hold

hold me upside down

count the reps and feel the burn

let me go. repeat.

wait

take pause and look up

growth will take repetition

a covered pathway

force

hot skin, pink cheeks burn

sweat smell mixed with 3am

and sleep disturbed

darker

wrapped up in light

incapable of feeling

for the door handle

attention

so we all want to

want a little attention

but not ask for it

shovel

don't open me up

crack the shell to see inside

it's all just dried leaves

extrovert

an endless scroller

desperate for some feel good

through the dirt and grass

drunk people should not try to make tea

at a party once

someone melted a kettle -

an electric one

bright

on both feet today

two hips to the beat and back

the sun is shining

meditation

force yourself to stop

deep breathing in, out, in, out

and wait for the sun

crush

if he wrote poems

about your curves and edges

would that be creepy?

lunch

ate a burrito

i made out of leftovers 

for breakfast at noon

kiss

collaboration

between lines between hot lips

overlooking snow

temp

multiple layers

to combat temperatures

fluxuation

ku

morning with myself

a hot cup of tea with milk

And upset stomach

hai

I say yes to the

torrent of emotion tied to

a diagnosis

something I do

Someone told me to write

My too-big-feeling feelings down

On small bits of paper

And burn them or throw them away

As a way to see the big feeling, name it

Then let it go, let it evaporate.

Someone told me this is what she does.

I didn't want to burn my feelings

So what if I wrote them down

Or origami paper

And turned them into cranes?

I walked to the store from my office

To get popcorn kernels for my husband.

There's a particular kind he says 

Pop bigger and they weren't there

When he went last. 

On my way back to my office

I remembered the art store.

Walked in and bought

Two packs of origami paper

One with designs visible

And one just white.

The white ones are for painting

With water colors before folding

And I thought I wouldn't end up

Using the white ones at all.

So I fold a couple birds a week

All colorful and filled with worries.

This is something I do now.

Tonight someone passed away

And I found an important use

For the blank white paper.

A white crane sits on the dining room table.