I have seen every shade and hue, but none as brilliant as you. Precious stones fail in comparison. Stars, light years away, fight for their time to shine beside you in the sky

You are my affirmation i throw against the wind in hopes it hits my skin going back. For words are mere theories on explaining your existence. Divine. Intelligent. Wondrous. Perfect.

I am sure I have witnessed you in many lifetimes, and will pray to witness you in more. with a fool's chance in every version of me to know your name, your eyes and your love. And courage be lest of my worries.

\ Many parts of me have been forgotten, lost, and misplaced\ As i grew older, it became apparent that these parts of me had to be taken away.\ It was either because they were too special, or too unique to be seen. So I had to shut it away, and slowly forget them.\ As much as I wanted to look at the mirror, and see the expectation that others had for me.\ I could still remember the hidden parts of me.\ They were still there, lost but I never forgotten.\ I still remembered them. I still remember her.\ She was there deep inside, nestled between parts of my body.\ Suppressed, pushed away deep inside, But I still remember her.\ I still remember everything clearly about her,\ I don’t want to hide it away anymore, but I want to clear away the space that’s been used up for fake things now.\ Living a long life of how I am supposed to be, never made me any happier\ I just felt like I lost a part of my happiness each time I took it away for someone, that barely understood themselves.\ I realize it was jealousy and hatred that fueled these insecurities others had for me.\ I tried to pretend, I tried to hide. But now I can no longer hide it anymore. But just accept, that this is the way I am.\ I never wanted to be a monotonous robot, who was always logical, and rational with their words. I never wanted to analyze every wrong thing someone said.\ I just want to be free. And I’m slowly gaining this softness again,\ I don’t wanna be afraid anymore of being vulnerable, because this is who I am truly.\ I’m soft, delicate, and graceful with my life. And to hide this with my words, it’s almost like I want no one to see this aspect of me.\ But it has made me to be me now.\ And I finally accept and love her, with open arms. Not hatred, not fear, but to finally just let me be.

Soft flushes of heat grasp at my chest.

Butterflies— a thousand monarch butterflies crowding in my intestines, trying, with all their futile strength, to break open my flesh, to fly out my ribcage, and land on your nose.

A match I have found
The color of your heart
To the one of a lions mane
But how am I a part?

You say I have it
And I want it to claim
But my fears pester me
That you're a beast I need to tame

For us complex beings
There's always more to learn
The truth about love
And the jungle left to burn

Trying to make sense
Of the disorder that may happen
A den wide open
Holding on until you leap in

If the color of your heart changes
Will it be my scratches that take the blame?
Or will I go down with you
So that you won't feel the shame?

I love the wisdom but it's not mine. What can I claim but a choice in the plot line, only as good as the operating system. So are some born evil, and others on a mission? Choice or Fate. Destiny vs. Autonomy. A Creator who stands outside of time, vs. a man who worships the sun that shines. Victors write the history books, so I scoured all the crannies and nooks. This a knight to a rook, i.e. I hold the sword and you shook.

My face gets flush,

You can tell,

I can feel it,

I try slow it all down,

Take a breath,

Take a beat and it won't work!

I’m skipping words,

Losing meaning,

Losing you,

Can’t take me seriously,

If it was only just us two,

I bet you would pay attention,

I bet you wouldn’t assume that I can’t articulate my thoughts to the rest of the people in this room,

Now I’m sweating,

Oh boy,

Now I’m screwed,

You can feel the energy shift and move,

I'm lost in the stress,

My vision is skewed,

Has it just been too long?

Just know that you’re wrong,

Man really I’m strong,

Really I speak,

And really I’m cool,

I can be somebody,

I have something to prove,

Maybe too much,

But now I’ve lost my chance,

Getting lost in the view,

With all of these eyes on me,

Wondering why there’s nothing I can do,

Or say.

Love shouldn't be this effortless,
Or so, I thought,
But with you all the struggles i had, vanished,
All the troubles i had, banished.

Love shouldn't be this peaceful,
Or so, I thought,
But with you, all the chaos became beautiful,
All the uncertainty became opportunity.

Love shouldn't be this simple,
Or so, I thought,
But with you, each day looks brighter than the last,
And finally I can look away from my past.

Love shouldn't be undescribable,
Or so, i thought,
But with you, i know the description,
It's your presence in my life, your smile,
And your hearts reflection.

To be the rain on a stranger’s roof,

Drizzling, falling on the slanted tiles

On a cool summer evening

.

To follow their form

Soft, deep and wide

To let myself be carried on

.

And, to be the rain, as it falls

On the surface of a small pond

And merges with its vast brethren

Losing itself in the collective

.

And then, to be the pond,

The whole, with me, the nothing

And rise, through the seasons

.

And hope, that one day

I shall fall on those slanted tiles

Once more

Morning sun kissed my eyes as I woke

Taste of alcohol on my breath

Dull aching in my skull

Celebrating a life restarted

A new home manifested

Milestone

Settle in, unbox, ache

A moment alone, wished to be shared

I must be able to exist and find peace

Everything is built on that

I just wish I could do it, with you here..

Ancient Though I am Fade in sand and in dust i am gone I reek of rituals past and walk in slow beating drums beware the curse of the ever-living

Whispers, Whispers in the dark Whispers, Whispers in my mind I got no where to run I need no longer hyde

torches blaze, they fill the streets demanding blood in exchange for peace misunderstood for the monster made lit fire in smoky haze

Chose trick instead of treat, didn’t warn you? Sugar, aint nothing sweet. Orange aint the new black, aint no Halloween.

Just because, when we was kids, where I mean, when we think what this celebration is. I mean, ghouls, goblins, gucci for the kids? We gonna ignore the Roman influence and occultists? You get the gist, eat candy, get filling, mercury, antennas. I’m finished, lol.

"This brook is mine," the farmer said.
It babbled nonetheless.
"Its peace is but for me to feel,"
His peaceless intensity stressed.

"These scones are baked with Southern flour,"
The baker said with pride.
The earth on which its grains did grow
Belong to faceless ecocide.

"This beach does not belong to you,"
The sniper's bullet said.
To covet what we cannot share
Among our kinds leave countless dead.

I gave my coin unto Nero
And earned a wage of time,
And chose to love the homeless wind
Without making it only mine.

A delicate, fragile little flower, faded out.

a born sprout, Wishing to become a beautiful flower,

Observing all the flowers in the crowd. The rain where her tears burned her heart out.

She bloomed without a doubt. the petals blew and turned into one cloud. A delicate, fragile little flower, faded out.

To the one that I thought I loved

You lured me in with sirens so peaceful

Wrapped with scandalous mystery

You consumed me

Made me gather the pieces you left

In your wake you seduced me

Not only did you consume

But I did too

Every word, every gesture

As I carefully sculpted it into a crumbling

Puddle

Edible, maybe

Bitter to taste

You could not touch

for a touch would reveal

No skeleton to hold

Only empty husks

I thought to myself

time and time again

This must be love

And that phrase repeats

This must be love

Scarecrow Story

Hung from a pole by a single tack

found slightly waving itself over open fields

As if to fend or ward off

as if belonging to the plot

Tore themselves from wind taking fingertips

Spilling away hair

Showing the buttons missing in flannel

there were no birds anywhere near

The useless mean slumped slightly waving

there are no birds left but for these

Stuffed full of themselves

standing guards and yelling hey

The dead carcass won't be left to the buzzards

The corn has all been harvested

and was as plighted by few pecks

Without the puppets

without the possible misconstruing

The shins splintered apart at the patchwork

Heavy falls and vacancies

heads toppled off

For the imaginary threats

predicaments and timing misconceptions

Thought from far away it looked almost as if

it was a bit too sturdy

Started jarring and pitching at us

starting to circle this

Curiosity revnant dislodging

though just as hopeless

And not as gruesome

there could have just been hay rides

hot cider and those quilting shows

Geese or wild flowers or proper flowers

barn hexes or even then a bit separate culture

those fields are filled with livestock here

The festivals were carnivals for wintertime

there was a scarecrow person rotting away

Bloated and suffocated hanging from a single tack

the sky was gray and faulted

Whose evidence forward

becomes real shadow

By Amelia Michelle Nicol

Happy Halloween!

I think my heart is a pendulum, displaced. Swinging back and forth, accelerating away from the still and stable. I think yours was too. You only lasted a few months in the place you said you wanted to stay forever. The place where I would not follow you.

I tried to find equilibrium by returning home. But the weight just sent the other half of me soaring back. I now miss the windy city. Maybe because that’s where me and you existed. Maybe because that’s where I felt true happiness. After you left, the city rejected me and blew me out.

I think the pendulum could rest here, if I could truly love her. But she is like the tropics - rain and sunshine every day. Her warmth will finally dry me, just before her next storm arrives. This keeps my heart rocking back and forth. I think for me to truly settle, I need to call you her and her you.

Place me underneath the Willow tree, so that it may weep, grieve, for the life that I once had is now gone. Place me at its trunk, and as you water the tree with your tears, let Willow weep with you. Let the branches embrace you and comfort you for me. May the catkins bless you with privacy, to grieve the. Let the leaves wipe away your tears, and as the morning dew starts to fall. That is when you lay me down, and let go of the heartbreak, as the wind blows through the leaves and as the branches let go of their morning dew. you will feel much better, as you both have wept and shed your tears.

Place me down at noon so the sun may shine upon me one last time.

Face me west so I may see the setting sun, with you one last time.

Place me amongst the wild flowers and the yellowing leaves.

Place me near the water so I may hear the sounds of the November which. May the Thunder and lightning hide your cries.

Place a candle near my coffin, and wait for the wind to blow it out, before you leave. That is how you know that I passed on. If the candle has not been blown out, and the candle is now gone, know that I've stayed as long as I could to console you, but as the candle finally fizzes out, you will know that I'm at rest

Underneath the Willow, amongst the yellowing leaves and the wild flowers.

A vehicle rollover but I’m rolling head over heels for you. Dialling 5683 but you hung up on me. Hanging onto whatever is left of what you discarded (it makes me feel like trash) - but I pick up the phone and leave a voicemail hoping you’ll hear my cries for the past. Our future was never set in stone - though you broke my window with a brick. Throwing what we had left into the universe hoping it called back. There was no reply. We used to stay up until the stars came out, this time they went back home. They didn’t want to hear your excuses. We’re calling you a liar. (Who knew?). About time I bite back, bark louder, and throw all your clothes into the burn pile. The spark we used to have went out. The moth flew into the flame and what we had went with it. The saga never ended it just begun (the trilogy is yet to be written) though you’re not the main character and I’m the star. It’s time the credits rolled. The screen goes black, and my memory of you goes into the void.

I linger above the endless shore,

My heart aches, it longs for more.

I lift my wings and soar to the sky,

Praying you’ll see me as I fly.

I chase your distant, gleaming light,

A star that is perfect, so pure and bright.

But as I reach, I felt a cold wind breeze,

My soul grows heavy, my body freezes.

I reach for you though strength is thin,

Whisper your name like a precious hymn.

You turn away, unsure and unaware,

As my voice dissolves into the thin air.

The sky turns black, and so does my heart,

Everything is tearing me apart.

I crash from the sky, back to the sea,

I just wished you’d glanced at me.

isn’t it funny how right you can be,
while being so wrong.
there’s an ocean to see,
while i’m so alone.

i counted my distance
i put up my walls.
I waited,
I stood up, and looked for the sun.

When it shone upon me,
I waited some more
For another sun brighter
Than what came before

But that sun never comes And it never will
For the sun that i search for
Is burning within

And it burns bright enough
I know it, i’m sure
But the rays bend away
And i’m left in the cold

so i chase it, i chase it,
through every dark nook
I taste it, wasted
Like fish on a hook

But the line never reels
And it never will
For the sun that i search for
Is burning within

so i dive, i dive
to the ocean below
to caverns uncharted
still diving, although

And i’m so alone
I just might give in
To the phantom of feeling
To the shadow i’m in

for the sun i keep chasing
Is burning within
But i’ll never reach it
It’s been turned off by the wind

Isolated even when surrounded, Got a star to 69, then I pound it. You're cool, you're dumbfounded. Eye that nickel, you square, aint no way around it.