Breaking Point

Your hands can grasp
at fragile wristbones
tired from leaning on the pavement.

They can fight off words
capitalized in thick mud
where they sit waiting to be read.

A shallow breath can end
where a stranger on comes in
with a tide of hope attached.

Your deceit can infect
the cuts on the ground,
an insane gesture bleeding out.

This stick has to break
eventually it all goes too deep
we wonder what happens in the end.

To be lost in the snap
sent to the place where love
works in backward circles.

Where is your point
in this run towards doorknobs
that lead to uncertain questions?

I found mine dusted
beneath the floorboards
where the coke turns green.

Tree of Faith

Sauntered up to that tree earlier today
the one that invokes wonder in my soul
my perfect solid-self feels itself shatter
was there any glass in the first place?

fences erect and birds make their nests
people age like unused towels at the bar
children wave and pass on by with butterflies
now it seems almost impossible to find

A stranger walked along today
after watching from this window from so high (this is strange)
he took a hammer to those nests
a wrench to the fence and smirked with chocolate teeth

He turned and waved a hand down to me
cats sprawled out their paws before this all
the branches were burnt and weak
I was too scared to leap back on them again

This wasn’t the tree I used to know
He kissed all of its wounds
a fence erected, the birds nested
Standing on this plastic stump I felt feelings.

I saw shards in the grass below
that is when hands threw them away
instead steel replaced the broken glass
Deviated buildings fell behind smiles

Faintly blundering by the ticking stops
his hand cups my face
“i found this tree here,
I knew it belonged to someone

someone, somewhere, at sometime
so I thought maybe I should fix it
just like patching up destiny
you have the prettiest face

this reminds me of sunny nights
days dripped in sarcasm from the paint
it peeled away my hope
your gray eyes flood it back to me”

and so we will hope
the crack in this bark wains
insects scowl out below
our hands never part.