Step on it until it collapses in on itself
Choke away all of its oxygen
Ignore it
Dismiss it
Gaslight it
React hostilely to its sound
Force its words to drown beneath sobs
Scream over it
Belittle it
Steal its truth away
Repeat until it fails to rise anymore
Until it is replaced by clenched teeth and fists
Held back by tight and bitten lips
Repeat until it forgets its own sound
-gws
My feelings are big
They feel bigger than me
They feel taller and broader
Than the tallest tall tree
A hand on my belly
I count, "One, two, three..."
And breathe in as deep
As the shining blue sea
Repeat this again
As much as I need
Until those big feelings
They start to recede
Last, wrap my arms tight
And give Self a hug
Say, "You're doing alright."
"You just needed self-love"
-gws
If I am too much
Then let me be too much
I am light and expansive
And I will not be constrained
By those who wish me to be small
For like the wind
I will not be caged
-gws
I didn't need to have a reason But I did The reason I avoided that place Was you Was me Was us You see That was the place you decided that Us ceased to be That was the place where I returned to being just me The place where your voice Was replaced by the sound of slowly cracking glass As my heart shattered in my chest Your eyes pitied me While your lips spilled more Shattered glass to fill my roaring ears I forgot how to breathe And my now shattered heart forgot how to beat And your eyes pleaded with me Because you were already gone You had dismantled us Placed the pieces into a shoebox And buried me alive in a shallow grave I love you-s replaced by I'm sorry-s Those brown eyes indeed sorrowful As my soul was felled by a thousand surgical cuts Sundering two halves into two less-than wholes I just wanted you to stop talking To stop looking at me that way To stop tearing down my world Then you left And I stayed I didn't need to have a reason to avoid that place But I did
Shiny people are full of charisma
And trouble
Artists and musicians
Poets and dreamers
Hawkers and cons
All dreams and lack of substance
Spending time with them
Submerges us deep within their intoxicating fog of personality
Their attention like sweet, cold water on a hot day
Being in their orbit is so all-encompassing
That it's easy to forget how destructive their gravity is
Leaving us burning bright and high
Then burnt out and freefalling to fiery impact in the blink of an eye
We think they take the oxygen with them when they leave the room
And we willing hold our breath for the look, the smile, the touch
That leads to madness
As we crave the drug made flesh
That is shiny people
-gws
Because my mama loves me no matter how far away we are, or how frequently we talk
Because my mama loves me no matter how old I get, or how many babies I’ve had
Because my mama loves me no matter how capable or incapable I perceive myself to be
Because my mama loves me no matter how broke I am or successful I become
Because my mama loves me no matter how little or how much I love myself
Because my mama loves me..."more, most, to the moon and back, and to infinity and beyond"
Because my mama will always love her baby girl like the day she learned she carried my spark, and will beyond when our sparks rejoin the stars
Because I love my mama I will treat every check in like a hug
Because I love my mama I will treat every worry like a kiss
Because I love my mama I will treat every conversation as a gift
Because I love my mama I will treat every gift as a treasure
Because I love my mama I will not take any second of her love for me for granted
Because I will always love my mama I will love her like the day my spark took root inside of her, and will beyond when our sparks rejoin the stars
-gws
Ecstasy illuminates It amplifies joy Making time feel inconsequential Grounding me deep in the moment Called by the here and now Allowing full presence in the experience of it Ecstasy demands we be seated in our bodies To experience pleasure And laughter And belonging as part of the great tapestry of living Our senses acute and engaged Begging we greedily partake In the gifts that life offers Richly Vividly Intricately With all of our senses Inciting never ending curiosity And a desire for the bliss of it to never end