One year ago . . .

“Mom!” I call running down the driveway as she starts backing out of the garage. “Mom!”

I pant as I stop next to her window, watching as the clear glass slides down. Mom smiles out at me, her blue eyes tired from all day at work.

“Maisie,” she leans out the window. “Did you need something?”

I did . . . I mean I do. Every day Mom comes home from work, cleans up, which I gu...

Pain seared through her body as a paw hit her side. Her eyes blurred and she was barely breathing.

A voice beyond her whispered something. "You're just as pathetic as every other wolfperson we've come across. Heh." The hunter behind the voice came over to her, bent down, and lifted her chin. "Good luck without your pups." He let her chin fall and walked off.

She desperately tried to pull herself...

End of the world they said,

Our phones and television would be at their demise.

No Facebook or instagram,

To spread their white lies.

Humanity would collapse they said,

Leaving people distraught and in panic.

Not watching their Netflix,

Will leave them immobile and frantic.

No one will know how to communicate they said,

An uproar will ignite.

Darkness will surround us,

And you will clearly see t...

In the realm of innocence, where trust was pure,

Lies a tale of longing, of a heart unsure.

"I sometimes forget," she whispered with a sigh,

"How easy it was, to say hello to a stranger passing by."

Once upon a time, she viewed the world with grace,

Believing in the goodness, in every stranger's face.

Her heart, an open book, ready to be read,

A canvas of love, where friendships were spread.

But...

Soft whispers of the butterflies slide across her mind; flying the distance of passion and romance, destined to become her rhyme...

She was fragile in his fingers. Around his kiss, her shuddered bliss lingered. Touching skies in forgotten throes. Glowing perspectives of never let go prose...

But open mouths and closed hearts never mix. They’re paths decay, after a lifetime tryst. Her tongue scre...

Much of the time,

I get in my own way

It seems like I am shy,

When really I’m afraid.

Often I will stay in,

Feeling so alone,

And try to hide it with a grin,

So that nobody really knows.

I laugh when I’m supposed to cry,

I find I often laugh.

I don’t really know how or why,

I’m not a psychopath.

People can be so very mean,

It feels safer to disappear.

But when I succumb to that,

I give in to my...

Dark, curved street corner,

a gray rain parking lot or

Fog-laden storefront

waiting for a stranger

waiting to slake my evergreen obsession

waiting and watching my texts

waiting and hoping for

a stranger bearing vines of promise

Verdant ink pointed leaves winking pink

Rainforest foliage of kelly green lace

Shiny emerald lobed tickets to Columbia

hello, stranger

Panama in a clay pot

Heart-shaped ...

Our eyes caught one another

It felt familiar, as if I’ve seen you in a dream

No words were spoken , just body language

Your eye glued to mine and I felt uneasy

It’s as if you knew me

You’ve read my soul just by looking into my pupils

My eyes pulled away but I wanted to glance again

Because some how I felt that we were having a conversation through Vulnerability

This time I was greeted with a...

Walking to gym

Up the hill

Across the bridge

To the track

Talking to my best friend

“Should I go talk to her?”

I stared at the girl in front me

“Yes. Go!”

My best friend Anouk was always there to give me advice

I’m super indecisive

The girl in front of me was someone I wanted to be friends with since fifth grade

“But what should I talk about?”

“Just talk about keeper of the lost cities! You know ...

It used to never come easy to me

When I used to be young and free

But now I’ve gained the courage and power

I adore talking to people And no longer being a wall flower

If not for the friendly people that I meet

How would someone like me possibly ever eat

You humans are so delicious and sweet

The blood is my most favorite treat

I always felt talking to my food was a danger

I sometimes forg...