Eugene Pappan

You were my favorite hiding place
If love were a treehouse
We'd stretch our branches out like wings
I'd swing from us for hours
...

there she is
here she comes
like a blank
page she was
...

The morning
Longing for a lazy sun
The clouds a scrambled mess
And you
...

...

I have more fake friends
then there are stars in the sky
But you'll always be my moon
Watching over me as the world rests
...

They sling reassurances at me like:
"Everything's going to be okay."
ROUTINE, the audacity of such a word
I sit here, a sand castle during a monsoon
...

It's pushing empty swings
It's a car seat that collects dust
It's washing clothes that weren't worn
It's your food expiring in the freezer
...

It's 9: 25 A.M.
I am not yet awake
Two tiny arms envelope my should like
parachute strings, he keeps me safe.
...

She says: I hate my life
Disgusted at her body
A fruit picked too early
The debt of being beautiful
...