Do not cast people
Who hurt you
As villains in your life
They do not deserve
That kind of power

Be the critic who loves your life’s work.
Decide that you’ll be okay.
When you have a choice, make one.
Think about what scares you. It’s a big part of what’s wrong.
Live your life the way you want to remember it.

That carefully curated

Version of your life

You tell acquaintances

Who turn into friends

Just your collected stories

Leaving out who you are

No one notices your trick

You have succeeded

No one can hurt you

Still you long for more

Someone who knows your secrets

Someone who sees through it all

Someone who can remind you

Who you really are

A human just being

But you have forgotten

How to be authentic

How to be vulnerable

How to be present

Sitting across from

Some good genuine someone

Instead of just collecting

Details for your next story

Cinderella was mistaken
He did not love her gown
Her exquisite golden hair
Her lovely glass slippers
He was searching for her
Gentle kindness
Pure light and love
In his grateful arms
If midnight passed
In her humble rags
He would have seen
Her beautiful soul

Deduct the cryptic
Just say how you feel
Be refreshingly real

You will float in and out
Of my mind and heart
Until we meet again

I was entirely sure
Everything was fine
Until I missed you
In a way I could not name

All you need is love
Always seemed to me
A painful cliche
Until a little touch of it
Gave me energy
Woke me up early
Gave me a story to tell
Made difficult times
Not so heavy to carry
Maybe love is all you need
To breathe easier
Because your worries
Matter to someone else too

Selfish people have a way
Of creating a mirage of caring
Just enough to convince you
To stick around unarmed
For the day they hurt you
Without blinking an eye
With zero remorse
To get what they want

Your stories and lies
I can hardly decipher
What difference there

Her indifference
Her absence of jealousy
Perplexes my heart

In the quiet night
She dances inside my heart
As I fall for her

Then it hits you around 2am

After months of medical issues

Tests, a procedure, a surgery,

A long wait to find out your fate

That meant acceptance

Of what could be a new normal

You learned a great deal

About a great many things

Especially about yourself

How hard it was to feel

How hard it was to ask for help

How kindness made you cry

How you needed privacy

How you needed to share

How being ready for the worst

Kept you afloat and grounded

Web MD is not all bad

But more than anything

You realize you are free

To do anything with this

Life of yours

Before the end
Of business today
Prioritize the secret
Wishes of your heart

My father would walk In the door Christmas Eve

Weary from a long work day

Shaking the snow off

His old coat

Taking bags of candies

In the shape of stars

Out of his pockets

For his little girl

Save one for me

He said smiling

I thanked every star For him

Have a conversation

With your heart

Then text me back

Let go of the narrative

Let your days unfold

You will gradually find

Your fate will be revealed

When you least expect it

When love decides for you

Sitting on the edge of the bed

He held an apology in his throat

A near empty bottle in his hand

She sat at the kitchen table

Holding a chipped coffee cup

Tears trickling down

As she drank the last drop

She held a goodbye in her throat

Neither of them would hear

Nowadays

Your greatest secret is

What you wrote down

On a piece of paper

Never showed anyone

Tore up and threw away

I lack the constant

Preoccupation

With love that most

Are innately born with

My heartbroken tears

Were inevitably yours

From the day we met