Their Skins

I have seen these boys
with many skins, they
wear them out, but do
not let them go. Snakes
know to slither away,
these boys stay sad and
hide within their husks.
Even if they are wearing
masks they are not telling
the truth, they’ve learned
to lie even with them on.
These boys with many
skins and disguises I lie
to keep them happy,
I cannot tell them they
are kindred of mine,
this self-preservation
device I have inside
to read the signs and the
symptoms of my kind has
told me everything I need
to know about the bend
of your wrist, the fold of
your legs, the look in
your eyes when I reveal
everything in a way you
have always wanted to.

Something Only Human

Suppressing old sighs, and emotions
that intensity suggests are not all mine.
I once believed in loneliness, but now
with all that time has created within me
I can only see that I am the only company
to keep (and slow emptiness is the cold
creeping doubt that plagues us). Pandora
only some little bit of the last curse
was let out. We few beings, the mud of
the Earth, newly formed to seek love
have you ever seen the comets far
above where we have landed?
I can only hope that this still loneliness
is something only humans feel,
I would not curse the stars or moons
with this creeping death.