allow beauty

i reckon you do need
to take it for granted
i mean
how better
to flaunt fate
than to squeal
tears of laughter
oblivious for a micro-second
of the darkness beneath

we try to count
our blessings
but as soon as
we’re out the door
there are so many
other things
and the eyelashes
of a lover
count far more
than the hours
that pass
lying so close
than the rules
that ripple through
society
than the steps
that lead upwards
north of insanity
south of friendship
west of the setting sun
bereft of the promise
of dawn

be ferocious
in the protection
of those too weak
to protect themselves
strike down the thought that
“everyone has to suffer”
regard with cold dispassion
the airbrushed promises

touch others
by being touched

let the fraught
manic dashing
burning pride
simmer and
spread
evaporate

in the emptiness
allow a small amount of beauty