I never wanted to be
As still as the stone
Though,  even the mountains
Slowly erode away

Time flows like rivers
Winding up and down
Rapids here,  trickles there
Always in motion

Hearts thump with purpose
Though, sometimes erratically so
The anxiety of the end
Coming ever closer

The spirits come and go
Passing through the veil
Heed their warnings though
You'll follow their trail.

It's the part of the story, that
You can't quite put into words
Despite the message being sent
Through written symbols and prose

It's the point where the science is
Dissolving into ether
The solution is clear as day
Burning bright in your center

It's the similies we see, when
Peering into the cosmos
Black holes spiral the galaxies
Like Iris casting rainbows

There's an art to the way you walk
In teaching children to talk
The purest act of creation
To learn love and expression

Time has an incredible knack, for
Marching us into the next chapter
Pages turn by light of your lantern
Guiding me back home

I built a life of fame and fortune
Paved my way to riches and stardom
When lightning struck, I watched it crumble
Left with only stone

Vanity and Lust wrought my twenties
Greed and Wrath spent all of my plenty
The cost of life's lessons is our Envy
Gluttony for truth

Transitioning into thirty three
Searing flames of holy prophecy
Right hand scribbles my biography
Pride has sold my youth

We pay our dues in isolation
Growth consuming the old foundation
The desert teaches moderation
The Sun's golden hues

When you hear thunder roar
It's hard to imagine
You could be the one in a million

But when the static in the air
Makes your hair stand on end
The realization comes fast as lightning

We are all so flawed that
When we attempt to trace
The face of divinity
The names scrawled frantically
Carving ink into our skin
All of our moral failings
The meaning lost in translation
Though we try again and again
Allah doesn't ring the same as
Yahweh

Can you still feel their pain?
Or have we forgotten pleasure
Try to bleach away the stains
Blood left on your treasures

Bury the coins down deep
And lock away the guilt
While choking on the key
My inky guts spilt out

I'm sick on melancholy
Numb to what's right or wrong
The ship has sailed, behold her glory
Sirens wail, so great their song

Stories told by word of mouth
Gossip scribbled out a map
X marks my heart, 10 paces South
Tricked again, fell in the trap

The clash of steel, the smell of smoke
Aye, I gouged out his eye again
Nay, just another sad bloke
Who's plans went awry Captain

As I patched up my face, and dusted my coat
A crack in the mirror split across my soul
The two parts of myself, the survivor and the ghost
Both covered in blood from others we stole.

I'm just an artist
There's nothing I can paint
That will staunch the bleeding of children
Running in the hallways
Terror streaking across their faces
Dripping sweat and tears dry
The after math is a class on
Thoughts and prayers.

I'm only an artist
There's nothing I can sing
That will stop them from drilling
Miles and miles deep the chemicals leak
Water isn't what it used to be
But gas ain't cheap, and
Neither is that mansion your
Representation bought
Across the street

I'm a humble artist
There's nothing I can write
That will regrow the forests that burn
I need the paper to wipe
And the ash fills my lungs
So I exhale my feelings onto
Blank white sheets hoping
To make a difference.