LAYERS OF MASK

 Look at me - 

Between hood and mask 

Can you see me?

Good!

Am I seen the way 

A woman 

Should be?

Would you see me the same way

If you 

Could see?

Or is my beauty only visible

Through layers of mask?

ORPHAN

 As the gates clang shut behind me

All I see are the sad faces

Children with no one to give their love

No one getting swallowed up

In the love, they have to share

We are the unlucky ones

They can't hurt us

If they can't find the 

Heart was hide

So well

FLAME

 Come closer to me

My lovely old flame

You're no good for me

Yet irresistible just the same

I just need to breathe you in

One last time

My dying wish

A wish sublime

WORDS

Some days I worry

My words won't

Reach you

Other days I worry

They will stab you

Through the heart 

Either way, it will move me

To see my words 

Tear you apart

SAD PUDDLE

 Sad, sad puddle

How I wish it were so easy

To blame others for the splashing

The kicking and the running

But I know that's all on me

All the self-destruction

Looking in the mirror - 

It's got to get better than this

THE DISENCHANTED ARTIST

 This picture tells a story

A story of two lovers

Two lovers holding hands

Holding hands and yet not touching

Not touching and at that precise moment

That precise moment he pushed her into the lake

The lake that was cold, bitter, and frigid

And frigid was the disenchanted artist

Empty of emotion

MEDUSA

 A mad goddess enters my dream

Each wrinkle is another battle she has faced

To be herself in her world

Her eye makeup striking 

As though daring someone to look closer

Her wig sitting motionless atop her head

But I see her secret underneath

The gentle movements of the snakes

That keeps her from getting hurt again

SEA

 If I am dreaming

Don't wake me this time

While we are dancing 

Lit by the full moonlight

The sparkles in your eyes

They dance just for me

Then you woke me

As I fell into the sea

I asked you not to wake me

You just wouldn't let it be

You would rather let me drown

As you watched me by the sea

THE DANCE

 The language of the face

Watched and went

He spun me around

Until I forgot 

My youth and innocence

Gone so long ago

But for a moment he loved me

And I loved him

If only we could

Keep dancing

That smile on my face

For the rest of my life

FIRE

 I had no choice

I was given no choice

Thrown into the fire

And left to burn

How to rise like a phoenix

Was a lesson I had to learn

NOVEMBER

 It's so easy

Isn't it?

To pass judgment 

Without knowing

But when I type

I remember

Lying there in pain

It's so easy to remember

Why I hate November

Feeling it once again

RESCUE ME

 I hoped that you would rescue me

Bags packed and waiting on the shelf

I always thought it took you to rescue me

Before I realized I could rescue myself

GOOD ENOUGH

 Never been good enough

Good enough for you

For you, I gave up body and soul

You left me without a clue

I truly gave up body and soul

Now I don't know what to do

After all, I was never good enough

Good enough for you

SHATTERED GLASS

 Like shattered glass

Broken and incomplete

Writing about you

Has become an obsession

It is the glue

That may fix me

This time

SUMMER

 Oh, my Heart,

Rays of light 

Stream through the window

They light up

Your dark eyes

Then you smile

And it is summer again

Warm and sultry 

In your gaze

RESPECT

 Pushing past the neediness

Ridding myself of the pain you caused

How unappreciated I was

To hear that you forgive me

I never asked for forgiveness

Only the respect that I found

Within me

JEALOUS

 I am jealous of everyone

Who gets to see you all-day

Who gets to find themselves befuddled

By your dry humor and sharp wit'

Even when I know you'll return

It is never soon enough

SUCCESS

 I thought I could never make this climb

This climb to myself and what I left behind

Left behind out of fear, fear of success

Of success at being me, a satisfied mess

THE SHORE

 Shivering, I waited

I waited by the shore

The shore where you would meet me

Meet me and say the wait was over

Was over after so long

So long I waited to hear

To hear I could step into the light

The light where we belonged

We belonged to each other

Each other but you never came

Never came, I misunderstood

I misunderstood who I was to you

To you, I was just another girl

Another girl you didn't want to wed

To wed another, I cried so much

So much sadness but I am worth more

Worth more than a fling by the shore

CLOAK OF DARKNESS

 I left behind 

My old cloak of darkness

A security blanket

For the hard times

I kept it in mind

The welcoming blackness

I went back to get it

My friend for all time

HEART AND MIND

 It's amazing what you find

When you look inside your heart and mind

I found bravery, strength and courage there

A loving heart that wants to care

Faith, hope and charity trying to hide

From the brightness deep inside

It's amazing what I had confined

Looking inside my heart and mind

HWYLLA

 I found it unfair

I had to sleep in a bed of ashes

Until I emerged like a phoenix

With fire in my veins

I am a survivor, not a victim

Standing before the masses

Hurt but still unbroken 

Bearer of the flame

DINOSAUR

 Before the dinosaurs became extinct

Not one of them paused to think

"This was really my mistake - 

I was blind to what was at stake"

As humans it may be too late to roar

Like the vanquished dinosaur

MY FAVORITE GIFT

 The way you held my hand

I knew it would end

Searching my mind frantically

How we could mend

This terrible rift

Like a hurricane, so swift

Feeling such sadness

You were my favorite gift

FRIEND

 Hello my old friend

Let me put my arms around you

Pretend it didn't end

Sad it's been so long

Yet here we are again

One tiny slip -

Was it my mistake?

How I lost you then

AUTUMN

 Colorful leaves 

Beneath my feet

The only sound

On the tree-lined street

A tear falls

Down my cheek

As I watch them die

A slow defeat