Burnt Tethers

We are all held together by sunbeams

So we tend to fall apart at night 

And start fights over 

Our dreams of being greater

Shining brighter in golden weather

Hold together burnt tethers

Picking pieces, whole but never

Finished giving reasons

To stay here forever

Strap the light to your chest

Close your eyes and hold your breath

Jump if you’re ready

I can push you if you’re not

Free fall

Just you

Something heavy

Weighing down your mind

Like you never forgot

Ghosts

Content Warning: This poem contains themes of death and self-harm

grief is sweet, tastes sharp 

like a cut tongue

thoughts hide in the dark mud

hopes hung on

a tree or a hook 

look back at the body 

once or maybe two times

the casket isn’t what took

them anyway, it was 

a rope or a cigarette or something

start to cry, taste salt, smell soap

bite down on your hope

most of the time

it’s easy to say goodbye

because you leave the funeral, after all

ghosts grieve the whole world at once

drowning in mud and everyone

they had to leave behind