fiery

steps push against the wind

seeds crush under a fiery gait

and the ache between my shoulder

blades lights
a small spark to the bloom
of bursting splinters
in my chest.

~

RNH

mournful

even the rain is beautiful

the sky mourns an irreparable
loss, too.

~

RNH

the arrow

they say that you are bound to resist
the arrow pulls back
from the direction, no sway
over the string
and yet, no path could ever
be reached without such tautness
that resistance
creates who you are
and the eventual place
you will be.

~

RNH

kickstand

a mood of chocolate
tilts the air
in a picture
i can almost taste
us speeding down the highway's
curves, your gloves gripping
the bars, my arms,
your waist and as the darkness howls
i
brace for an impact that i will never see
more silence and those shoulders
turned away from me
straddling this beck and call
of ours.

~

RNH

Persephone

she inhabited me like a season
the way the world is transformed in every
breath, sight and sound 
she altered me
wholly, so that my steps
were no longer mine
to begin with
their composition
dissolving whenever she
appeared.

~

RNH  

last leaves

through turbulence,
we often feel like last leaves
barely hanging on
the stem of a ligament of branch
the connection, vulnerable and thin
in better light, we see the evergreen

of our forests
the shelter we provide and the frailty
from which we all begin.

~

RNH

if i

you said i could do no worse
if i simply wanted you
to leave
i closed my mouth

upon the words

and lay my hands down

in their fire.

~

RNH

halo

crest of feathers
flutters, waves dramatic in the summer breeze, a crown
of amber halos, frames
the sky, akimbo arms, your knees
direct a dress's folds, i wave
and buckle when you notice
me, the light
shines through in places, all
the pieces
you throw
at me, when you smile.

~

RNH

desert island

it was so easy
to paddle into deep water
when the shore was ever-moving
and perfect as a memory.

~

RNH

Vessel

worth is a vessel
you create on the inside
soft clay spinning, molding
the shape
you
pour forth.

~

RNH

The Draft

the mannequin

with the heel of his palm

in her hand, pressed
cauterizes under her gaze. 

~

RNH

A Responsible Voice

she tells the other students,
be patient
take a deep breath
it will be okay
my phrases, her patting hand
on their shoulder
this is why I am
so mindful
of my tone.

~

RNH

globes

when the sky turned navy
and the pool, a midnight, too, under the lights
small bursts of white and clementine
i knew it was time
to go home.

~

RNH

trees cast

in the twilight, trees cast
gigantic shadows on the ground
eerie, spherical, their fans
of fingers splay
fearless of the in-between.

~

RNH

Tigers and Queens

for a moment, they paused

for half-seconds, lay still

long enough to be 

photographed

almost as if

they knew. 

~

RNH

rain about

blur of particles creates a sheet
a wall of waves, an untethered sea
and as the curtain
ruffles, the linen
sweeps over the windows
erases
with gray.

~

RNH

brand

failure

is a word

I will not let

leave its mark on me

instead, I will bend

press and amend

its letters

so it says,

I have tried. 

~

RNH

in the flood

caverns fill with water

and everything valuable
loses sheen.

~

RNH

electricity

she said that when you are struck
by lightning, it changes
the electricity in your heart
maybe that's why
we quiver in the headlights
every glow a reminder
that one day
we will be stopped.

~

RNH

small shell

ducked back down into the tepid
green water
as if whatever hovered just
above the surface,
he feared.

~

RNH

cookie truths

gingerbread man
with his foot in his mouth
keeps hopping away, on one
pendulum.

~

RNH

somewhere

piano to the sentences
i will not say
i will not say
the indentation of fingers
to keyboard like pressure
in clay
transformed, but intact

strings to the volatility
i will not express
i will not express
the plucking of fingers
on triggers like chords
in a hollow
empty but echoing loud

palms to the bongos, heart's
thumps, pulsing, argues
and muscles
the emotions that earthquake
inside, i
reach in the darkness
contend with the blindfold
fumbling through silence
and expect to find

the instrument
hangs
on a wall somewhere
and voices
what i will not let
speak.

~

RNH

the accordion

cherishing the symmetry of text
to image, imagery to
to text, i revel
in the monochrome, the fan
unfolding, the allusions
deeper than you think.

~

RNH

4th Street Universe

in the kaleidoscope,
a pinwheel of people
spins, each twist
an octopus unfurling her arms
a jacket full of gems.

~

RNH

poinsettias

the Christmas wreathe held out
its flowers, red and fragrant, specific
as cinnamon
and pine needles, presents wrapped
meticulously by familiar hands.

~

RNH

not anyone else

i am not responsible for the choices
of anyone else
but i am responsible
for my own.

~

RNH