I walked into the shelter

Just looking, I thought

Never expecting

To be found by you.

Passing your cage

You stuck out your paw

Beckoning over

And in that moment

It was just known

That you were meant

To be mine

And that I would be yours.

Four children

Two moves

Tragic losses

We weathered together.

As depression gripped me

And I spiraled in grief

You were my constant companion

Your presence so...

There is no more

Fight left in me

The will to argue

Extinguished

No longer care

To plead my case

Too fatigued from

All the heartache

A wall of stone

Covers my heart

Protecting it

From your wrath

My light has dimmed

Around your presence

You no longer

Bring me peace

Our love has morphed

To bitter contempt

And all that’s left

Of what once

Was us

is just this

dreadful silence....

The last thing I remember was the blinding light and loud, long wail of a horn trailing away. Like many other procrastinators, I had just parked my car and was hurriedly rushing towards the mall entrance on Christmas Eve, my mind distracted with thoughts of which stores I would check for the last minute gifts I needed to buy. Some new headphones for Emily, that overpriced, hard to find toy for Dan...

Thank you for making me feel

Like I was so special.

Thank you for seeming to be

The man of my dreams.

Thank you for telling me

You couldn’t live without me.

Thank you for convincing me

You were different than the rest.

Thank you for confessing

Your love that one evening.

Thank you for showering me

With unending praise.

Thank you for admitting

You couldn’t do better.

Thank you for helping me

Fe...

It is said,

If you wake within a dream

You should never ask

What time it is.

For if you do,

It angers them

And bad things occur.

A lucid nightmare,

Unsettled you’ll wake

If you are lucky....

Everyone, everywhere, evermore

Will one day take their last breath.

No one escapes death.

So go forth in this life

And fill it with love....

Life sometimes diverges

Forcing decisions to be made.

Which path to choose?

Consequences must be weighed.

Both paths differ

Too complex to decipher.

Bravely, resolutely we continue

Down this path to find

What waits beyond....

Broke my favorite mug today

And I thought of you.

It somehow slipped out of my grasp

And shattered on the ground.

As I collected the jagged pieces

And cupped them gently in my hand.

Contemplated gluing them together

In hopes of saving something

I once always loved and reached for.

But as I continued, my despair grew

Because I slowly came to realize

That no matter how much care

How much time...

He grew up neglected

His parents too broken

To tend to his needs

Let alone show him affection.

He spent his childhood alone

Imagination his only companion

An escape when chaos ensued

A beautiful place to retreat.

He floated unseen

Unheard and disregarded

Until he stopped talking

And kept to himself.

As he grew older he knew

He had to escape this

So he left one cold day

And never looked b...

I’m sorry.

Two words that seem

So small in comparison

To the betrayals committed

To warrant them.

I’m sorry.

Isn’t enough to fill

The space once occupied

By the naive trust

And faith I had in you.

I’m sorry.

Won’t ease the pain

Or repair my heart

Which shattered

Into tiny fragments.

I’m sorry.

Doesn’t help quiet

The spiraling thoughts

Of self blame

For not seeing through you.

I’m sorr...