bitter taste

little girl, little girl
living life with doe eyes and rubber limbs
naive to the important
but an expert on the cracks in the sidewalk

whispering what ifs into the wind
instead of picking the freshly bloomed opportunities
dreaming, but not chasing

little girl, little girl
time moves faster than you think
and soon the training wheels must be taken off
because the road to the future is calling
and the bike lanes are quite narrow

one can't play hide and seek with life forever
the future is too good at finding
no one can hide for that long

yes, i know the smaller ones are easier to color
but there's some pretty amazing big pictures out there too
it just takes perspective

darling, we'll still watch disney movies every weekend
and whisper our dreams to stuffed animals
blowing pink wishes on dandelions and stars

and it'll still be ok to color outside of the lines sometimes
you can even bring your broken crayons in your back pocket
just remember that some things need to be signed in pen

and maybe that isn't fun
or exciting
and maybe it's even a little scary

but little girl, little girl,

it's reality.

wolves go after the innocent and
little girl, little girl

i really can't bear to have you eaten.

Stars

You shone for me tonight.

You sent your iridescent  rays of magic from billions of miles away just to say.......

You know, I've been talking to you for my whole life, asking for the same thing.

And 19 months ago our one-sided conversations got just a bit more specific.

I thought that maybe we had a bad connection for a while, 

all those unidentified flying wish killers and martians getting in the way.

But then I assumed you were just ignoring me, 

a little insignificant child in a world full of significance.

It hurt, but I understood.

However, tonight you finally sent your response.

I saw your words glinting an unmistakable
  yes,
exploding with shooting stars.

They were even visible through the clouds that tried to mask your brilliance.

And the following raindrops?

Blessings straight from heaven,

Dousing me with stardust and peace and glimmers of hope

and washing away the fear and darkness.

I used to be jealous of the girls who had a fairy godmother.

Now I realize that I've got millions of them. 

All it ever takes is a wish.

From Further Along

They're carving their names on our tree.
I pray they don't accidentally carve ours out.

They're twiddling each other's fingers.
I put that old plastic ring on and pretend it's Your hand.

She's waiting for him to text.
I've ran to the mailbox for 6 weeks straight.

He's whispering "I Love You" in her ear.
I read it a week later.

They're hold each other as the tears fall.
I squeeze that old stuffed animal.

They're missing after one day of not seeing each other.
We miss everyday for 8 months.

They're crying after having to say goodbye.
I still do.

They've just begun.
We're halfway through.

They feel.
I remember.


We were once blissfully them.

But now we're perfectly Us.

And while I sometimes miss being blissfully them,

There's a reason we're perfectly Us now.

Manchester

the windows were down
the wind shrieked at 80 mph
but while everyone else covered their ears
I listened for Your name


and I found it.

eight

time is blowing grains of hope in my face

and i can't tell if i'm getting exfoliated or weathered down

7

almost 

8

they never thought 

but We did

and maybe You did more than i at first

then because of You i had the courage to believe

and now here We are

 but the wind is picking up and my courage is transforming

i can't tell if it's waxing or waning

or maybe it's just becoming something entirely different 

like

belief

faith

trust

flour

maybe

my biggest fear is of change

but not that You'll change

because i'm already aware that that's happened

i Love You more for it

i'm scared that i'll change

that i already have 

what if i shrunk 

while You skyrocketed?

 if so

please be willing to let me climb to Your level

because i've got weak arms
 but a determined heart

that much won't change.