Poet,

let your bleeding heart pen

those words of pain

with the ink of love.

Don't bottle how you feel,

let your emotions run raw and unfiltered.

Use your gift to heal, not hurt.

Don't tell others how to perceive, let them feel.

Don't show them your reality, paint theirs.

Be true to yourself at all costs.

And poet,

don't

forget

to laugh.

-A.e.

I have secrets, too.

They're fickle creatures with delicate bodies carried by paper-thin wings. They whisper in the voice of distant memories, their words laced with temptation.

On nights when loneliness lingers, they carry me into sweet reminiscence. Drunk on the echo of a memory, the fantasy leaves my lips wet with anticipation.

Their stories belong to the shadows, and I promised,

I’ll never tell.

-A.e.

These hands of mine

have traced the curves of my body

a million times over,

but the sentiment is lost in the way

your touch leads my soul to dance.

You bring color to this mad world

and I see how the grey sky envies you.

No one can strip me bare

of the filters history has lent me

faster than that wanting look you carry.

Here I stand, naked before you,

proud of the scars I’ve earned. Love me or

hate me, I am not ashamed

of my beauty because I know,

even in innocence,

you can’t help but stare.

-A.e.

I remember these words as vividly as I remember the wrinkles on this mans face. I remember his warm hugs, flirtatious nature and deep respect for me, though I never fully knew why. He was always kind, always eager to listen, and always abrasively positive after a few shots of tequila.

I remember this day, I remember the clouds full of rain and the ever-growing emotional wound I carried. I remember climbing so many hills, I remember falling so many times and I remember carrying on, even if it meant I had to crawl on my knees, over-burdened with self-imposed guilt.

Life goes on and we carry these moments in time, they splinter and burrow into our soft human flesh only to find their way into our veins, roots sprouting among the banks of the fertile rivers that supply us with life. They provide us with a temporary foundation on which to build upon.

It’s the everyday people that bring us the life we’ve forgotten to look for. Sometimes they hand it to us gently like a neatly wrapped gift, and sometimes it’s thrown at us with unexpected force.

We have this day, we have this moment. Make it yours.

-A.e.

I remember these words as vividly as I remember the wrinkles on this mans face. I remember his warm hugs, flirtatious nature and deep respect for me, though I never fully knew why. He was always kind, always eager to listen, and always abrasively positive after a few shots of tequila.

I remember this day, I remember the clouds full of rain and the ever-growing emotional wound I carried. I remember climbing so many hills, I remember falling so many times and I remember carrying on, even if it meant I had to crawl on my knees, over-burdened with self-imposed guilt.

Life goes on and we carry these moments in time, they splinter and burrow into our soft human flesh only to find their way into our veins, roots sprouting among the banks of the fertile rivers that supply us with life. They provide us with a temporary foundation on which to build upon.

It’s the everyday people that bring us the life we’ve forgotten to look for. Sometimes they hand it to us gently like a neatly wrapped gift, and sometimes it’s thrown at us with unexpected force.

We have this day, we have this moment. Make it yours.

-A.e.

I’ve never had a permanent home. This toxic heart led me astray, and like a broken beacon, I followed. Cold and alone, but alive, I fought those demons.

Afraid, I found my own way. You took a part of me you never earned, you took the innocence you should have saved.

I’m damaged, but I’m strong.

You see, life isn’t linear, it doesn’t follow a straight path, it isn’t one way over another. Life is freedom in all facets, it’s living to serve one another, not serving just to live.

Life is experience, through whatever means, it’s perseverance through fear and pain.

And when the sun fades for the last time, I’ll be there. I walk this earth in sin, I exhale into the ashes as they rain.

A Phoenix, I was born, and through the fire I’ll rise again.

-A.e.

How do I explain this

in a way you’ll understand?

How do I distill my pain so it’s

smooth enough

for you to swallow,

but still leaves

a kick of

entitlement.

This feeds on me.

I fight this every day.

I have to be stronger

⁃ than -

your mistake.

-A.e.

These hands of mine have traced

the curves of my body

a million times over,

but the sentiment is lost in the way

your touch leads my soul to dance.

.....

You bring color to this mad world

and I see how the grey sky envies you.

Nothing can strip me bare

of the filters history has lent me

faster than that wanting look you carry.

.....

Here I stand, naked before you,

proud of the scars I’ve earned. Love me or

hate me, I am not ashamed

of my beauty because I know,

even in innocence,

you can’t help but stare.

-A.e.

#

It's tiring, trying to live in this reality.

You see, life is just too real for me,

so I live here among the stars.

I breathe in the night sky

and get drunk off the milky way,

while this counterfeit galaxy is

woven from fairytales.

I have a bad habit of

placing you here with me,

in this make-believe world of rainbows

and endless summer nights.

My world revolves around the rhythm

of our heartbeats and the sun sets

every time you kiss me

as slumber covers us with her warmth.

And then I wake up

and I'm still in your arms

and the fantasy continues,

in real time.

It's then I realize,

no one else has cut a hole in the fabric

of love in such a way that it blends

those two world's seemlessly.

You shine more than

the stars you've shown me,

you're worth more than the richness

you've given me,

your touch radiates through me

and I know I belong to you.

You are mine

and you are worth the world to me.

I love the way you love me.

-A.e.

Love,

I see you flittering about.

Dancing through fits of rage and ambition.

Your eagerness to burn runs deep.

I see how you’re always jumping

at the chance to shine.

Be careful, little Ember,

those flames will

consume

your paper heart.

-A.e.