Post-Traumatic Growth: When the Going Gets Tough, Release a Surprise Album

Beyoncé sips her Lemonade and smiles.

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Wander

When my heart wanders,

I wait until it returns,

Filled with strange, tall tales.

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The Moon is Watching

Meet me at midnight,

I will leave a trail of lights,

A path of fireflies.

There is a shoreline

Where sleeping travelers meet.

Find my cabin there.

In the gardens, wait

Berries you’re bursting to taste,

Just beyond the gate.

Driftwood by the waves.

Big enough for two to sit,

Close enough to gaze.

Stars, the clouds, the sea.

Waves muffle conversation.

Our words, foam at feet.

Tide moves in and out,

Slow and steady element.

Surprise tsunami.

The Moon is watching.

Pulls high her tide-blanket, sighs,

Lets us be the waves.

Toes dig in the sand.

Water melts the heart of man,

Erosion of land.

I will sing your name

As a whale floods the ocean

With its melody.

I wake in the woods,

At the base of a rough tree,

Shrouded in night-dew.

Beach grass leans half-mast,

Evidence of where we laughed,

Two birds with their wings.

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Smolder

Blow on the ember

If you dare, only if you

Want to burn it down.

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Undone

When you sit next to me,

With your hoodie unzipped,

Honestly, I get sweaty.

Don’t you know you’re the one?

We look out at the sea,

From the dock where we’ll kiss,

Our feet are swinging free

Over the setting sun.

We stay so peacefully,

Below the waves, fish dart quick.

You look at me: “Are you ready?”

You did it.

I am undone. 

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Bridges

When we build bridges,

Our feet have plans to use them.

Choose well your archways.

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Slow Dance

I love to slow dance.

Been a while, but I’m always

Looking for a chance.

What is it about

How we gently move and sway?

Find myself entranced, melting away.

When the DJ slows it down,

My waist wants your hands around.

We grew up in this small town,

Now we own the day.

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Coffee

We grind like coffee,

It’s just as dark in the club.

No spilled milk, don’t cry.

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Demand

Swim between my legs,

Use our clothes to make a nest,

Demand will be met.

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Freestyle: 2/27/24, 12:08-12:14pm

I don’t actually

Want to be

The missing piece that makes someone complete.

But I get wistful

When I see folks feel that feeling.

I wonder if I missed a turn,

Wasn’t taught something important,

Didn’t learn,

Forgot to make myself into the key for someone else’s lock,

Ignored the noise when I heard the knock with the big check,

Could’ve been some guy’s second favorite thing besides his dick.

But instead,

I became number one.

I had a lot of fun.

I learned how to do every single thing

That I never would have done with hands

Wearing diamond rings.

It sounds great,

To be the one who makes the home,

Makes the life,

Is the wife,

Is the completion.

But I’d rather be a diva.

Flowing robes,

A thousand lips kiss these feet.

Bathe me in milk and honey.

Foes retreat before me.

The metal I wear is sword and shield,

I made all the weapons I carry and wield.

Other folks get taken care of,

How wonderful,

How great for them,

How fun.

But the ones of us who don’t want to be

Someone’s key,

Someone else’s reason for completion,

We have to get our own shit done. 

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If It’s Really About Being on the Same Team, It Should Sometimes Be Her Last Name on the Jerseys

Disingenuous,

The white dress, the given hand.

She’s not property.

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Here To Warm You

If you feel frozen,

You might have an ice-monster

Pestering your heart.

Ice-monsters will eat

Every single part of you

After you’re freeze-dried.

But there’s some good news.

I’m a firebird, a phoenix.

I’m here to warm you.