Aged, unstable
Closed fists, old distant answers
Open hands replaced

From myth
To legend
Your fire sparks
Until the dead of the night
Whispers of valor
Whimpers of glamor
As you lose, you die
But you still look alright!
Sparking faster
Like a wildfire
But now, your smile
Turned from friend to fangs

Share the pain today
After the anguish dies out
All becomes valued

To **** the past
Is to never learn from it
How can we **** the past
When our future is already dying?

No matter the delusion
There will be those who

Die for it
Sacrifice for it
Hope for it

We all have delusions
Some are aware of them
Others never correct them
Above all else:
The ancient art of trickery
Ceases to end, bitter, like chicory

Legacy
Such an underused word
Today it shall become no longer absurd
Remembrance
Throughout all the seasons
How will we be remembered?
First, you need to find a reason  
Etched into history
With a motive in mind
Give in to passivity?
Only if you want to remain blind.
For the mastermind of humankind--
Whoever they shall be
Doesn't accept wannabees
Killing bumblebees
Out of necessity
So just for the fallen
Pull out the textbook
Flip to the page often overlooked
For today...
Downplay your getaway.

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

Where are we headed?
What is our plan?
How can we guide a place
Built off of hate and greed?
Why are you trying?
What can be done?
How come you have no answers
To my questions?
What can you see?
How has that gleam not died?
How do you still have dreams?
Are you preparing for a scheme?
To keep us from dying?
Are we a team
Or are we just your self-esteem?

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

Placed on a pedestal
Eyes on you, reticle
The words from your lips
Become objects, remembered by many
Yet forget who spoke it
Put onto a stage
Everything becomes a haze
Parade for the savior
Festivities for the mentor
Who came up with one idea
Which they didn't even like
Falling from grace implies never being disgraced
Idea, object, turned to a phrase
Until they move on, then set it ablaze

Accepting a truth
Apathy and awareness
Are all that remain

Conceptual conspiracies
Originate with hate and distrust
For when something is important
No coincidence, a planned event
No accidents, a coordinated fight
Once something lives in mystery
It will forever be tied to history
As a legacy

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

Cloudy penumbra
Don't Illuminate my heart
A husk in remains

Author of life, you
An idolized icon, me
A dead ghostwriter

Fascist
Terrorist
Two extremes, always the headline
Contorting our perception
What was once the outlier
Becomes the liar, lying in wait
For the chance to strike
After accompanying deceit
Crackling thunder
An eternal rift of wisdom
Two sides with separate information
If they collaborated with one another
Would it have stopped this mess? Created a bigger one?
For those seeking answers, I must confess
I don't know, we may never know.

Scorching the planet
For regeneration
Our own dictation, our own fixation
People cling on to their foundations
Rationing common sense
Questioning if they were truly free
Liberation through damnation
Whispering affirmations
Foreshadowing our confirmation
An observation of our disintegration
Will we break the cycle or be a recreation
Of our own artificial salvation?

Let me hold my fate
With my own flesh
But to you
Not good enough
So you took my hands away
Time for my fate
To simply decay
At least until...
...I give it a renaissance.

Driven over my soul
Fear takes hold
It may pursue
But I know
I'll pull through
For just today
A trend that goes off and on
In sight at all times
Can't dive underwater
Away from it all
No matter the posture
Galactical forces decree it shall be
Time of sorrow
Hour of panic
Yet it's the minute to confess:
We've barely begun to transmute.

Sometimes                                                                     Authority
                   Life                                                        Back
                          Goes                                      Take
                                   Down               Finally
                                                Till we

Truth varies
On who you ask
A constant source
For confusion, not clarity
No wonder no one can agree
Because the lingo used
Only applies to humanity
Who swim forward like manatees
Ignoring the sights and sounds
For routine, dreams
All parts of the scene
Every act has a curtain call
When will the curtain fall?

Used all my money
Not for me
Someone else
It'll be replaced
With more money
So right now
It's worth it.

Ivy, poison barbs
Ringing a bell, a deaf tone
Shopping for applause

Behind your tooth
Home to the truth
Spit out poison--
No matter if what you say is true

Something more than skin-deep
All our actions are measured by transactions
Destitute freedom peeling under
The ruthless might of our system
One day, one life, one to see proof
Glistening eyes turn from bright to fright
Shining stars now hidden by tears
Celebrations with no fanfare
I can no longer lie, my dear
This life we wanted will not reappear
Profiteers and racketeers
Stole away our loving frontier
As I remain steadfast and sincere
The world reminds me
To struggle and remain sinister
Like a falling angel

Untouched
Pure of human touch
Now time will tell
When we deem it to be "too much"
Burn it down...
While giving a momentary farewell...
Oh well.
Let's go, boss wants 20 more of these
Down to the ground

My hopes and dreams
Greater than they seem
The visions I gleamed
Of a world better than me
Perfected, splendid
The world looked so beautiful
Until my eyes glanced around
To see the faces of discontent
Shattered, fractured in the wind
Trampled under our own feet
Running toward an empty seat
Illusions control all our lives
No one knows true strife
For when I glanced upon the world
Mundanity rang out to me
Striking like a lightning bolt
Deafening my heart
For the future I used to see
Was built out of dreams

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?

Lost our heart
Lost our spark
What we lose today
Resides in the dark

Rolling sunlight waves
Drifting toward the coast, me
Stay, I will return

People in power
Will want more power
For they are afraid
Of losing all their power.

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

Philosophy is antiquity
But much like the past
We must remember it well.

"Your life is special"
"You were born for greatness"
As the last of my energy fades
"Today is a blessing, tomorrow is a gift"
But the chains of yesterday scare me stiff
This life is no reward, I need a rewind
Going back to the peaceful moments
I never thought I would survive
Never been more free
Never felt this much misery
So please tell me, tell me please
What kind of place do you want to be?
As our friends fade, our happiness decays
Too busy to live when we enjoy the mundane
Every day, all the same
No wonder people go insane
How can a life be lived when it is all the same?

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

Grounding and bounding
Fear of being one thing brings
Inadequacy

A love of hate
A hatred of love
Across time and land
As we stick to our rock
We will never transcend
Our biological bend

Drifting, spinning
Dancing to two tempos
Slow and steady
Fast and fierce
Once upon a time
Our rhythm intertwined
Tangled, never mangled
Until you started dancing
To someone else's tempo
I kept dancing, always forward facing
Hoping one day soon
We could waltz again
Under the pale moon
Where the rhythm can be set
By our hearts, beating anew

All my friends
They are so close
But feel so far
Distant hollow stares
Are they alive or hanging on?
To the end of a rope or through the knot?
I could never be them
They could never be me
Yet, I stare into their eyes
Wondering, pondering
Do they know what they are anymore?

Will we make it?
Do we want to?
Hah!
If only life were so simple
Every action reverberates into ripples
Which I cannot control
Tension and arguments
Shifting eyes, intense moments
We seek stability
It's in our humanity
But as the sand starts to fall
All I want to see is you

Sun's explosion
Earth's implosion
Countdown timer
Paints a grim reminder
As the cost rises
The tide follows
Burnt out from life
Burnt by the sky
Connection, regression
Isolation's new weapon
Dying young in the past
Living old in the future
One person deciding lives
One hundred needed to suture

In the back of my mind
I remember a dream
My eyes had shot open
Assaulted by sounds
The ocean? I hear the waves.
I hear giggling
Not menacing, comforting
Is that a woman?
Does she recognize me?
I want to look closer
But, I see no face
What is this place?
No clues, no trace
Who is the figure?
Why does she linger?
I try to reach out with my fingers
Oh, she's gone, figures
----------------------------------------------
It's raining now
How long is this dream?
Is the message not received?
I can't see what I'm wearing
...
Who is that?
Standing at the threshold of water and sand
The woman from before, was this all planned?
She's soaked, wearing the same clothes as before
An umbrella? Was this always here?
I walk closer, yet I feel distant
The blank face turns to me
Wait, eyes, a mouth
A face has been revealed
Is she crying or has the rain marked its meal?
Her lips, they're moving...no sound?
"I'm sorry."
Huh?
She's walking into the ocean, drowning with no commotion
Locomotion, I need to run
Why is she crying?
What have I done?
How come I can't speak?
When will this dream find a theme?!
----------------------------------------------
Gasping, choking
Awake in a box of night
What was that dream?
I feel my face
Water...
Tears?
Are these out of fear or was it that severe?
...
I want to see her again
Maybe next time
I can shelter her from the downpour
...
If only I could've done it before.

Onto a beam of light; I collided
Large impact
Devoid of pain?
Interesting.
Like the flash of lightning
A being stood before me
Hunched over
With tired eyes
Highlighted by malice
Familiar, yet otherwordly
As if it were a busy subway tram--
The Lighter barreled toward me
With one hand
I grabbed it
It wanted to dance
Soon, I grew bored
The rhythm of the Lighter
Took it off, toward the edge
The Lighter had fallen.

Brave aviators
Prepared to fly, leaping off
A shattered foundation

"This is who I am"
"No doubt about that"
Which mask is that?
Do you buy it in bulk?
Your real self hangs on a thread
Yes, a brain is in possession
It lies in the seabed.
Drowned underneath a facade
Vita is false
Ita what a charade it is!
Proficient in Latin
I jest, I could be from Manhatten
Corner of Houston Street
Around the bend
See how easy it is to cheat?
Reheat your claims
In a busted microcosm
For every face varies
At different angles
Yet I can't recall
It coming in tangles
Backed up against the wall
Today marks your fall
Of one face.
Oh, I know there's a plethora
But as it is spoken in the Torah
Once a liar speaks
Their words fall on deaf ears.

Brightened sky, sunrise
Ending the start, beginning
A new end, rising

Plates of glass
My feet lay firm
Possibility of failure
Pushed to the background
In the foreground
Distant places, distant faces
On an island view
My legs, they move
The plates, they shudder
Always the first move
That trips up a recluse
Surfing on shards
Of the courage that remains

The den of secrecy
Locked with no key
For even the warden
Misplaced it long ago
Always wondering, where it has gone
Only to move forward
As they forget to look backwards
Memories are a splatter
Mosaic with no pattern
Thrown and tattered
Picking up the pieces long forgotten
Where does this piece fit?
When did this arrive?
Why is this here?
Whose mind is this?
Why can't the lock be broken?
A spiral, a cycle
But, the chains have yielded
Is now the right time...?

Arrows flung by the youth
War commanded by the ancient
Hey, get up
We have more to conquer
Hey, get up
We have more to fire
Hey, get up!
We have more of you to spare!
But you will never command my soul

Paths aplenty
That barely intertwines
Tell me
Why do we restrict ourselves?
Tell me
Why must we be one thing?
Why must our paths never cross?
Life, love, work, play
Separate lanes on the same road
But when I look around
Everyone seems fine
But how do they feel deep inside?
Happy memories soaked with familiarity
Modern diversion and division
Forged by hate and cruel indifference
It hurts to walk away
But I will never feel left behind