mother of wild | dangerous woman
for how long have you
held your breath, love?
pull taut your soft parts
full marks
how much oxygen has been
barred from your blood, love?
embers held
in prison cell lungs
by their eyes, love?
this death they
have chosen for you
agonizing
and poised
breathe, love
for the love of god just
breathe
i was made
for the
spaces
in
between
there is something
in my marrow
an energy that hums
and rattles
my
bones
my bird song is
one
of
tension
the long stretch
from catalyst to
resolution as it
hangs
in
the air
it is messy
and it is dark
but i am not alone
and this is where i have found peace
you see, it takes the sun eight minutes
and thirty seconds
to reach the earth and
it is within this lightspeed that we
find each other
or
sometimes
crash
bruised and battered we find
desperate relief in the clinging
we are bleeding but still
very
much
alive
I wanted to be a rose
Velvet petals and teasing thorns
Delicate and easy to hold
I am willow tree breasts
And thighs like galaxies
A sand dune belly
Siren call hips
And sea storm eyes
I am soft in all of the right
And wrong places
Nobody thought
To give my body a map
I wanted to be a rose
But I am devasting
And cannot be wrapped in cellophane
Depression is a thief. Cunning and wretchedly beautiful. She smiles sweetly at you, refilling your tea and telling you how the color of your dress brings out your eyes. Depression is a thief but first she is a friend. “Darling,” she says, “you seem so tired. Would you care to set your joys down for awhile?”
“No, no. Not my joys. It is not my joys that weigh me down but my burdens.”
“Ah, that’s alright, dear,” she pats your hand, “Just thought I’d ask.”
She changes the subject cheerfully but when your back is turned she places a stone in your bag. Not too large, but enough to make the dull ache in your shoulders a little louder, a little sharper at the end of the day.
It goes on in this way for some time. She asks the same question and you continue to shake your head. At times you feel perturbed with her insistence, but you know she is just concerned for your well-being.
The bag grows heavier still.
One morning she notices your strain appears great. She pulls you in a warm, tight embrace and tells you softly, “Tomorrow I will come to your house. There is no need for you to make your way here when you are so, so very tired.”
She is kind. Considerate. Thoughtful.
“Good morning darling, you seem so tired. Would you care to set down your joys for awhile?”
“No, no. Not my joys but my burdens.”
“Good morning darling, you seem so tired. Would you care to set down your joys for awhile?”
“No, no. Not my joys but my burdens.”
“Good morning darling, you seem so tired. Would you care to set down your joys for awhile?”
“No, no. I keep telling you – not my joys but my burdens.”
“Perhaps, my dear, they are one in the same? Something to think about. I’ll leave you be now. Get some rest.”
The next morning you wake to find her by your bedside. Sunlight streams through the curtains and glows golden across her cheekbones. “Good morning, darling. It is time now. You know this, don’t you?”
You have barely the energy to nod. You know now. Your joys are burdens, too. And you are so, so very tired. What else can you do but let her gather them up from your limp hands, fatigued from gripping with white knuckles for far too long.
“There now. I’ll hold on to these for you, just for a little awhile.” She tucks them into her bag and stands to leave. Before walking out the door she brushes the unruly, unwashed hair from your face and gently kisses your forehead. “Get some rest,” she whispers and is gone.
How lucky you are, to have such friends.
it is so easy to climb back
into bed with my demons
sheets cold but worn
decades of “sleep well”
decades of “good morning”
decades of looking into the same tired faces
with bleary eyes and foggy minds
i am tired
so very tired
i would leave
i should leave
but look at how much i have to pack 
All of those closest to me, and I imagine quite a few more that can not, for whatever reason, add their voices. Me too. Me too. Me too.
You too? Me too.
We shouldn’t require women to rip themselves open over and over again to give a shit. And yet, we do. Even worse, those who didn’t care before likely will not care any more now. It’s just a dance that we do. Please? Hello? Are you listening? Don’t be silly, you know the answer.
I spend a lot of time and energy examining the past and present. What did we do? What could we have done? What can we do now? Sometimes though, it feels a little too overwhelming, a little too hopeless. A little too fucking much. In those times I have to look to an imagined future, as fantastical as it may be. I have to look to my daughter.
Sweet(sour) girl, I must apologize. You will inherit this mess having had nothing to do with it’s creation – just as I did from my mother, just as she did from hers, and on and on it goes. You see, we are the granddaughters of the witches they could not burn and now we have the matches. I will do everything in my power to both protect and arm you – anything to prevent a, “Me too,” in your voice twenty years from now. It is nothing short of an incredible, suffocating honor to be the spark to your flame.
To those who offer you eggshells and unspoken rules, I hope you bark laughter in their faces and stomp it all to hell (both combat boots and high heels work well for this). Truthfully, it may not be the shushing fingers pulled to lips that sting but shrugged shoulders. I’m so sorry, baby. I haven’t figured out what to do about those yet. Let your mama know if you find out.
Know this: they will never stop trying to douse you out. I will be your kerosene. Burn them to the ground.
