My Name Is Not Mavis

It Begins with Hope

Hope is easy when everything is well.
When breathing is deep and sleep is welcomed.
Hope is hardest when the world is tilting crazily
And the righting of it falls on our shoulders.
Do not sag under the weight.
Join hands with your neighbor
Or the stranger across the table at the coffee shop.
See their heart and the possibilities within the differences
And double down, I mean double down
On the task before us calling like a siren.
Double down on everything within you that is
Strong, rebellious, and brave.
Because it is there.
And it begins with hope.

1.

She said to the world:
You come find me.
My love is always beautiful.

2.

Hold yet in your mouth
Like a small white stone
You gathered
From the heaving heat of
The desert in July.

3.

In your blindspot, I stand.
Offering a cup of love
You cannot receive.

Waiting for the Next Train

How easily I am derailed.
Thrown off my track
And left in the dust
This side of nowhere.
Sitting and wondering my Whys.
Tracing circles
In the dirt with my hands,
Watching the coyotes glide low
Across the horizon as if they were the sun,
Listening to to the air hum
With the worlds unseen.
Finally, I lay back
In the dry weeds and wait for night
To take me so I can wake
Tomorrow and catch the next train.