nog even

kom, ik heb nu tijd
kom voor het te laat is
voor ik me het ergste ga bedenken
voor mijn hoofd me weer verraad

kom nu, snel
haast je, je kunt nu naar binnen glippen
me vast houden voor ik je naam weer vergeet
en het alarm weer aan wordt gezet

grijp je kans, ik smeek het je
want het is zo lang geleden
sinds we voor elkaar konden zitten
en ik je zag zoals je was.

nu kunnen we elkaar aanraken,
je bent nu geen roofdier,
ik zal me niet terugtrekken voor jou.
je zult me geen pijn doen.

haast je, want met de tijd glip je weg.
ik wil niet dat je gaat
kunnen we gewoon nog even zitten?
kun je me voor nu beloven
dat je me zult terughalen als het moet?
dat je zult blijven als ik zeg dat je moet gaan?

nu ben ik er nog, alsjeblieft,
blijf nog even.
blijf nog heel even.

antinous

do not let him catch you staring
because in your face he might read
your sleepless nights,
hear the prayers of the days where it gets so dark
you try to believe in anything
other than cracked glass
and nicotine.

do not let your looks wander,
because he will see the truth
in the shadows beneath your eyelids
he will hear the telltale slur in your words
slip up and call him a god to his face
(he will not remember,
he will not, he will not remember
you.)

he is a figure of light,
a creature of good and truth
and like an oil spill,
you will rob him off his shine
eventually.

do not let him see you stare
if he sees, he will know
you would bleed for him,
die for him.
(and you will,
you will.)

but he will never look your  way,
like a magnet he sticks to the worthy
polishes his words on the brave and willing
and like an anchor that pulls a ship to shore
your hands cling to a bottle again
and again.


here's another drink to last the night,
without him, a drink to keep it
all at bay.

break, broke, broken

when i came home that night

i broke a mirror.

picked it off my bedside

and smashed it.

i did it so i didn't have to

face myself again

but i ended up seeing myself

everywhere, scattered around

the floor.

it's not the first time

i tried to set my flaws on fire

and ended up sitting

on the burns

i've often reached for my own

happy ending, but ended up

snapping my wrists and

breaking my nails.

so tape my hands to my back

and glue my knees together

because maybe if i don't move

i won't break and if i don't break

i'll be able to breathe without

bringing the mountains down.

van god los

keten je vast en door de gaten zul je wegglippen

de dood werkt zo, weet ik nu, tussen de regels in

van god los -- en het neemt je naar plekken

waar ik je niet kan volgen.

schreeuwen, huilen, in tweeën scheuren

laat me niet alleen - smeken

maar mijn toestemming heb je niet nodig

en gister liet je het me weten

met je ogen, in de donkere stilte

laat me gaan, het is wel mooi zo,

je kunt zonder mij verder.

it's 4 am and i need you to tell me you're alive

listen,

i know she’s the one for you

and there’s romance in a girl

who doesn’t look over her shoulders.

a sort of magic to the way

she leaves you behind,

and comes to find you when

she’s deemed you worthy again.

listen, i know she’s everything

you’ve ever dreamed of having

but it’s been four years and i’m

tired of picking up your pieces

while you crush mine, chasing after

her shadows.

i know when i said no,

you stopped listening.

but it didn’t stop me from

speaking and worrying

wondering if tonight

is the last time i see you.

note

my body's experiencing a blackout

but i cant remember why. surely

ive done something, messed with

the power sockets. stuck a fork

in-between my ribs until everything

crashed and went dark. 

all that's left now is a dull throb

pounding behind my eyelids and a 

need to run that makes my legs twitch

restlessly and recklessly. yesterday

i asked my dad if he would look for me

if i left a note asking him not to.

he told me he would follow my shadow

everywhere. because that's what fathers do, you see

they revert borders to blurs and stand

beneath your window in case you leap.

my dad said he'd sleep with an atlas

under his pillow until he found me

and i know he doesn't lie. 

i know he'd hear the alarm bells in my goodbye note. 

right now, i wonder

if he'd find them in this poem. 

ashes to ashes

a peculiar thing, grief

has a way of catching you off-guard.

i really thought i was okay today

but when i shut the door behind me

and sought you out in the blur

i was blindsided by the silence 

that wrapped around my shoulders

like a thick blanket of ash.

i was doing fine just minutes ago

and i felt like i had your face locked away

(safe from harm -- and mostly, safe from me)

but now, now i just feel stabbed in the back

by your memory and the gaping hole

that you left when your body burnt up

all the love you'd stored for me.

a peculiar thing, grief

manages to slip out of your hands

straight back into your heart

right when you thought you had it handled.

blaze