I float along in a sea of falsehood,

Sailing in a ship I built on misinterpretations and white lies.

He never told me my anchor would fault,

Or that the wind and the waves would work against me.

I realize now I never should have put my faith

In that long-bearded sailor.

He was never one to think of others first,

That self-righteous, narcissistic jerk.

He just let me fight against the current,

Laughing as I slowly started sinking.

He watched from a distance

As I drowned in what I once thought was ecstasy.

In reality, it was just a torturous reminder

That nothing ever really changes.

Previously published in riverrun, The UCCS Student Literary and Arts Journal, 2017

The scattered leaves,

The twisted roots,

And the rebellious dandelions

Creating their unwanted entry

Illuminate my understanding.

What we were was natural,

But that’s not to say we were right.

We were chaotic.

We were intertwined.

We artificially inseminated “us”,

That coupling pronoun,

With affection

And the juvenile assumption

That “right now” had the potential

To mean anything more than

Lust and the desire to be desired.

Everlasting love?

No.

What we were was natural,

But that’s not to say we were

Anything but temporary.

Previously published in Colorado's Best Emerging Poets Anthology by Z Publishing, 2018