Amanda Lukas

...And when she would smile
and tell me that it was okay to cry,
I'd cry in her arms and know I was loved.
...

Daddy never knew me.
He never took the time.
Never came to birthday parties.
Never recited a nursery rhyme.
...

I see his sleeping eyes in the moonlight.
He is beauty in his sleep.
I know he'll awaken and hate me;
I've gotten in too deep.
...

He holds me while I cry
and flashes gentle loving glances
as he looks into teary brown eyes.
He explains them as 'beautiful'
...

I sometimes wish we'd never met
and life was whole without you,
but then I catch myself
thinking of those succulent kisses
...

A desperate heart,
tattered and torn and forgotten.
Stomped and grinded into
concrete of her life.
...

You say you love me and you believe it.
I say you don't even know who I am.
You're in love with the image of me
that you created.
...

Don't speak.
Your face says too many words.
Don't give me that forced smile.
I've seen your attempts to look warm before.
...

You can have your memories.
I'll put them in a shoebox for your disposal.
Keep them with you,
and do as you please with them
...

My list of things to do
just seems to keep growing longer.
Keep your office clean,
make Bill's coffee stronger
...

If I could make you happy,
Then I would gladly stay.
If I could bring you a smile so huge
As on children when they play.
...

A life not worth living, you say?
An unbelievable toll!
Talents not worth using
must mean songs not worth singing,
...

I haven't forgotten
that look in your eyes,
the way you cocked your head to the side when you laughed.
I can't let go of
...

I sing for you, my angels.
You are the clouds on which I fly.
...

I am stronger because you've made me this way.
I've learned to laugh, to love.
Learned to endure hardships,
strive to achieve excellence.
...

I ate my lunch in the park again today,
as it is becoming my usual routine.
I'm finally allowing myself to sit in silence
and brave being alone with my thoughts.
...

It was the middle of winter,
the middle of the night.
We were sitting in a diner together,
engaged in small talk.
...

I used to write you messages in the sand, Mother.
I knew they'd be erased
with the night's rising waters,
but I always took comfort
...

I must confess that this is my first time
seeing the leaves change in fall.
I laid on my back
under a rather large tree today,
...

No candy hearts or roses, please.
I don't want teddy bears.
I don't want dinner at the Palm.
No movie tickets,
...