I bet my old desperate poems
chuffed through a raspy throat
and scribbled under wet eyes
never entered a single ear
my drawn-out struggle with youth
love and every shade of gray
impossibly clueless
in a fog of hidden moons
aching for greater light
today my voice sweeter with
acceptance deeper with contentment
cracks with a laugh when I stroll
those graveyards of darkness
though I’m smart enough to bring candles
to see where I’m going