remove from list

a favour i'll ask
of you if you
won't return my letters
unwind that skein
of please-forgive-mes and send
the thread back to me
so I can undo
all the pity I brought
into this friendship

at that point when i'm mutilating daisies

I miss you when you're gone
I miss you all the time
I wish you were here, though i cannot imagine
past the fulfilment of that one wish
I drop references of you into disconnected conversations
the way one drops names of famous people one knows,
nonchalantly on purpose, like secrets that beg to be told
I think of you every second second
in spurts and shocks and spite
(in spite)
of all better judgement
I hold long discussions with you in my head
where I say all the things I wish I could think of
when you were around, when people heard me
I wait with busy signals and pointed status messages
all for you, only for you
and I forgive you when you never notice
I write you letters pages long in my imagination
and then tear them up because
they all end up making uncomfortable admissions
that I am not sure i believe...or want to

I've been here before
will I survive another one?

retreating into old habitats

I can no longer find the words
with which to cover my confusion
I do not know if I can stand
how will I bear to stand uncovered
unclothed here without the benefit
of my inconsequential chatter

I worry that not speaking my mind will mean
that it is more misunderstood than ever
But in these silences I find calm
Is that not something to be happy for?