Bystander

Bystander

By Allie Marie

 

Down on State Street in Albany,

I stand in faded light.

In a pretty powder blue dress,

I watch them dance in a sea of black and white.

I slowly lose control.

Teardrops turn to rainstorms.

I hope that they can’t see.

And the more that I try to stop,

the more that I can’t breathe.

There’s echoes screaming in my mind.

They have nothing to do with them.

And everything to do with my fears,

and what I am being told

I’m getting too old

to ever have.

I don’t want to be like this.

I want and need to smile for you.

I am happy for you,

I am.

But, I’m terrified

to live a life alone.

New Again

New Again

By Allie Marie

Our hands in the same place

learn their fragile space.

We hope to dare;

our desperate circumstances landed us here.

The failure of dreams

sew our new seams.

And so, we are told it is time.

We must create a new rhyme.

A Floating Message

A Floating Message

By Allie Marie

And somehow now,

we are forced turn away.

What is left is what

we couldn’t save. 

A silver ribbon

and a floating white balloon behind us

send our kindness and questions

with a hope which we wish we never knew.

And though we must move on,

you are not forgotten.

I will not leave you

to be unspoken.

One Second

One Second

By Allie Marie

One second.

Make it concise.

You made a promise

then turned it to lies.

One second.

Truth should be quick.

Get your point across

so we can fix this.

One second.

Cause I’m getting tired

of tracing your words on crossed wires.

It’d be better for both of us if you told the truth.

Preoccupied

Preoccupied

By Allie Marie

We’re too busy memorizing names.

We forgot why we came.

It is so easy to miss

when we’re preoccupied making lists.

I just want to scream.

Florescent lights taunt their beams.

It shouldn’t seem to them so sore

that I want something more.

A Feast for Fragile Hearts

A Feast for Fragile Hearts

By Allie Marie

This is a place for fragile hearts.

They feed off your remarks.

And then you wonder –

how they change so fast.

Start so nice and sweet

until you make them bruise their feet.

Words – they burn like crashing cars

as you agree with others they are thrown upon.

Yes, you ignore the truth.

Just because it is easier for you

to believe the liars that slash your tires.

I’m sorry I could never understand.

But, I don’t think just power makes a man.

Rain

Rain

By Allie Marie

You sound better in the rain.

My white dress gets caught by the wind as I spin.

One moment graces us with simplicity.

You and I are are me and you’s therapy.

What we are and how little we know

finally with one glimpse starts to show.

Wet grass sticks to my toes.

A raindrop is caught by the tip of your nose.

Forget why we came.

I’ve never seen you clearer –

our reflections not caught by the mirror.

A Trip

A Trip

By Allie Marie

Let’s take a trip.

Let’s hide away.

Sing songs to the rhythm of the mess we made.

Sink into this tidal wave.

Find buried secrets too hard to hide.

We’re strangers meant to collide.

Unknown

Unknown

By Allie Marie

And, we reach out to the unknown.

There is so much left to unfold.

I break my bones

just to watch them mend.

I learn to drive

for a destination that has no end.

The blindside makes it 

difficult, but we’ll keep our headlights lit.

Our map is turned upside down

so we’ll take the long way around.