it begins

insidiously

like the one time

you called me

by

her first name

*

after leaving home

for the first time

in two weeks

I breathe in

the rain-soaked air

like a fragrant rose

*

noiseless

the moon and stars

birth life

this is

why I am still awake

at 2 a.m.

*

after mother died

I purchased binoculars

to view the night

as if she were hidden

between

Orion and Sirius

*Published in leave me here (the cherita book 42)

*The last cherita was designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

 dancing

around infinity

I grasp

the heart

of the universe

still beating

*

winter’s end

I cannot wait

to tell

the first flower

I see

she was missed

*

without signs

warning

do not touch

my fingerprints

would sully

each Pollock

*

my favorite days

are the ones

where I cannot tell

if I am

still dreaming

between claps of thunder

*

drops of freezing rain

stick to my hair

admittedly

I did not realize

what fun it is

to play ice queen

*Published in i heard it first (the cherita book 41)

**The second cherita was designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

 focus

your breath

upon my words

you are

safe within

this space

*

each time

I build walls

around myself

the spring air

somehow

knocks them down

*

I wrestle

with a desire

to disappear

not to start over

but

to never be found

*

in my life

a lot of lines

have blurred

like the ones

dividing dreams

and nightmares

*

it is late

and I am

so very cold

but I cannot look

away from

these stars

*Published in from my window (the cherita book 40)

*The last cherita was designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

if you can

take comfort

in the change of seasons

even snow

will eventually

become tulips

*

thunder

I have missed you

more than you’ll ever know

the sun

can only say

so much

*

are you

as afraid

as me

when you

first dive

into sleep

*

a bit of magic

before dawn

here I am

watching

the Space Station

cross the sky

*

to the bird

near my window

I know

you are not singing

for me

but thank you

*

bruised

is how I would prefer

to remember

your hands

when striking

my flesh

*Published in a sense of place (the cherita book 39)

**The first two cherita were designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

no, I have never

seen the devil

but I have

seen a grown man

eye a little girl

like meat

*

I wish there was a noun

to describe

the sound of a night train

shushing anxiety

a lullaby

for the weary at heart

*

dear trees

it was in

your embrace

that I finally

learned

I was loved

*

pulling

each string

of my harp

who knew

a prayer doesn’t

need words

*

vanilla and sugar

let’s dream

for a moment

that this world

could be

as sweet as that

*Published in it’s a secret place (the cherita book 38)

*The first cherita was designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

I am

both shades

of midnight

when you

slip into

my mind

*

tell me again

that she wasn’t

as good as me

when you

explored her skin

instead of mine

*

the things

left unsaid

burn in my chest

look at me

a black hole

playing human

*Published in and still (the cherita book 37)

*tell me again and the things left unsaid were designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice) 

those secret places

like the ones we find 

in our dreams

they have a way

of bringing us home

faster than cars

*Published in pieces of sky (the cherita book 18)

in my palm

every remnant of you

I scatter them

along the edge

of a faraway trail

with only a prayer

*Published in in my palm (the cherita book 22)

I promise

if you look

even closer

I am

more beautiful

than these scars

*Published in snow ghosts (the cherita book 21)

dry mouth

on this night

with no moon

is this how

our vows turn into

broken promises?

*Published in the stories (the cherita book 20)

frilly things

you always liked

the pink one

but I ask you

to take me

as I am

*

four years later

her ashes sit

in my closet

now covered

with the same dust

as her bones

*Published in not a memory, exactly (the cherita book 15)

I knew

it was the way

you said her name

the way flowers

discover sun

in spring

*Published in on a quiet street (the cherita book 14)

**Designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

in the end

mother stopped cleaning

her home and self

perhaps the flies

kept her company

when I couldn’t

*

imagine

a forest

that circles

back in

on itself

and us

*Published in now i listen (the cherita book 13)

sabbath

everyone else was attentive

during song and sermon

but I was too busy

drawing fantastical creatures

on donation slips

*Published in autumn deepens (the cherita book 12)