There once was a time when I could trust. When all seemed right in the world, and the universe itself made sense. That time was broken, along with my dreams. Along with my heart.

When I saw her across the plane, I knew she was the one. Her perfect beauty, her confident air, her unbelievable kindness towards strangers were all too enticing to skip over. It didn't matter that I was with my fiance on the way to our wedding; I'm sorry honey, I can't go through with it. There's someone better in my life now.

I took the whole flight to muster my courage and finally talk to this perfect goddess. I played it safe.

"Hi." She looked up from her book.

"Hi." I was in. The way she was looking at me now, there was no way she didn't feel what I did.

"You're beautiful." I couldn't stop myself from blurting it out. It was the truth.

"You're awfully forward. Aren't you with a significant other?" She was observant too? How could she not see how magnificent of a creature she was?

"Not for much longer, now that I've met you," I replied with my signature smile. No one could resist it.

"I'm gay," she said, and calmly turned back to her book.

My heart floundered in my chest. The plane split in half, throwing me out and hurtling me to the ground. I was broken. I could never love again. That perfect specimen, the most majestic woman I had ever met, was untouchable.

I staggered my way back to my seat. Despite the anxious words of my fiance, I couldn't bring myself to move. All I could think of was her. Of her betrayal. Of the trust I gave, and the ease she murdered it.

*Hi everyone, note this is all fiction and I don't condone jibronies like this at all! Thanks y'all.

A kind, lowly lamplighter pays his dues

Can an artist truly capture its life?

Brushstroke on brushstroke, tiny bit and strife

Many a blue bird the season confuse

Although the lovely green it may just lose

Golden leaves pave way to an afterlife

Ruby red streaks through the air like a knife

The season for rich and delicious stews

Autumn by some and Fall by another

The season for pumpkins, and pie, and love

A quilt of colours for the next winter

The branches begin to break and splinter

Now is the time to dig out your warm glove

Now is the time for leaves from a printer

As raging fires burn around our place

And crashing waves threaten us, unnerve us

Your old ridges and lines, most beauteous

Grant me your strength, as I caress your face

Grant me divine love, your eternal grace

For when our joints grow stiff and cold and ache

When my bones are brittle and start to break

My shaking hands destroy our blames by mace

Wiping all imperfections from our bone

Because here you are perfect, old or new

Here I am close, perfection oh so blue

A great distant sun burns brightly alone

For you, I grow the sweetest honeydew

For you, the Midgard serpent overthrown.

Lilting, harmonic

A light tune plays near

Tilting, demonic

The chords twist, shatter my ear

Two sides of the same coin

Fire battles frost

They turn, fuse and join

One defeats the other, and lost

Which will prevail?

Light, or shadows?

Like metal without the nail

Like grass without the meadows

A neverending circuit

A sphere without edges

Emerald bushes were cut

By the gardener, the hedges

One burns, the other cools

What is a hero without a villain?

As useful as a plumber without tools

As perfect as a circle in a square fill-in

A constant battle, an eternal struggle

A gymnast’s perfect balance

A toddler learning to juggle

Nature’s immortal dance.

I lay face up, not a care in the world

My thoughts are soothing, polished and pearled

Isn’t nature amazing? Isn’t it sweet?

Can you hear the robins, the birds singing ‘tweet tweet?’

But as I lay, immersed in grass

A thought occurs, wicked as broken glass

I couldn’t shape it, describe it if I tried

Except that somewhere, somehow… someone lied?

What if this perfect nature is all but a farce?

I know happy places are small and sparse

Here is too good to be true, though I desperately hope it is

Are candies not sweet then, and sodas not fizz?

The world is suddenly topsy turvy

Are circles sharp and squares curvy?

My breaths start coming shallow and quick

My stomach clenches, I think I’ll be sick

Out of the blue, you appear

To help me to save me, oh how quickly you came here!

Your head rests in my lap, your fur on my skin

How silky your ears are, how are you, where have you been?

Oh my loyalist friend, my dearest accomplice

My dear sister, my moral compass

I love you, my sweet dog

I love you, like a drowning man to a log

Thank you for saving me from my dark spiral

If I posted a video of you it would go viral

Thank you, my four legged friend

Thank you Ivy, my dog until the end.

Join me in an age old library

With its musty smell ripe with age

Ripe with its ancient smell

Its old smell of knowledge

Run with me through the rows

Towers of the written word

Yards of ink smeared on paper

Conveying love and adventure

Dance with me as we find a spot

To settle down, to read, to think

We can laugh and cry, and sing together

Curled up, surrounded by books

Cheer me up when a character dies

As I’ll you when a tragedy occurs

An army is no match for our optimism

A fire no match for our tears

Help me step on to a rickety ladder

Grasping towards the rarest books

A jewel, a treasure of forgotten lore

A pearl, shining in the murk of our own

Library.

Are you jealous, my sister?

Jealous of me?

Maybe it's the way I talk

After years of speech therapy

Are you angry, my sister?

Angry at me?

Because of my accomplishments

or that you were stung by a bee

Are you sad, my sister?

Sad because of me?

I'm so sorry, I try

To stay out of your way, you see

Are you happy, my sister?

Happy without me?

I thought your favourite gift

would be my absence, your emotional fee

I am sorry, my sister

Apologies from me

for all the times I hurt you

or bored you enough you left me in a tree

I love you, my sister

I love you, says me

You're my favourite friend

My oldest friend, not he.

(Note: this is pure artistic licence, as my sister is actually a really kind person.)

There is a place I know,

Where the sun is gentle and cool,

Where clouds are placed like a package bow,

Where the mirror is a reflective pool;

In this place, I feel at peace,

Maybe because of the pine,

Or maybe the lack of geese,

All I know is that on picnics we dine;

This place is safe, as you are there,

A comforting presence, a solid hand,

We sit together, and you brush my hair,

Rocking in a boat, an island far from land;

In this eternal place,

Never changing mountains pierce the cloud,

Gently, gently, I caress your face,

You and me, together, unbowed.

The rain patters on my window, dreadfully in tune with my heart

Pitter patter, drip drop

It’s embarrassing to be like this

Nervous about something like this

Me, a strong woman

Me, and independent woman

Me, a fool for love

Are they going to call again? Do they remember me?

Stupid questions take over my thoughts

Hold my creative process at knifepoint

Think of this guy!

They questions scream

Please, I have to work

I don’t have time to think of them

Of their beautiful, silk hair

Or their flawless skin

Or the way their eyes light up when I say

I love you

Because what if they feel differently,

What if they don’t care?

What if I’m a rebound date,

What if…

They love me back?