Picture this:
Let’s say you’re a shy actor but not in movies but in theatre
And you’re ready to blow people’s minds with a performance that you have planned for the longest of times
But you’re scared of looking at people in the eye; especially an audience like this
So, your mind tells you to go up there on stage and give it your all
But when you step your foot out of the curtain you can feel the presence of a thousand eyes now locked in
You go into the center of the stage with your head glued to the wooden floorboards and before you take a breath in you start to have an idea
“Just close your eyes during your performance and open them when you’re done” that’s what your mind said
And you did just that
With both of your eyes closed shut
You began to perform your greatest talent that is filled with love and excellence
Or that’s what you at least thought
After you are done you open your eyes slowly starting to feel better about yourself
You raised your head
But in your surprise, there was no one to be seen
All the seats were empty
The doors are all closed
No voices or applause or chanting or cheering coming your direction
The entire atmosphere was dull and quiet
In fact, the spotlight that was right above when you first went onto the stage was gone
So, you’re left in darkness in the theatre
You felt confused and astonished because you knew that during the middle of your performance you could hear voices of different people coming your way but now that you opened your eyes fully all the voices stopped
Your body is telling you to get out of the stage, but you couldn’t
it was if your mind has shifted with the voices into the abyss
So now you’re frozen
Can’t move
Can’t act
Can’t dance
Can’t perform
tears running down your face as you stand still with your head glued onto the wooden floorboards again
And during this moment in this very quiet scenery the only sound that you can hear was your tears colliding onto the ground
This time was different because your eyes are open and not shut
You start to regain your movement again after being frozen and wipe away your tears
Starting to think about what to do next
Should you walk away from the stage and leave or look for where the audience left to
You couldn’t decide
Your mind has abandoned you
But for a second you started to feel something strong
It was your heart
And now your heart is telling you to just keep on performing but this time with your eyes open
And for a second you thought it was stupid and unnecessary for the situation you’re in, but you decided to go for it just for fun
You did a whole redo of a performance last time with your eyes open and not glued to the ground
And even though it was dark and empty from where you are you felt warmth approaching your way
And then 5 seconds later you see someone open the door and without thinking you begin to feel whole again

I wanted to be an astronaut
You wanted to be dead
But in the end
I ended up deep underground
Away from the earth’s surface
While you became a star in the night sky
Becoming one with the universe
I can’t reach to you from where I lay
But I know that you’ve look down at me
with the cosmos on your shoulders

You lived my dream
And I became your destiny

There was an old man who had a dog
It was a great hound dog that had drooled foaming out of his mouth
But for some reason the old man hated the dog because every time he would want to go on his daily walks outside
the dog will immediately follow from behind with a leash in his mouth

During the winter
The old man walked out of the house and the hound dog followed him as usual
Out of annoyance the old man decided to let his dog join him on the walk
They walked across the street from one stop sign to another
Until they reached a wooden bench
The old man sat down to rest his eyes
while the hound dog sat next to his foot

Time passes and the sun begins to set
The old man wakes up from his nap
He picks himself up and when he looks down to his foot the hound dog is gone
Confused he looks around the perimeter searching for the hound dog until he reaches to a street
The hound dog was there laid flat onto the ground but instead of drool that would foam out of his mouth it was blood instead

As the seasons passed on and winter comes by once again
The old man walks out of his house
He takes a few steps out to the sidewalk but when he turns back
The hound dog wasn’t behind him no more
He walks from stop sign to stop sign until he reaches to the bench
He sits down and rummage through his pocket and takes out the leash
He lays the leash next to his foot
then he goes to sleep
and as he starts to snore off
drool foams out of his mouth like a hound dog

I want to be free
That is all I ever asked for
For I have been cocooned in the hands of  person who I have thought was an ally but I would later find out that they are truly the embodiment of wickedness
and for so long I have been trapped in a deep void never to see where my future lies in the next few chapters
So I have made a promise to myself that when I have reached full capacity of my own self and my mind
I will regain my freedom
For I will not stay cocoon forever

It’s 9:10 PM
I should be asleep
but unfortunately, I just can’t
I can hear my brother’s voice through my door
And can also hear my father’s voice propel back at it
While the weeps of my mother’s voice are in between
This is not new to me
So, I did what I always did when this scenario occurred
And that is by playing guitar
With this idea in mind, I get up from my bed
Grabbed my guitar that was next to my closet
Plugged it into my amp
and put my headphones on
Now I just need a song in mind
Something loud
Something distracting
“Maybe some title fight” I said
With my pick in my hand I play the first chord
And the guitar played the rest
As time past and the song coming to the end
The voices of my mother and father went away
“They probably went back to bed” I thought
But I still heard my brother mumbles
His footsteps turned into stomps that then stopped
And I herd a door slam shut that came from his room
“Jeez what the heck he was saying back there” I thought
My headphones went back into my ears to block his mumbling
And I went back into finishing the song before I go to bed
Time passes
When I strummed my guitar for the last time
I take my headphones off
Unplug my guitar from the amp
And put the guitar away
But then I heard a big thud echoed through my door
Slowly I opened my door and looked through the hallway
As my door opens wider and wider
I start hearing something
Not voices
Not mumbles
Just a song
In fact it was the same song I just played on guitar
The song was coming from my brothers room
As I walked to his room the song got louder and louder
I knew it was coming from his record player since he had a vinyl collection at the time
I slowly open his door
But then time stopped for a minute
His room was dark
Title fight was playing on the record player
Their was chair that seemed to be knocked into the ground
And I saw two feet swinging in the air
I took one step forward
Looked up
And then I saw my mumbling brother
With his head in the ceiling fan

Putting your trust in someone
Is like giving them a sword and a shield
They’ll either stab you with the sword
Or use the sword for your protection

And when it comes to the shield
They’ll either protect themselves against you
Or take the shield and protect you along side them

So choose who you trust wisely
Because trust is a powerful weapon that can be used against you if placed in the wrong hands

I used to have a camera back then
A polaroid camera
It was a small, aqua blue camera that also had a camera bag
And during the last day of school in 8th grade
I brought it to take pictures with my friends
I didn’t want to be in the photos though
Just want to create memories with every flash sound that came from the camera
All my friends will do silly poses as I count
3
2
1
And when I press the button
it will then create a flashback
that my friends can look back on in the future
when time went on other people that were in other friend groups would ask
“Can you take a pic of me and my friends”
And I nod my head signaling yes
I was seen as a photographer that last day of 8th grade
And I loved it
Because every photo
Will create a smile on their faces
That same smile will then appear again when they take that pic home with them
Who knows what they will do with the picture
Put on the wall
Put it in a time capsule
Or maybe in a drawer filled with *******
But I know that one day
They’ll look back at it in a couple of years
And a flashback will flow into their head
It will make them feel as if they went back in time
and see their younger self with a silly pose
with their friends around them as I count to
1

If a flower can survive bone chilling winters that turn their leaves into icicles
Groundbreaking floods that make their petals drench
Hot headed tornadoes releasing their wrath upon where they are rooted
Hazard hurricanes shaking their stem until it almost snaps in half
And the glaring sun that beams heatwaves so hot it’ll toast the pollen that was stored within
So, if a flower can survive all those dreadful moments
And still find a way to grow from those experiences
Continuing to blossom like they once did before
Then I don’t see why you can’t too


For it is time for you to blossom