day by day

i.

she is choking on

the cross around her neck

there's a heaviness on her chest

she can't control

she is too young for heart attacks

but she can feel her soul stop beating

ii.

the bags under her eyes weigh more than she can carry. her throat feels like it's been swallowing deserts. her smile is worn-out like the soles of her shoes, but i do not ask why. i do not ask her for a single thing, even though i know she'd give me all she's got. her eyes are the ashes of a wildfire, drooping like the crushed cigarette butt lying on the pavement. she says she is tired and sick of herself. she says she is deader than everyone else.

iii.

his eyes are full

of hope

and he almost makes

me believe it

when he says

one day

we will

shine brighter

iv.

but i see god with one eye

and reality with the other

i am halfway between becoming

poetry

and

chaos

v.

they're a run-on sentence scared of being left behind so they never stop to take a breath and they're not an atheist but they worship death because tomorrow is always too far away even when they wake up to a brand new day there is nothing to look forward to but sleep and their breath finally fades out but the demons in their head keep

vi.

he walks like god

and the world bows down before him

he is closer to omega

than you think

vii.

she skips lightly upon the earth

turning cracked pavement into fields of daisies

her smile is made up of the finest things-

crescent moons and cherry trees

bluebirds and honeybees

her soul mimics the robins and sings