Courageous

When you desire most to simply
Lay your head down and grieve
At this moment, more than any other,
You must take courage
You must stand up
You must believe.

~

RNH

Perspective

with plenty of reasons to doubt
and falter
Look up
a myriad of chances await
for the darkness to only be
a temporary
veil
each window's
Perspective depends on your stance
and around every corner, the path
that will change you
contains you
in every story, your choice
to close your eyes
casting
your gaze to the ground
or to face the sky, open
Look up.

~

RNH

With Music

The leather, soft
On the corners, worn
Where pointed feet touched the floor
And left the springs
Joyfully
You remember
How our bodies rippled with the music
Lifting and singing
Our chorus to the room.

~

RNH

Logos

The Greek word for spirit
is also, wind.
We elude
and haunt ourselves,
the same.

~

RNH

Armor

I know you did not want to play
But my armor and I
Showed up anyway
And we fought and slew
Great dragons with conviction
And we spat and cursed
Wiping sweat with our sleeve
And the hardness of our eyes
Could not match the gray
Stone of our hearts
Til I lifted up my helmet
Asking, why am I destroying
What I love.

~

RNH

Threat

Thief, in top hat and glass
Monocle, turns
His silvery eye upon me and furrows
His furry brows and buttons
The consternation on his dark
Vest, the burgundy
The color of my purse.

~

RNH

Disappearing Act

and in your eulogy,
I did not falter, I did not
grasp at words and feelings
that I did not command
I did not throw the harnessing strands
about your figure
the illusion
that you would always be there
and the vanishing truth.

~

RNH

Pierced

She kept wishes under her pillow
Tucked them like teeth
Between case and sheet
Believed in the power of transformation
And prayed for the morning
To not curse the dream.

~

RNH

tiny boat

and when you are in your tiny boat
gripping the sides
and when the waves hit you hard
and the obstacles collide
with your small force
waver not, even
the howling wind will quiet, even
the raging sea will calm
if only
you do not give up.

~

RNH

Full Circle

Let's join hands and give thanks
Let me hold you and say,
I'm sorry, too,
Let us forgive while we still can
While our breaths, uncounted
Sustain us, go unnoticed,
As the infinite, connected
Moments
Where I could tell you
What you mean to me
Let me show you
How irreplaceable you are...

~

RNH