Absolute

strength in every failure.
freedom in sorrow.
knowing the moment
is lost.

sunken ships she called
her moments of clarity
stalked the pale gauze
of her happiness.

convalescing
in the tears
of youth's
soiled linens,

a child unmolested
by the intricate
griefs her mind had
so carefully cultivated.

one cigarette at a time.

when i am me
i have a storm
to prove it to myself.
it rages like i do

too distant for
anyone to notice.
peeling the layers
from the darkness
in a search for itself.

stepping on the
broken glass and
wondering which of
my faces is gone.

close to the margin.
nearer to the tear.
i'm your paper.
write on me.

i'm your ink.
wear my pain.

faces at the fold
perpetuating my desire
to be someone i could want.
like i have wanted him.

my one truth.
my only constant.
the only whole i've
ever known is gone.