To my brother whose birthday
I never quite remember
But who I still
Think of
As one of the best
People I know
To my brother
Who walked me
To the bus stop
Taught me
How to ride a bike
Little treats
When I least expected
Six years older
But always so much
Wiser
Surrogate parent
So young but
So responsible
To my brother
Whose birthday I
Never quite remember
So many thank you’s
Never quite said
To my brother
I love you

my coffee
cream and sugar
already added
tasting like the
inside of a paper cup
my coffee almost hot
my coffee
bringing me a smile
as I dream of things to be
worlds of peace
filled with music
and love
my coffee
tasting of a paper cup

Getting rid of the distractions
That make me forget
That no one is my enemy
No one deserves my mistrust
Getting rid of distractions
To let me see the light
In all who I meet
Getting rid of the distractions
That keep me
From being her friend
Or his lover
Getting rid of the distractions
That teach us to hate
That teach us to envy
What we are not
Getting rid of the distractions
That tear us all down

I remember the pain
Of a community
That lives in fear
I remember the  fear
Of a community
That does not
Belong here
I remember
Because
Forgiving
Does not
Mean forgetting

My ode to a world
I want to believe in
My ode to a world that
I do believe in
I don’t want to ignore
the ugliness
the hate
I don’t want to embrace
ignorance
I don’t want to embrace
apathy
I want to embrace
change
I want to embrace
hope
Hope for a better
today

sometimes change can hurt
but we are so strong that our hurt
quickly becomes new hope

detoxify my soul
while I search
for my place
in a place that
I no longer
resent
detoxify my soul
as I seek out
love in places
I ran away from
detoxify my soul
as I become
myself

Peace,

P.E.A.C.E
how do we spell peace?
How do we say peace?
when we have never known it
when we know more
about war,
war with ourselves,
war with each other,
war with those
who we have
never known
P.E.A.C.E how do we
talk about peace
when we only
talk with those
who listen to us
how do we talk when we
are not willing to listen
To those not like us
how do we talk about
peace when it hurts
so much when I
start to remember
all that has happened
I want to forgive
but I am afraid that
Forgiving will mean
Forgetting and
forgetting will
mean that it can happen
again

It boggles my mind
I walk down the street
I feel fear
I walk out the door
I feel fear
I feel fear
Yet I believe in hope
I believe in joy
I believe in change
Yet I walk out the door
And I feel fear