Weighty Matters

She is bigger
than some
smaller than some
not good enough
still
Beauty is
a weighty
matter
and it lays
heavily
upon her chest
self consciously
for all to see
she loathes
herself
for a moment
or two
when the jeans don't fit
and the tears
spill down her face
she tries to catch them
before they ruin her make-up
but she is outnumbered
and so
they fall
with her spirit
and lay
in a puddle on the ground-
a precious resource
the tears of an almost woman
grieving what she isn't
and missing
all that she is
oh-
that she could see herself
through my eyes
she would never cry over split denim
again...
the truth leans in and whispers this question to me:
how many years
did she hear you
worry about your weight
before she picked up her own unnecessary cross
and stumbled
under it's weight?
It is not just she I needed to adore...

Known

Blame me
if you need to
tell yourself
I am needy
and wanted too much
but we both know that
the truth
will whisper
to you
in the dark
Drink it down,
swallow it,
or
smoke it away
but we both know that
the truth
will whisper
to you
in the dark
let me go
rearrange facts
and pretend
while professing to be honest
but we both know that
the truth
will always whisper
to you
in the dark...

Unafraid

I am not afraid of hard
I am not afraid to cry
I am not afraid of you
or of saying goodbye
I know how to be alone
and work
my fingers to the bone
I know how
to put everyone's needs ahead
of my own
I am not super-mom
or super woman
or anything like that
but I am not afraid
to bear the pain
that falls upon my back
I have lived here
for years
and have cried
all the tears
I have to cry
I can no longer lie
Out of the truth
springs the hope;
hope and hard work
with that
I can cope
hope and hard work
are different
than
hard work
and despair
I have finally left there
and I am unafraid
of what lies ahead
my head is high
I have nothing to dread...

Untold

His eyes close
and
He remembers
He feels her again
It is like
she is almost there
her heart beating
right up against him
he reaches out...
to call
to touch
to tell
but stops
He thinks
He pulls back
He waits
He dreams
eyes and heart
momentarily open
He imagines
He hopes
all silently
And she moves on
because
she didn't know...