looking up
paint drips from the brush
onto my lips, the cool tones soothe
amending mood, i swallow dust
and pry my eyes still
caked with rust
..

of sleep yet on my tongue
lips now numb from
colour lust
,

looking up, who do i trust?
the one with his hand on the brush?

under mustard sky
we cover
lungs

to guard the heart from
harsh fire
winds

while fear blows warm
on desert grass

praying that the
rage won’t
last
,

sparing souls
restless and trapped.

*praying for the safety and of all impacted by the wildfires currently flanking my home city.

conjuring pink magic
with friends in an abandoned attic
contact the past to forgive
what can’t be changed
to suit the
present
,

fingers perched on board in tandem
shouldn’t play but we’re
bewitched

by the promise, by the quest,
four moved to seek
by unrest.

tonight’s moonlight drips
like eye drops
from sky
gods

glazing thick and
milky

rolling highlight reels
of memories

that no longer
comfort
me

though i watch with humility
to what runs
like
..

someone else’s
story

go tame” they order
with finger on
the taser

gritting teeth like nothing
will satisfy

like a flesh wound bite
to their threat
to peace

and freedom space
of a beast with
a taste for
the wild.

the colours of my fantasy
bleed through the movie screens
then run blue and bruised down my cheeks
like the storm that wouldn’t ease
to let me catch my breath
i’m sick from chasing sleep
through maze’s hall of ghosts
i say hello then turn my back
to walls, then i turn back
in time to watch the colours splash

fantasy, relief from what reality says
helps me see something
other than
what
is.

trippin’ on lofi sea vibes
ear down in high tide
fresh and salt and weed and fish
swim in and nest in ocean’s kiss
lips spared the scorch
of sun’s blue torch
in tropic swell, the seabirds swirl
while i drown so chill
so well i soothe my little girl
splashing heels in rolling surf

can’t help but smile the clouds
from this day

that shall not fade
for aches and
greys

break down, on a side road
every lane’s closed
my head rests in my hands
dreaming at the wheel
i forget what brought me here
feet pressed through the floor
to feel sand on my toes
grounded but still high
where am i in between
vast cosmos and the sea?
wash me back to shore
can’t see the road no more

so i breathe, like it’s my first
so damn alive it hurts
but they’re just words