Letters to Myself : At Fourteen

You're more than half my age but you think you're wiser
than everyone.
What you don't know though is going to cause so much hurt.
Love deeply,
that boy in the next room, for he will be taken from you
much too quickly.
These years will become a blur before you know it, so
let go.
Be something other than what they expect, don't
be afraid.
It hurts a lot, but it's going to
get better.
Find another way to express
your pain.
They're going to lie to you; don't believe everything
you hear.
You won't even think about half of these people when
you're older.
Being cool really isn't the most important thing; just
be real.
Start saving money now; put it somewhere you can't
touch it.
Someday you're going to find yourself in another world entirely,
enjoy it.
Twenty years from now, you're going to be happy and
in love.

Absinthe

chartreuse concoction
captive in a crystal chalice

pale preparation,
a piney palliative in a pellucid phial

verdigris venom
revealing revelry in your vision

I Regret You

a voice like raw silk
eyes, pools reflecting a springtime sky
words that touch, grasp, grope

knowing you feels easy
feels true and old and sexy

conversation inspires
ignites passion
the inevitable flare burns
too hot

I regret you
not in knowing you
but in having to let you go