNH