Poetry

Paint the Roses Red

I’ve got a rose from a time when I sang in front of the biggest crowd.

I’ve got a rose from the day I buried my sister underground.
And I found thorn in my chest where my hearts supposed to be.
I’ve got a rose from the day you said you loved me.
 
A rose means forever, like,
“I’ll love you forever,” or
“She’s gone forever and she’s never coming back.”
Well, paint those roses red, I said.
Like painting on a face.
Paint your life red,
Because we’re all so out of place.
Love me and love me not,
Love is a fire, and you were caught,
And those burns heal so damn slow.
I’ve got a rose from a time when I let go.


Hands to Hold

It’s been a while since I’ve been okay

And I guess I came to you to say that

I have always been okay with you.

The faster I leave, the more I miss you.

We’ve never done this before,

But I’d like to kiss you

‘Cause lips like yours couldn’t do any harm.

The moon is bigger than it’s ever been

Soft touch touches summer skin

Don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

If the world stopped, started spinning slower,

I’d call you up, “could you please come over”

And I’d spend all my extra time with you.

If everything was rightfully right,

Your lies, your beckoning sight,

Would lead me away, lead me astray

Astray, so I may never stay.

So say what you’ve been dying to say

Without the piano you’ve been dying to play.

The breath of wordless words abound like,

Cradling hearts, cradling sound:

A cold, cold expression as to why the fates have brought me down.

The string that pulls and bends,

The souls that end in mist so very cold

Have we no other hands to hold?

So when the stores have closed their doors,

And the lights go out up on the porch

A new me proceeds to take my life

As you’d expect, the world’s not sharp as knives,

But cruel and dull, and angrier still

An angrier will, the angrier will

Fall asleep when the sun appears

But I will not for the love of all my fears.

Sometime Around Midnight

Based on the Song by Airborne Toxic Event

You walk in,

Don’t know who to talk to.
You think this will be another cold year alone.
Then this guy,
Who’s witty and stubborn,
Starts talking to you like the only girl in the world,
And he loves classic rock,
And he always speaks out of turn,
And you’ll do anything to make him say one more word.

But you see,

He’s nowhere near perfect.
But you’ll over look that if he doesn’t over look you.
And every mistake is like a gold ribbon.
You can’t cut through the haze even though you know the truth.
You don’t ask him to fight even though he has so much to prove.
You dig deeper and deeper ‘till there’s nothing to say or to do.

And you love

That he’s not a heart-breaker,
But he takes it,
And breaks it,
Until you’re all torn in two,
And you’re silently sobbing all alone in your room.
And there’s no one to scream at,
It’s always just been him and you.

And you both pretend,

That nothing has happened.
But every girl that he looks at is tearing you up inside.
As if you weren’t broken enough,
But you pretend everything’s fine.
You’re lost and alone,
And you think that you’re losing your mind.

He won't speak,

But he knows that you’re broken.
‘cause he knows all about you and the details in between.
But he won't go and fix you like a criminal back at the scene.
And after all of those years you lose grip on all you believe.