Everything we create
An extension of the mind
So when disconnection occurs
Pain and pleasure intertwine
The world goes into decline
While business increases, for the hotline

Father and son
DNA, a loaded gun
One, the alpha
Other, the omega
Built to last
Until the downcast
Shackles of one, multiplied to the rest
Divide the filler
The father, wishes to not disappoint his son
The son, wishes to not be the father
Thrown out a pigeon but no message received
Both are so deceived
But neither is perceived until one is grieved.

No longer fooled
By marketing
By glamour
By hope
All of these and so much more
Tossed to the dogs
Now, I live in reality
...
...
...
How do I go back?

Writing words
About cash and fame
I could lose it all tomorrow
None would question it
-----------------------------------------
Substitution
All they say is "you are special"
That's what got me into this mess
Expectations driving me deranged
Off the cliff with a heart of hate
No dream is ever worth this
Chasing after dreams, always been asleep
Swept off my feet by reality
-----------------------------------------
In the deepest heap, I'm nothing but a sheep
When all my layers have been removed
All I can do is weep...
All I can do is sleep...
All I can do is reap.

Always hungry
Never satisfied
That's what you get
When you build a world out of pride

Even in death
We want to look alive
Glimmering and stunning
For no one to witness
A mummy is only alive in the likeness
Never in peace, can we rest?
Fashion and fame, left behind in legacy
Easily dismantled in the face of jealousy

The apex of the land
Untouchable, unstoppable
No one can break them!
...
It gets lonely at the top
Coming up with daily routines
Just to distract from reality
Simulated conflict
Fictional biographies
All to tell us lessons
About the truth of our reality
...
On our day of enlightenment
If it ever comes
The flesh and blood we consume
Will taste stale
...
All we have been doing is sophistication imitation.

Beneath every gangster
Lies a desire for success
However...
The means do not justify
Throwing obscenities
Riches have a half-life
Declare a state of emergency
For all these imitators
Should strive for something greater

In my dreams
I remembered a bouncy castle
A place of infinite fun
Even the most solemn faces
Lit up with smiles, euphoria
Not a single care, free of dysphoria
-------------------------------------------------
I drove to that place again
I opened the doors to my past
Ready to relive the bygone days
Now, I am here
Something feels wrong
Like I stumbled into a place
Never meant for me
The retreaded ground had never felt so foreign
Same colors, bright, energetic
Looking at my reflection, synthetic, how poetic
No longer magnetic, I feel pathetic
Lesson learned: Opposites attract no more
-------------------------------------------------
Was it always like this?
Have I always been like this?
The same space, untouched by time
But, I wasn't.
Rushing past the years
Memories dimmer and blur
I can't let go.
Let me go back to the time I prefer
-------------------------------------------------
Rushing back to the party room
All to be seen, remnants of the celebration
I realized today:
I will be forever dismayed.

Talent only shines
In the darkest night
So when a sky is full of stars
It's easy to get lost
No acclaim to fame, only shame

Peaceful protest
Sounds good in hypotheticals
Never underestimate
Conflict's role in the human condition
No one notices suffering in silence
But once lives are on the line
Immediate change, half-handed and rushed
Attention increases in relation to tension
It grows as it goes
Just like our dissatisfaction.

Holidays
A form of tradition and celebration
Where the meaning it once had
Has been slandered
Trace back the origin all we want
We can never replicate the essence
Reformation is required
How can we give thanks for giving if we give nothing?

Death of life
Death of nature
Death of standards
Deaf to the world's cry
If no one cares
Why should I?

I hope for the day
We stop praying toward optimism
Expecting the best
While denying the rest
We all know how to hope
But, what about living?

Politicians
Deal with politics
Once dealt a hand with linguistics
Watch them close
To prevent future obstruction

Looking at each other
Human on human
Conflict abounds, inspired by Truman
If an extraterrestrial came onto our territory
I have a sneaking suspicion
It'll be treated with more respect
Than **** sapiens

Expectations
Lead to disappointment
But without them
How do we keep living?

I acquired my sensitivity
From clarity
But no one cares about charity
Cause that doesn't get a degree
Now we're stuck with a spree
That forgets about antiquities

Even the most desperate person
Will steal from the vulnerable
But, as I look back at our history
The natural world, the primal era
I question, where did things go wrong?
Perhaps, life has always been wrong
Spending eternity, trying to make it right

Unpleasant events
Happen to us all
But, never is trauma an excuse
To oppose all, to hurt all
For then, what separates the betrayer
From the broken?

Aesthetics
Embodied into a visage
Becoming beauty
Now, becoming obsessive
Why make a life revolving around a trend?
Separate the man from the clan
Lest the appearance turns deadpan

Debit or credit...?
Questioning the credibility
Of this nuisance that debuted far ago
Forced upon me
Daily living becoming intolerable
Insufferable
If I wanted to suffer
I wouldn't need the card
Dress it up, make it special
Just remember:
We are the ones who made this life
Fully operational
Totally unacceptable

The internet, what a glorious invention
Used in part, to do:
Research
Science
Playful activities
Engage in social discourse
Send threats
Wish hateful things
Generate chaos
Conduct illicit business
Anonymous discrimination
Videos of disintegration
All, in the comfort of home
It has come this far
Perhaps, it has come too far

Everyone
Wants to talk about change
Yet, no one ever wants
To embody it

Knocking at the exit...
Can't see it.
I gotta find my old opulence
Maybe, the exit was always here
But, my eyes
Chose to ignore it

Feet on the air
Windsurfing on tranquility
Worrisome, no more
Travesties belong to another day
I may care, but only for so long
All things must recharge
Why treat ourselves differently?

Philistine
Individual went extreme
They don't want to be seen
The only comfort comes from the moonlight
Why?
It always sees.

Rushing
Toward the light in the tunnel
Wondering, what will I receive?
Will I be reborn through scorn?
Or does the journey end here?
I've risen from the bottom
Up to the top
I'm at the peak
I don't know how to stop.

In our modern world
We cannot bask in emotions
Deemed uncomfortable
No wonder
Nothing is taken earnestly
Even clowns
Know when jokes stop
Now look at us:
We have become one

Discussing philosophies
Brings out antiquities
So, when discussing those who believe
That their belief means nothing
Do not discuss their way
But how they came to it

Just because
We adapt to any environment
Never means
We are satisfied with it

Starving
For a missing piece
To become at peace
We must find what we seek

Over each bunk
The sun flooded in
Onto the floor, quickly
The playing cards, folded
The walls, weathered
Inside and out, painted
A palette of an evening day
In collaboration with a falling sun
How fitting, for the last day

Determination
Breaking new ground
To now, tolerating mundanity
Determining the loss of it all
The meaning didn't slip up, instead
It.
Fell.
Down.

Alpha, omega
Beginning, end
All tune in for them
While cutting out the middle

Letters, punctuation, capitalization
It all means something to someone
But to me
It's just the norm
What it is to be expected
Expect no change, galore
No matter how much you say it matters
Matter can only matter
If the matter matters
Back to the daily norm
Now we'll forget this ever happened
And pretend we are built for something more

It's hard to ruin
Something you enjoy
Until someone else comes along
Turning joy, to quick decay
Watching as the allure fades away
To grey

Climbing up a mountain
Reaching the peak
Of success
Exhilarating and envigorating
But, once the mission is complete
What comes next? Another one.
Success is a wheel that runs off of desire
So when it stops turning, what comes next?

Stressed
The resources are inadequate
Little did I know
They are all that remains

Upon returning home
The cobblestone greeted me
But, every brick
Every layer
Turned from hollow and grey
To flesh-ridden, staring eyes
Looking with interest
Wondering where they were
I would say, mere curiosity
But these eyes
Looked upon me
With shame

It was an accident
He forgave me for it
So, why does my mind...
Harbor a grudge?

From birth
I was given immortality
Never able to die, unless defied
By traumatic injury, to my earthly form

It gets lonely, staying so long
I've discovered lands, traveled across seas
But when it goes indefinitely
Achievements go from celebratory  
To mandatory

All things have an end
I only wish
That I could have one.

Inadequate quality
Leads to faults
If only the mind was treated
Like a factory line
Then blind disregard
Would lead to opened eyes

Old heroes
Come into view
So too, does harsh reality
Age comes experience
Of which, they can no longer use

Misadventures
Fun to laugh at
Horrible to engage in
Chuckling at misfortune
Yet no one else can see it
Sad sacks bring back hacks
Fame off of misfortune
No wonder we're cold
Our hearts have become strongholds

Luchadore
Actor
Entertainer
All live out life in masks
To give blind entertainment
But when the veil becomes you
Surrender to the mass
For when it starts to slip
Ego trip ends, judgment begins

Irritation and demand
Two core characteristics
Of a citizen
Turned criminal
Yet, we all are like this
The only separation
Comes in the methodology, the execution
The very same concept
Directed by a violent excursion
Cause when backed against a wall
The only way forward is force

Impressionable minds
Latch onto broken ideologies
When the ship sinks
The captain escapes, on their backs

My foot
Was caught on a dream
For I had built a palace
Much like my dream palace
Yet, it looked nothing like it.
The unending freedom of imagination
Came crashing down
Giving birth to dismay

At first, I was shocked
Now I am old, it is the standard.

The end of the world:
By alien invasion
By viral outbreaks
By global war

We entertain the hypotheticals
While the real cause
Remains unchanged

At the end of time
We shall continue to bicker
Remaining fickle
The sun rises then sets
Everything, a beginning, and an end
Our final act is coming soon
But instead of a theater
It is near you