Hide & Seek

shake hands with your shadow

rest in the shade of your own curtains

calling for the closing of the show

the soundtrack of night is soothing

for the spotlight of day shines on my stage fright

disguised as sorrow

Sometimes we hold ourselves hostage. Sometimes, the same shadow we feel safer in is the shadow anxiety settles in and we long to escape from.

But there is one shadow we can seek refuge in, it’s not our own.

Discern the difference between a holy hiding place and a hellish veil.

“The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.” - Psalm 91:1

Caffeinated Tears

I have a black & white bias but when I finished this sketch, I wanted my crying eye to have a splash of color— watercolor.

Which I didn’t have, but I did have mug with a sip of stale coffee left in the bottom and eyeshadow brush. So naturally, I caffeinated her iris and tears. And I think coffee will be my watercolor of choice whenever I want to make a sketch a little painterly.

September Song

they always say

if we play with fire

we’ll get burned

but what if we learned

how to play like a choir

of flames

strumming chords back and forth

containing notes of embers

sending signals of smoke

with a scent of September

consoling our souls

like a song we’ll always remember

Scripted

bedtimes & morning wind chimes

like nursery rhymes

designed by hands that tick through time

but these same hands that people cling to so tight

have never reached out to hold mine

fatigue rings like mercy

when finally you’re too tired

to fake your curtsy

for a pedigree that feels more like a pageant

and friends that are faithfully absent

There have been times when life felt scripted, a show that presses play when the portrait demands a smile. I’m thankful for those scenes though, as painful as they were. I now appreciate the sincere moments and people that much more.

Lullaby

when you were little

if you had to tiptoe through brittle hallways

always trying to sneak by

you kept your steps soft

so your breath wasn’t lost

and let your bedroom walls

barricade you

from being afraid

as you tried to suffocate your cry

because they made you feel so ashamed

know that your tears were seen

and so sweet

as they stung your eyes

and sang you to sleep

that scary rockabye

was just a temporary

lullaby

*I wrote this and spoke this for the kids who are adults now

that grew up scared

and for the kids growing up scared

now

It’s so simple for people to rejoice with those who rejoice. Sometimes it seems forgotten that we’re equally called to weep with those who weep. And to understand the sweet irony of the beautiful ability to rejoice as we suffer.