i am still awake

a stream bed dried in the desert

humans think and feel
we are hearts and blood
bone skin nerves
oceans endless
wind on each others face
humans are life
and we are death
moving forever forward
opening our mouths
the sky still silent stays
a line that cannot end
our muscles
carry us
our minds
keep us
our hearts
define us
humans
we are breaths taken
underwater and skies
each day
that we believe
we are warmed
feel the heat
in circles
changing time we are the same

i am a dragon

there exist three lines

if we are to breathe fire
we must first breathe smoke
fill our lungs in the ocean
our hearts in the sun
our minds in the open air
until we are covered
in the same skin
the flames
will live in our dreams
home is my skin
and my thoughts
i am each step closer
to the sea sun
there is a circle
for each life we live
for every thought or hope
each circle
carries the blood
carries the air
carries the light
our breath is in our skin
our breath is in the circle

I won something.

The Madre gave me a Kreativ Blogger Award. Here's what she had to say about my words.

"7. Nathan at Words- I gave birth to this young man, the one full of insight and tenderness. His poetry is deep and rich, stark and raw. I love this kid. But then, I'm his mom." - the Madre

circumference

a telling retelling

i will stay awake
for two more days
for three more months
its the sun and the moon
the stars are the wind
the ocean is endless
in my head
the voice
clouds transform the inside
of my head and my heart
my blood is red
it is white
it carries me away
closer
my skin is stretched over my bones
do you see the rocks and water
the endlessness that lies beneath

it might be all about texture

last chance at first place

i promise you
as soon as i have a home
i will change my skin
i was the only one
to see the moment
can you smell it on me
its a black hole
and its never ending
but its warm and full
of life and energy
i will hold this
into eternity
and all will be settled
i will be new and i will be always

you should see the clouds over the bay right now

the only sunburn that ever matters

count it on two hands
breathe in hollow air
hold it in the past the future
breathe out the perfect words
its all blood and tissue
but its real and it feels like tomorrow
i walked into the ocean
the sun is here
the air is swimming
i will always have skin
its always on my skin
ive counted to ten now
and nothing has changed
everything will always stay the same
as long as the sun is here and i have skin

sixteen through twenty-five

is it possible this is an ocean

i can make the forest sing
this silence
to the top of the mountain
to the top of the tree
believe in both sides
of the sun
heat and light
accept the water over your body
forever always awake
and then we will sleep

an incomplete sentence

certainly

if i could
ever really
understand this
then maybe

simple

out of the room

carried to the sea
buried in the sand
skin burned by the sun
asleep
alone
awake
afraid
i believed
i held on to hope
we stand
at the same place
in different places
after everything
it was worth the _________

thanks

swfn say8

did i lose
too much blood
in the fire
and the fight
i cannot hide
behind my skin
any longer
all i feel
is on my face my arms my legs
water will not
wash them away
but they will fade away
in the light
forever does not last forever
but we will be forever
in water in wind

cuando

labyrinth

underneath a secret earth
water and wind flow
pronounce my name
correctly
ya no te espero
the feeling i am underwater
a tundra
no end no begin
a drop of blood
one for every star
one more for every hope
the noise of space
changes the way i hear
your voice
i stand on the earth but i do not think of the earth

things

tremolo

we all of us
have been born
in color
and light
we walk away
from it
we walk to it
we are waves tides
we are more circles
than lines
but we are learning
to become lines
to see colors
to see light
the wind blows across
our faces
and whispers
we listen we follow
change
it rains and we are wet
we dry ourselves
day in day out
our backs are stronger straighter
we swim or run
we fly as birds fly
we will be the sun
we have always been the sun

a few more lines

tie me to the sea

a monument built
to the sky
a sun
burns overhead
its no small thing
to cut off ones hands
i will place mine at my side
i will hold onto yours forever
i was dead once
the wind blew
the water covered my face
i could breathe still
i can breathe always
there is blood life
circular motion
i see no end there is no end

a few lines

being underwater

its all circles
when things become
or when they cease to be
a moon over a mountain
a line across the sea
you saw it too
but differently
i was closer
i am stronger weaker now
bones blood skin on and on and on

palabra

bones and little else

above water
waves
i watch my blood
bathed cleansed
from rocks and shorelines
arms eyes lips
lifeless pale blue
i still dream
still feel
live
i walk on water
i wake before the sun
i wake before you
life beneath each step
taken
a green garden today
rocky paths
years and years forgotten
yet still felt
my heart is clean now
free of shadow
of whisperings
humans think and feel
i am human
you are wind
you have traveled through
my branches my leaves
you are waves and water
washed over
my rocks my sands
speak quietly
speak necessarily
i am out of the rain now and i am dry