Belonging

is not something forced 

or imagined. 

It is a feeling of safety 

without nets. 

~

RNH

escape

night envelops

gathers the mind in a basket

lifts to the moon...

~

RNH

Jeweled

The fog blurs the vision

Objects hover in the distance

Spherical gems, Faberge

Jeweled eggs of memories

I've taken hammers to

Because I'd rather have clarity

Than any fictitious beauty

Because I'm better off now

Than I ever was loved

By you.

~

RNH

humming reminisce

pin-drop fingertip tapped lovingly

reminded you of a song

you once knew. 

~

RNH

Headshot

oh, crest of close scrutiny

please break, please acquiesce

to the repeated, humbled

requests, from shoulders stooped

from praying

to be unyoked 

from you. 

~

RNH

coil, gray

there is a constant desire

to curl

to regress from feeling and surroundings

spurn, to centipede-like

wrap myself tighter

into a coil

of silence

I keep folding

and unfolding 

where it hurts.

~

RNH

archangel

standing on the top 

of the neon-lit

wheel, she 

tilted

her arms wide

ready

for the fall that angels

revel in...

~

RNH

commas

a wave
they spill and dive
across the sky, a cloud
of commas tornado and take
flight...

~

RNH

cat-food breath

he'll rub his little
triangle
face against yours
in case you
wondered what he had
for dinner.

~

RNH

buckets

spilling over, the remainder
from so many buckets kicked
over sideways
littered emotions, balled up
tumbleweed in opposite
directions
the contents, not
worth saving.

~

RNH

coward

I have many words for you.  

None of which 

make me proud. 

~

RNH

Love Truly

Love truly

Requires you to let go

Of the very person you

Long to hold the most.

~

RNH

Twain

There is always a fascination

between the object

and the painter. 

If not, there would be no need 

for canvas 

to separate the pair. 

~

RNH

the feathered sort

rearranging feathers,

a decadent ballroom

dress, tiers

spilling from waist

to floor, rustles

with the impatience of lovely

infatuation

preens herself

in the tawny gaze of the adored. 

~

RNH

bookends

emotions wobble without bookends

threatening to tumble from 

off their shelves. 

~

RNH

Open Letter

Dear singular black lamppost

that I almost hit, but didn't,

Thank you for not moving.

For representing the obstacles

that will always be in our lives, 

the things we must confront
and persevere through...

Dear grocery store clerk,

Thank you for putting the heavy

boxes of kitty litter into my cart.

Not that I am not 

capable of carrying my own stuff, but kindness
is strength...

Dear tiny yappy dog at the vet clinic,

It is okay. 

And thank you for reminding me

that we all get freaked out and nervous

sometimes. 

And sometimes our fears are more precarious
than the circumstances...

Dear spectacular sunset,

Wow. And thank you for slowing 

down the time for just
a minute.

Thank you for the comfort
in your colors.  

Dear overwhelming flood of grief,

We must learn to coexist. 

I will hold you through the darkness, if we

can both make the light,

at the end. 

Dear spiral of universe,

I am so amazed by what I see

and hear and feel at times, that I hesitate

to tell you...

I am afraid that nothing I create

will ever suffice...

Here is a beginning. 

A small prayer in the appending

of pen to paper...
A reconciliation. 

This is my
open letter...

~

RNH

scathe

the loneliness feels corrosive

scrapes at the shoulders

and knees

of my faith. 

~

RNH

carved star

if the stars swirled in my inscriptions,

I would write for you whole galaxies. 

~

RNH

self-image

the need for reinvention

took slow turns at intersections

years unhinged from forced labels

desiring only choice

and quiet. 

~

RNH

drawn seaward

when did gaze become
such an undercurrent
a riptide
drawing
the flukes of my anchors.

~

RNH

author, i

i am already writing your story
more than you have ever lived.

~

RNH

The Boot

a boot
pressed into the bar chair
makes it easy to remember why
i (push)
do not come here.

~

RNH

scope

a crowd full
of cymbals, crashing
voices raising, exasperated
reprimands and laughter
the clink of scoop to ice
into glasses
and a cash register--
all these peripheral
to you.

~

RNH

futball

Football
Football
Football
A boulder crashing
In your cup of tea.

~

RNH

uphold

the house fell
without any structure
to uphold it
you stood waiting for the roof to cave
instead of rebuilding.

~

RNH