precipitously

Open my chest rib by rib the way you would pry apart the spokes of a rusted zipper Unravel my heart vessel by vessel the way you would pull the stitches out of a festering wound A pair of butterfly wings sits blackened in a trunk A heaviness weighs over my lungs like a disease Suppress that urge to knock me out of the air Preserve me like some rare insect IN A GLASS CASE I want only the fruits of someone else’s labor

i slept with a gun to my head to scare the fear away. the wind over my suv stole the air from my lungs and you probably never really came down from there either. the cross on mt. soledad stayed again and, that season, with our eyes caught in the lights, we truly believed that the world was no bigger than what we saw there. my ex’s apartment had air conditioning and beer and playing cards and those were all we needed. there we experienced some of the best of times and drew a lot the worst poker hands. my hands were searching for something to hold but found only themselves folded together, praying that no one i loved would leave me behind

1. She lifts her right hand up above her, the angles of her elbow and wrist somehow blending into one soft line of an arm. She twirls her hand and unfurls her fingers, revealing peach painted nails about a week past looking good. Then she turns her hand the other way, studying her palm like maybe she’s hoping the lines have changed since the last time she checked. Suddenly she flips her hand over again. Palm. Back of her hand. Palm. She keeps flipping, flipping, becoming more and more distressed, hand turning faster each time. “What’s wrong?” you ask. “I’m so wrong,” she says. “Look. I’

the blood is rising and then the instant when it fills up the little crack in your body your body is this perfectly sized cup. and how beautiful is it that your body is fixing itself, rounding its own edges. right before the flood you find peace.

no you did not take my virginity. no i did not lose it not to you not with you not with anyone no. i think, i spread my legs, and virginity sort of flopped out of me like a fish. it squirmed away in a trail of slime. i was happy to see it go. that's not how i wanted to do it, though. once, i thought virginity was a bird, and when i joined bodies with just the right boy, he would give it a pair of wings, and it would fly away to tell artemis what i'd done, and she would smile and cut the string that ties all the lonely people to the moon, and i would not be one of them anymore; i would be whole so long as i was with him.

We’ve been among the stars for a little too long now Don’t you know that people weren’t made to live out here? I can see the gas giants getting closer I can see the skin under your eyes being tugged toward them I miss my mother and father Your brother and sister are calling for you I know you believe you were made to self-destruct but Let’s go home; I’ll race you back to earth Don’t you think we’re getting too old for this? On your bed dreaming of becoming astronauts I can see the holes in your face growing I can see the fear in your fingers; they haven’t been still in years Our friends and f

they say that dark chocolate is an acquired taste. dark chocolate is my mother's favorite. my mother and father met at university. my mother was beautiful and intelligent, and my father was good enough. i don't know what they did, but i'm sure they were in love at one time. they got married in their living room, in the company of a small group of friends. this is because my mother wanted to do the practical thing, and getting married meant getting her green card faster, so she got married. you and i met at In N Out. you were loud and effusive and charismatic, and i was timid, but you convinced me; we walked to the beach and to your school,

one time when i was high i was walking to the bathroom and as i walked down the hall it felt like i wasn't getting any closer to the bathroom i thought i would be stuck walking down that hallway forever i panicked but when i got to the end of the hall and i realized time really was passing and i really was moving everything was okay i guess what i'm saying is that right now maybe it feels like things aren't ever going to get better but a sane mind would realize that everything will pass in time on the way back, i counted the room numbers just to be sure

i just wanted a vice of my own, but you took everything away for yourself.

all i want is a little peace but my mind won't give it to me. all i want is a little piece but you refuse to give yourself away.