tracks

there are train tracks

on the skin

from afar, a whistle
blows, heralding
the night darkens
the few leaves shiver.

~

RNH

crying

he paced by the screen door

while the music inside lifted

wore a fine groove into the wood

while their voices inside shifted

from mere strangers to acquaintances

laughter made and exchanged

glances and he clawed

at the locked door

between them,

crying, but she would not

let him in.

~

RNH 

dove

softened by the fluff of pillows

the plunge into your arms

so that this love could be a source 

of comfort and not

two limbs of harm. 

~

RNH

soldier

she waved a single white flag
from the bombed-out
barricades
as the smoke curled
around another
explosion, another
grenade,
and she cried out for peace as the hatred
rained around her and she ran
into the pocked field gathering
bullets.

~

RNH

audiophile

for a year, i walked around in circles with you,
for a year, i stayed on that track
and did not stray
and for a year, i watched as the scenery
didn't change, and the images slowly looped
and then the audio did, too,
and i could not feign the blinders
that i did not have to blame
the fear of being lost,
the belief that i
was not enough,
they were not true and it didn't
end up mattering in the end,
because that record only played
when i knowingly went around on it.

~

RNH

a glimpse

the empty house sat
with its windows looking out
and he watched from his chair
for the neighbor, for the mail lady
and the smile of the visitor that used to open
his doors, every day
a glimpse into a former life.

~

RNH

Rush

I held my breath
For the long slide down
And winced, in both joy and pain,
At the newness
And the cool wind rushed
My face with bright sounds
And it only took a moment, until I
Let go.

~

RNH

Will Not Have You

I will not have you either
Said the patience to the thorn,
For you dwell in the dagger of your own pain
And you revel in causing the sore.
I will not have you either
Said the passion to the stone,
For you hide in the shadow of your own cage
And you bury your fire in its hold,
And I will not have you either
Said the promise to the cliff,
For I have learned to value my own judgement
And no one will push me off of it.

~

RNH