The Air I Saved For Later

You say that the way I feel, it's all just chemicals in my brain.

It's all just strange air in my atmosphere.

It's all just new colours in my rivers.

But you are my industry.

You are my factory.

You are my smoke stacks.

You are my production line.

You are my cheap sneakers.

You are my fast food.

And I'm a planet you once called home.

That's nearly out of air.

The Hardest You Could Be

And you will find no fear here, in unkind words or the hardness of others.

And you will find no sadness here, in the meanness of the world, in the anger that comes from those who feel small.

And you will find no hurt here, in a million insults or a single, softly spoken lie.

Because only a hard heart shatters.

Only a hard heart, breaks.

The Ronin Have Names

You say the reason things fall to the ground is because of gravity.

I say that gravity is a word, a name you gave to a small aspect of the magic that surrounds you on a daily basis.

Electricity is another name for magic. Wind is another name for magic. Water is another name for magic. Love is another name for magic.

We all live in a magical place.

The Copenhagen Situation

When they eventually discover this lonely blue dot, they will know that you and I, we did not destroy ourselves, because we will still be here. And we will compare notes on what it means to exist.

Or they will know that we failed. Because we won't be here, anymore.

The Bubbles Are Your Friends

And though the waves might bring you down and though the currents might pull you under, the sky is always still right above you. And your friends will show you the way.

The Way This Works

If you get between me and the things I love, I will ask you politely to move.

If you get between me and the people I love, you will move.

The Laboratory In My Heart

You are my science.

You make me believe in the atoms in your skin.

Now I believe in the chemistry in our kiss.

And now I believe in the molecules that make up love.

You are my science. I am a scientist.

The Corners Of Your Mouth

And you asked why people always expected you to smile in photographs. And I told you it was because they hoped that in the future, there would be something to smile about.

The Strangers Were Lovers

You look at me, now, like this and think “This is who they were all along.”

But this is just who I am to other people. And you became other people.

The Clouds Move Slowly

You close your eyes when you cry. That's ok. Just don't keep them closed too long. Things have become beautiful since you last looked. There's nothing more to cry about.

The Distance To You

You told me it'd be ok. But you were the one crying.

You told me to let go. But you were the one holding onto my shirt.

The One I Miss

Just say goodbye. You can say it when you get up from the couch. You can say it at the door. I will say it when you get to your car. I'll scream it as you drive away.

The Death Of Love

Oh love. Why is your body so still, why do your muscles sing no more, why does your chest not rise and fall.

Oh love. Why is your skin so cold, why do your eyes not trace my face, why do you not get up and accept my warm embrace.

Oh love. I have no regrets for our mistakes, no heart left to break, for you have taken it with you to the grave.

Oh love. Love that turned to death, death that turned to longing, longing that turned away from me, leaving me here to bear it alone.

Oh love. Oh love. Oh my love.

The Envy Of Wishes

You wake up with a list of all the people you'd rather be. But you're already on everyone else's list.

The Practical Guide To Consumables

You should eat to fill your stomach, not your soul. And drink to numb your thirst, not your pain.

The War To Save The Planet

You will not save the Earth, gunning down aliens from the back of your Hummer.

You will not save the Earth, smashing zombies in the face with a spade.

You will not save the Earth, standing on a burning car (your fist in the air).

You will not save the Earth by deciding which wire to cut (red/blue) at the last second.

You will save the Earth when you decide to start picking up your shit.

You will save the Earth when you decide to start picking up your shit on the beaches.

You will save the Earth when you decide to start picking up your shit in the fields and in the streets.

You will save the Earth when you decide to start picking up your shit in the hills.

And we shall never surrender.

The Superhero Struggling Up Stairs

Dear Diary,

Today I let the mask slip just a little and all the villains come flooding in.

While I don't expect you, as a book filled with lines, to understand my predicament, understand that I will be home late tonight. There will be blood on my costume. And the dishes will have to wait.

The Shop That Lets You Rent Happiness

"This is the one." The universe assures me from behind the counter.

"But I thought you said the last one was the one." I reply.

"No." Says the universe. "I sold you that one so you would know that this, this is the one."

"Is there another one?" I ask the universe.

"I can't tell you." They reply. "It'd ruin the surprise."

The Missing Exclamation Marks

You're ok. Breathe. Just breathe. Open your eyes. Come back. It's ok. It's over now. You're ok. Wake up. Please wake up. Don't do this to me. Don't do this to me. Don't do this to me. I love you so fucking much. Come back.

The Tender Tinder Box

You've made the air flammable. These walls are just paper. And blood is gasoline. You shouldn't have come here, made of fireworks, if you didn't want me to play with fire. I need a light.

The Heart Rides On

I love you. I love your eyes. I love your smell. I love your hair. I love your laugh. I love your skin. I love everything inside you. And I'll try to make all the parts that I find, happy.

Because you make me happy. So much.

The Object Of The Exercise

If you want to feel special, help others.

If you want to always wish you felt special, help yourself.

The Sayings Mean Nothing

The people who told you that the early bird catches the worm are also the same people who'll tell you later, after you've eaten a worm, that only fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

The Battle That Starts The War

We are at the gates.

We are at the gates and we are coming for you.

We are coming to set the wrong things right.

We are coming to destroy your policies.

We are coming to destroy your calendars.

We are coming to destroy your tyranny and we are going to replace it with a democracy of ideas.

We are here for your assignments, expense reports and time sheets and we are going to start a fire so big and so bright, the sky itself will gasp.

We are coming. For you.

The Ground Will Give Way

The bad news is, your choices and intentions, some people and places, those nights spent awake and all you've done, can lead you to the bottom of the pit.

The good news is, this wouldn't be the first time someone's crawled, tooth and nail, out of hell.

The Orderly Queue

Don't be shy. You can take another piece of me. Everyone else already has.

Until there's nothing left. Until I disappear

The Lantern In The Lifeboat

I am nervous. I'm afraid. But I will stand here in the white hot heat of you. I will play Russian roulette with your playlists. I will tell jokes I'm not sure you'll find funny. I will hold on until there is no more reason to. And in the end, I will break the stars and resurrect the sun.

The Beauty Of Errors

I made a lot of mistakes before I got to you (each one honest and none that I regret). The same way a tree bends in the wind and twists and turns, before it can touch the sky.

The Last Boss

Out of ammo and out of lives and out of credits.

Though my damage is low, if you fall, I will stand over your body and begin to fight where you ended.

In the blood. In the mud.

Until they bring me down.

The Ticket Is Valid

And maybe I'll sleep at the station because there's nothing to go home to but an empty fridge and some stale mayonnaise.

And maybe I'll make friends with the guys sleeping under cardboard boxes and newspapers and we'll discuss what it means to love and to live.

And maybe I'll wander the city, one lost particle in a dust storm of Mondays, late nights and reports due yesterday.

And maybe I'll get on a plane or a ship and get lost in places I've never been lost in before.

And maybe I'll keep my phone on me in case you call. And tell me there's something to come home to.

The AWOL Hearts

Let's play hopscotch in malls. Let's drive fast with the top down. Let's turn up the music as loud as it'll go. Let's put a couch on an island in the middle of the freeway and wave at everyone on their way to work. Let's hug strangers in parking lots. Let's hand out secret messages at traffic lights. Let's make lists of all the things that make us smile and tick them off, one at a time. The world will carry on without you and me when we're gone. Let it carry on without us, today.

The Serving Suggestion

And though love is a drunk, sleeping off its hangover in the gutters between the years, you need to smile at the bitch anyway.

The Zodiac Of One

When I look up at night, all the constellations look like you.

The Ornate Cage

You see suns that never were and stare at skies that don't exist. You listen to songs that were never played and read books that were never written. And your mind is so beautiful and full. But I'm glad it's not mine.

The Stranger In Waiting

I'm sure you've met them. They say they’ll put you back together while they’re tearing everything apart. And they use the type of lips you can taste for years.

The Deaths Of Millions

I have spoken to the rest of the world and we all feel sorry for you. Because we get to look at you but all you have to look at, is us.

The Last Place We Saw Them

Gasping for air and sanity. Moon and stars and clouds and night. Out of breath and breathless. Pillows and sheets and blankets and you. I will drown in this bed. They say it’s just like going to sleep.

The New Species

I want to weave you into me. Stick your thorns in and grow. Bleed sap and feel this shining light. Grow strange leaves. Bear this fruit. Share this soil. Bury ourselves. Reach for the sun. Strip this bark. Carve a name and a heart into me. Please.

The Train After Dinner

The food in French restaurants turns to bread and water without you.

The Absence Of Oxygen

Forget the air. I'll breathe you instead.

The Helix

To be soft like plasticine. Each step you fall down lending a hand to you. Shaping you. Rather than stopping you.

The Mechanics Of Puppetry

I guess I should say thank you, for cutting all my strings. But if it's all the same to you, I wish you'd left my wings.

The Peace And The Star

You think bravery is to fight and courage is to die. But the bravest ones stand in front of those who would and say

"We will not fight. Because courage is to live."

The To Not Do List

There are a million important things to do. But none as important as lying here next to you.

The Autumn In Their Eyes

You are not there. Somewhere in the future, suffering for something that hasn't happened yet. You are not there, in a place where all your worries manifest.

You are not there. Somewhere in the past, reliving your old mistakes and regrets. You are not there, in a place where memories resurrect.

You are here. Right here.

The Perfect Kiss

Which is when the world stopped turning.
Which is when the birds fell silent.
Which is when the clouds all breathed in at the same time.
Which is when lies became truth.
Which is when pain became love.
Which is when fires burned blue.
Which is when red flowers bloomed.
Which is when snow fell.
Which is when ice became water.
Which is when the universe smiled.
Which is when the sunshine and the moonlight met.
Which is when gravity gave up the ghost.
Which is when the air became thick.
Which is when people screamed on the edges of cliffs.
Which is when every guitar in the world strummed the same three chords over and over.
Which is when the dead rolled over and wished to live again.
Which is when the song turned itself up.
Which is when aliens on other worlds looked up into the heavens and gasped.
When is when hurricanes and storms and floods swept through us.
Which is when tears fell from willows at the beauty of it all.
Which is when riots and madness chased themselves through the streets.
Which is when millions of glasses committed suicide, throwing themselves from kitchen cupboards.
Which is when angels were filled with envy.
Which is when vampires threw back their heads and howled.
Which is when skin crawled.

Which is when we were watching TV on a couch.

Which is when you were in my arms and I was in your mouth.

The Cold Travels Fast

We all know what's happening here because it's happened before. Like an avalanche, there's nothing we can do about it so we don't even need to speak. But this time, if we're covered by the ice and snow, I will hold you tight. I will keep you warm.

The Oroborus I Fell In Love With

Where you are, right here and now, this is how bad stories end. But it's also how the best stories, begin.

The Evidence Against And For

I have these dreams, filled with the melodic singles of rock bands, blank pages and words pouring out of plants, rabbits in top hats singing lullabies to lost love, golden dragons circling the grave of their mother, roaring fire and flame in defiance of death, barristers and black knights doing battle in city streets, trains to hell and elevators to heaven, somewhere in an ocean of skin, somewhere in a sky filled with sin (bring them all to bear).

And though you might not have witnessed them, I believe it all to be as real as anything else I've ever seen.

The Colours Run

Because you're looking for a date, not love. Because you're more interested in who you go to bed with than who you wake up next to. Because you tick boxes in your head instead of crossing lines in your heart.