the exhausted mother shut her eyes her back was hurting she didn’t have it in her to tell her children the regular bedtime story just imagine, she said to them, a beautiful garden in front of your eyes with flowers in bright colours and anima-…

Ma told a tale of a devout worshipper of thunder falsely accused of stealing a goat sentenced to be imprisoned In court, he invoked his god Thunder struck His accusers died.  

School was out It had to be Summer Back then the seasons were as defined The Chicago breeze wafted through pigtails like no other air I looked out the sunroom window at my friends playing in the park and had to get there My sister…

Raised by men Who taught me about womanhood their way Handed me a cape And let me run through the woods When I reached a house Tired and weary There was a man hiding Behind the mask of a woman I was not scared Thought…

Young wild thing where did you leave your heart? is it too late to feel? Is it too late to say you’re mine, I wonder… You were here all along, You had that look of longing like you were waiting for him to look in…

Shyness is not something unfamiliar to me It isn’t easy talking to people new And if you knew me, you’d see

I am an empath With fleeting anxieties Alone gathering

With every mention of your name I force back the grin that my heart won’t contain Swear my heart skips a few beats then speeds in an unhealthy way I hear you singing that Jackson Five song Just look over your shoulder baby I look…

Ubiquity in my memory The fact that you are missed As the day glows yellow and orange The summer of the eighties   Overlooking you for brighter birds They sing sweet melodies But I cherish the rattle and the chatter An epitome of freedom  …

I put on my boots to the laughter of young children I stroll outside with my lantern to search for the fireflies The sky is clear and the evening appears perfect There is a light breeze tapping the ferns and beech trees In the distance,…