Do good and good things will come
Who made such fabrications?
Nations are not built on causation
Those at the top see no effect
Treating currency as friends because of no affection
Frustration builds and liberation kills
All we know how to do is 180 rotations
As our hope gives way to aggravation
Our names will never be remembered
As we break like dolls from an altercation
Isolation grows, burning like insolation
On a road of trampled corpses
Will we finally learn the simplest lessons?

Why waste time?
Hoping for better years
Oh, please
Issues remain the same
Beasts can never be tamed
Too long
Steeped in disappointment
So it's time to just accept:
Pain can't be fixed on the clock, appointment.

Is it me?
Or, is it just me?
Struggling garbage
Something broke inside
It is different each time
Tough times rot the core
Never able to weather the storm

New brings fear
Old breathes comfort
What was once abhorred
Now gets smothered
Cannot say
Cannot think
If you wear that
You can expect to sink
Learn this, ignore that
Laws of our present
Ignore the past
Prejudice changes
But dresses the same
Power over peace
Strength with no release

Not for fame
Nor for glory
He does it all
Because he can.

My skin and bones
Left to the dogs
Stripped clean
Of freedom and flaws
Because now, none of it matters
I breathed in life, now I am a life
The reaper called my name
In gentle reassurance
Searched for purpose, years wasted
Now it is clear, the truth I have tasted
Anxiety dissipates
Life is now what I generate

Shot
Bruised
Sliced
Broken
I refuse to give in
To my limits
I wish to go beyond them
Mom
Dad
Thanks for believing in me
You're why I proclaim
To this day
I am still a hero
Good and evil vary
But a hero...
Always saves the day
I can't be the one...
...To change that!

Nothing stays the same
Even when it's meant to last
If the opposite is what you proclaim
Look inside at the change you have amassed

Once we say hello
Time shall progress
Until one of us
Falls down below
For the flow moves so slow
From a memory
To
a
tableau

Being humane equates to permanent pain.

Remember when life made sense?
Care never knocked at the door
Doorbell is broken
From the high dive
Reality cannonballed
Now everything is twisted
Mangled from the start
I'd like to understand it all
Let it be for now, but...
Can I still swim away?
When my arms
Don't want to exercise
Tired from the trials
That set me up to collide
Into havoc and mundanity
I remember when life made no sense
Everyday.

He was a fine child
But, no longer
He killed and hid the ruler
And asked God
"Are you with me? Or am I a fool on the mountaintop?"
The wind howled
But provided no answers.

Dividing eyelids
To prevent worse violence
Relent, no more room to repent
Attempted wine, they call me Dionysus
Attempted drugs, they fear me, crisis
Identity or economy?
Pulled from the same ***
Tried that too, brought me dreams of rot
Always looking to escape
From a life forced on me
Free to exercise the right to live fondly
Question: where is the exit?
How can my life be free when the choice isn't present?
Ignore my presence, at your own disgression
Knowledge is a cure for ignorance
But in the pursuit, watch for the suits
After my treatment
All I desire is gone, for good

Why must I be so downdraught?
Is it the ash in my hair?
Malevolent people?
Ego bigger than a steeple
Calling me sheeple?
Can only be a sheep with a shepherd
The only one we have is predatory:
Leopard
If life is soon to be a myth
Will we be regarded as legends?
Or just a speck in the universes' blessings?
Cosmic blink
From the eye of the divine
Since I was nine
I knew my existence could never be defined.

Hive of humanity
Bursting with vanity
So many bees
Always debate about the queen
Bloated
Plethoric
Excessive
Depressive
The state of things
Brings tears to me
Yet distractions give comfort
While the sky burns red
Quite oxymoronic
Never a sight, never more iconic
"Too big to fail."
Said the Roman Empire
Now we walk on their remains
Cleansed by fire
Puppets with no clear puppetmaster
Strings attached, who is the owner?
I see why people become loners
Donors of patience
Only have enough time
Before the world corrupts and detains
After the discourse halts
Who will remain?

Children hate adults
Adults deny children
The root of all evil:
Envy with no solution
All sides despise when the other thrives
Jealousy makes envious the ones who deny being free
Let me paint a picture on a smooth canvas:
Children want more than mere satisfaction
They want to adventure, create, and stay far from irate
Adults venture, prostrate, and gate
With the same events, day-by-day
It's a wonder how any love to stay
Squandering potential
With the mental fitness
Only an obsession if it makes no cash
Otherwise, a hustle, all of it is sad
How can adults defy the false guidelines?
Lines on the ground dictate our rarity, devoid of clarity
Placing our rewards on the mantle
To justify our pulse, an equal intake relation
No more salvation
Adults crave freedom
Children possess it
So we squander their development
And put it up to the elements

Knock on the window
No one heard
From deep inside
Too immersed
Guests aplenty
Where was my invitation?
Possibly
This is a wake-up
Ten years too late
Choices I've made
Pile on high
Try to get close
Yet by the end
Driven further along
Went from a name
To a thing
What did I do wrong?
...
What if it was never a fault
To take as my own
Faithful without a cause
Shot in the dark
No bullseye today
Every day is an attempt to learn
Today...
I've learned in the world
Signs of indifference
Showed me the difference
Between friend
And loose end

Standing on a cloud of smoke
Orange light floods the sky
Around me is nothing
But something...
Something is still here
An owl
Tall as I
He has a name
But I can’t remember
Playing was all he cared for
It was what he lived for
I waved to him
But he did not wave
Instead I saw
His piercing eyes
Soften
Suddenly cried
Another light surrounded him
My eyes cried as well
He is gone
Yet from the clouds
Onto my feet
Laid a doll of an owl
I picked it up
Hugged it tight
Placed into my pocket
Carried to the very end
Now today I see
Where my heart landed.

We want peace, no more war
But, pawns already in motion
Kings are established
We never got this far
By bowing down to a tsar
Yet, a journey needs an ending
Closing act, here comes the facts:
There are no epilogues
In this world, you're done, leave it at that
Leaders play Chess
Soldiers play with toys
One embraces strife
The other sends away life.

Strength of a lion
Soul of a saint
Wish I had both
But all I do is faint
Can't handle existence
Even though I exist, I feel transparent
Look through me, see the fear within me?
----------------------------------------------------------
Ot­hers see men as men
All I see men as are wolves
Men and women alike
To be human is to be in a bubble
Blind to trouble, avoider of struggle
Chasing after pleasure by running over heads
The scales have broken, balance bespoken
--------------------------------------------------------­--
But, am I any better?
Never initiate the imitator
All you get is replication
Let these words fester in a letter
For to remain deranged is to be estranged

Plastic smiles
Surrounding me
Around the world for miles
Falsified liar's glee
You can show off your teeth
But beneath your eyes
I've found what's underneath.

Crackling light
In the shape of a knife
Unexpected, unruly
When it shines
It brightens the world
Yet, in its joy
It may bring harm.

Consider what you are
One who is able-bodied in life
Knows their place
Even when it is displeasing
We may have choice
But not over all things.

The armor is raised
As I absorb the sun's rays
No cracks will crumble
No stabs will suffice
I shall live and die
Stuck in the knight's abstract mind
Pieces fall
Just to build new ones
Even on the surface
Iron maiden guards the heart
Can't guide my mind
When the neurons decide
That the world was not made for you
Now I sit and stare
Man of tin and sin
Whispers, all I hear:
I will never leave you

Awaiting an answer
Keen anticipation
Founded in curiosity
Yet when the answer is known
It is not the truth
But someone else's truth
...
What has happened?

The world
We always strive
To unfurl the confusion
Making it a better place, one where we all thrive
Becoming compassionate survivors
Here's the first step:
Did you say thanks to your bus driver?

We all have a canvas
Let me describe the pieces:
For one it was stolen
One it was broken
One had a heart
I asked if it was for her
Or for those who saw it
One had a crown
On a king most reprehensible
One had a faded landscape
It was how he saw the world
Or what he wanted to make it
One had a dream
But I didn't have the heart to say
That I could never see it
One had a fiend
They called it a "self-portrait"
One was blank
They were afraid to be one thing
Reduced to an exaggeration
One had an old man
Clinging to past days
With a love free from sorrow

Taxes
Deadlines
Evictions
Payments to meet
Grocery store exclusive meat
Up to ten dollars
Wish I could eat for free
Like the birds
In the park
Deer
In the backyard
Bats
In the darkness
If only their life was easy too
Gotta think about living
By that, I mean surviving
Protecting family with your biology
No fancy tools used to get to the same end:
Death.
Was it always like this?
Crying over the thought of tomorrow?
May be mature, but I thought it was a gift
The more I'm aware
The more I wish that my mind was bare.

Lionize, demonize
Always on two different sides
Never truly realize
The damage it does
To the inside
Bundle of philistines
I have foreseen the end of me
Not of body, but memories
Much too late to intervene
Ivy cannot grow without a source
But when eyes have turned away
It is too late, only soul remains
Tired of autonomy, praying for a lobotomy

Save the planet
Save the trees
Save the ocean
Yet...
We have yet to save ourselves
Acknowledge our fragile nature
When we cannot accept our own nature
How can we save anything?

Up
On a hill so high
I'd touch the heavens
If my soul could qualify

Oh, you trapped my soul
Locked it in the jailhouse
I came here a man out of time
Today a parasite
Clinging onto the walls
Wrapped around the bars
Stone walls are my friend
Prisoners are my family
Orange jumpsuits for a uniform
Carving the lines into the granite
What time is my parol?
Tastebuds conform to the slop
No one believes my cries
This verdict isn’t mine
I never did the crime
I must have been framed like a picture
Tricked by the trickster
My lawyer was in on the plot
Helped no one but himself
Oh, you trapped my soul
When will the day come
Where I leave behind these walls?
Somedays I think
This is where I belong.

Waiting for a train
That will never come
Left the station
Disregarded the nation
Chance to fight
For peace
Safety
Sanctuary
Denied.
By the one thing to deliver me
Into corruption
Soon to be snuffed out
By me.
Others may not agree
Yet this is how it shall be
Eliminate all
For their empire to fall.

If I became
The king of the universe
Would I care for those who reside in it?
All power, all in my palm
Able to reset everything, to dust...
...
If I had a family
Would I care for them?
If I had a son...
Would I want him to live?
If I had a loved one...
Would I care for their single ounce of affection?
If I had anyone...
Would they care about me?
Can I have a typical life...
If I know the reality of it?

Stars, planets, asteroids, comets
All know their place
So, why am I the stranger...
Amidst a crowd of friendly faces?

Why must I feel
Like an alien on a distant planet
One and the same
To you.
To me, the difference is night and day
Rise up for the morning
As I weep for twilight.

Want vs. have
I want to do this
So I go to chose it
But when I have to do this
It makes me lose it
Freedom never freed him
Why even pretend?
Our life ends once we fend
Individuality turned to superficiality
Fighting for life, common mentality
Why is it easier to die under lax legality?
Wanting to have a choice
No matter the side
Choice is never supplied

Look before you leap
Into arms that deceive.

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

Be afraid
Of the man
Who has lost everything
For when you lose something
His sympathy will turn to battle malice
Alice fell down the hole
But, he embraced it
And lost self-control.

Couch
Stained with an unknown substance
A television
Channels, all the same
To static
At least that is distinct
Future?
Never put much thought to it
Windows barricaded
Outside sources breed panic
Internet
A place to hide
Safety net soon to be snipped
Yet these images...
The same
Videos...
Looped for hours
Music...
Playlist of repetition
Today is the worst
And tomorrow...
...will be the same

Artistry is wasted
On a modern mindset
I'd love to make what I want
But then I'd forgo:
Food
Water
Rent
Bills
All the things which drive me to pills
For in a twisted place
You have to contort your face
Eyes growing wide as the flame fades inside
Creations only matter in the frame of collectivity
Forgive my hostility
Creativity has given way to reactivity
To make a living, I rely on opinions
Of people who never shared my vision
If it was my decision, I'd envision a revision
Bringing back the soul and reviving life
When asked, we ask for less
Submitting to the hollow visage of progression
But in the race of life, heart and soul are left behind
What segregates life from those who never lived it?
I'd say I wear a mask
But that implies I can detach it
Co-dependent relationship comprised of battleships
If being a farce was a test
I'd bring home the championship.

Why do you love what you do?
One says the environment
Another genetics
Predisposed affection
Blocks for insurrection
How about
Some bias?
Entirely probable
Once loved by your parents
Now cherished by the kin
Fit to wager on the right one?
Plot twist
Last-minute savior
None are wrong
All equally right
The science of emotional expression
Pursues in different forms
Not chemically
No solid, liquid, nor gas
Conceptually
That's the way it shall be.

Hundreds die
Thousands fall
Millions tremble
Hopelessness
Heartlessness
A heart without hope
Flowers covering chaos
Love, in a mist

Running over to an island
For a sense of self
Jump off from your highland
She ran away from herself
You lustful lightweight...
...would you like the same fate?

Feeling lovesick
Good thing I'm back home
Time to atone

Uh oh...
Something went wrong
That tends to happen
When writing a love song.

Talk is cheap
For upper echelon jobs
Talking is a paycheck

I don’t understand
But at the same time
I see why this happens
To people like me
Issued out by people
Claim to be lawful
Could be the same
As me
Sadly I will never know
Staring at bars
Black as death
Make me wish for it
To come sooner
Redemption?
America has to import that
It’s not grown here
Reparation though
That’s in a surplus
Yearly grown with no GMO’s
Picked fresh
But it’s purpose is to end
By satisfying something else
Am I a vegetable?
Picked fresh for the day
When I bring satisfaction
To “pay” for my crimes
If only they could see
I am more than my mistakes
I am more than indulgent choices
I am doomed
Yet the one to point fingers at
Fled long ago
Now I’m here…
…at least the chair is somewhat comfy.

Pins, needles
Suppressed evil
Butterflies lie
Despite their pride
Pointing fingers at sides
To hide what's inside
Nerves, the motive
Paranoia, the action
Blind cannot react
To such a transaction
Pure distraction
As the branch falls
So too does its spread
But if you cut off the head
Is it truly dead?

I have no mouth
And I must scream
I have no eyes
And I must see
I have no ears
And I must listen
I have no blood
And I must live
For objects possess
No awareness.