relishing in the happiness of my peers
And drowning in their sorrows-
Sympathy always has been risky
But I know nothing else to follow
~
Take another’s kindness-
And put it on display
So it can grow bigger with time
And set someone’s path on replay

Make a  friend, share another
No matter the cost-
Don’t let anyone feel at a loss

Show your feelings-
As you will take in others
And connect with those around you
Without remorse

Look at everyone-
Always as if for the first time
Using an eye of wisdom
To tell of their time
~
I look beyond to see one's true self with clarity-
And never look down on those who glare at me
Because all I seek in a world of pure hatred-
Is at least one shred of pure amity

Have you ever wanted-
To fall and land on your feet
To let your shadows creep into the light
To open your arms and scream to the world-
“At least I try!”

A dream is a knife
Your thoughts for a grip
And your feelings the blade -
You cut yourself up, piece by piece
Until there’s only a broken face

Are you ever glad you wandered?
This abyss is eternity
One less step, and you could’ve had everything
Everything but yourself-
But what’s that when you are all you have

Plucking a rose takes guts-
You must know the danger
As you pluck the flower of lust
Even though it may be the fairest flower
The drop of a petal can result in your ultimate shatter

You trip up on every step
Your life is broken by your sins
Your heart is shattered with your ignorance
Your personality means nothing, since everyone left
Have you ever wanted to know how else things could’ve went?

I shimmer in the light-
As I swim in the sea
Taking a random path around
As fitting as that sounds

I live for the spotlight
Though I’m the smallest  to be seen-
Gaining attention from my peers
Though I know I lack originality

Repeat repeat
That’s the fastest way to fame-
Being the class clown is never easy
Yet my jokes are always the same

School, who knew?
I have better things to do
Or at least that’s what I think
As long as I can avoid responsibility

Have you ever had a dream?
Well sometimes, I think of my wish
One that will end all my trying
And I can be free as a fish

Stomping on the ground
BOOM
Yelling, yet no sound
BOOM
I wear my invisible crown
BOOM
So unnoticed by the crowd
Yet on the inside I’m screaming
I have personality!
Boom
Boom
Boom
Look over here
A person needing help
Come to my aid
Before I’m buried by my shell
I cry out loud
When someone appears before my eyes
I reach out my hand
But i’m stopped yet again
My mind- is yelling
ButI  I think
“My heart tells no lies”
And so the tune continues on
Boom Boom Boom!

Midnight marks the darkest hour
And I lay in bed awake-
As I listen to the tiptoes of an intruder
Trying to be sneaky tonight

A lean figure appears in my door
A smile on their face

I swoon as he stands in the moonlight
Gleaming in all his dark glory-
Mystery always did have a wonderful lure

Everything about him spoke a million questions
The true embodiment of mystery -
Such as
Why would this fellow visit me in the dark of night?
There were thousands resting just alike

My mystery man stalked closer,
No caution displayed openly-
And as he reached out his gloved hand
I felt sparks ignite my form

Wonderful!
I shot up from bed-
The shock was evident on this greek god
But I could care less

I was done playing games
I asked him his purpose
His reason
For tempting me when the night has grown so cold

He vanished-
Once my fingers grazed him,
He was gone as if he hadn’t come
And yet again, I was all alone

The mystery man visited me every night-
same time same place
But once we touched he was gone
So I wondered if I was going crazy instead

As time grew on
I began opening my arms wider
To the dark mystery that was this man
And eventually, he joined me

We became one
Madness and all
Some say things aren’t always what they seem
And perhaps they were right

My mystery man
Now clear as day-
Is no man in truth

A man is a monster
A darkness
My darkness

He filled me with fear
And anguish
And madness

Those who cannot resist the temptation
Risk losing more than just that-
They risk their sanity and mind
And revert into their darkest side

The temptress always so evil
Will wear you as a ring-
And mold you to their liking
Until you can't think a thing

Beware of midnight visitors
Though they seem perfect so-
They are filled with more lies then mystery
And it has truly come to show

A sunny afternoon blocked by shade
Made brighter by the wind, whisking everything away
Though bits and pieces still-
What’s new? There always will
The sun seems so far off
But the moon is green in envy
Who else could compare to the beams of beauty?
Because even after setting, making all those stares so jealous
The sun will rise again, always so overzealous

The dawn of dusk turns gold to dust
The moon shares my loneliness-
A sliver of thread comes out the hem
Of my finely crafted soul

A whisper lost for sound
Spoken ever so slightly-
Is the tale of those forever loved
That leaves my heart unsightly

A knock in the chest
Is the gale pulling me forward-
Inching me through my fate
Still moving in a haze

A fall would be an escape
This thought echoes in my head-
Encouraging the drop so certain
Proposing an end to this dread

Now walking on a web of steel
Following the intricate delicacy-
Of the memories I once foresaw
Buried six feet under

The lightest touch so soft
A feather to tease my soul-
Daring me to follow the day as it shrivels
Pushing the last bits of gold to their extent

Although, drop so tempting
I vow to hold my ground-
trudging on past my history
And viewing the morning sun

A tale full of mystery
Only half told-
Lights a slight curiosity
In the heart of the soul

Though dim surrounded by beams of  expectations
It speaks wonders in such few words-
And while seemingly harmless
Grows brighter along with its allure

A light almost unseen
Enough to keep any heart warm,
Cures the darkness of the night
With its illicit charm

Created by the mood of one's thoughts and actions
It varies in size and saturation -
And depending on the person, it will shine
Drawing other lights in with time

It lives within the soul
And seeing it may be strenuous
But everyone has it
And with time, they realize they too are luminous

Hiding in the attic
I couldn’t take it anymore
The fighting was erratic
And everyone thought me a bore

Cries sounded around
Yet I was silent
The others were upset again
Sounds like one went to town

The sound of footsteps filled  the air
Like a cricket in the dead of night
Slowly making their way closer
Til I was frightened by an awful sight

A putrid smell filled the air
Liquor drank just before
This THING came to stare at me
Then there sounded a familiar roar

Laughter
It found me funny
How- I know not
There was no humor in the situation at all

Walking closer
it smelled me like a rose
Then dropped to my feet
And began mumbling by my toes

There it was again
The laughter
It laughed to the air
Which filled the empty walls of my lair

I was done watching this unfold
I took my bat and smashed and smashed
Crack!
I bashed every bone I could now see protruding from it

I looked to see it laughing-
Still!
I swung until I couldn’t
But that wasn’t enough

The roaring went on forever
It would never stop
I ran downstairs toward the door
And kept my legs going on, until they made me drop

Down the street
Through the park
Into the store
Right into the aisle

Before I knew it, I was home
in the attic
Listening to the roaring again

My mind, crystal clear
My mother laying there
Broken on the attic floor\
Her eyes giving me a dead stare

Using the item from the store
I sank it deep in my heart
Yet my knowledge  hurt it more
So I did it again

My life was never easy
But I always had my family
My mother may have hurt me
But I was her life

I couldn’t believe myself
How could one be so cruel
I thought she was frightening
But it doesn’t compare

I am her life
As she is mine
A common love really
That cannot be undermined

Death was a nightmare
Yet not  even real
I would die a thousand times
But my heart would be broken still

I thought I've seen monsters
Had a few experiences scored
But humans are the true haunters
And I am the most horrid

Falling through the cracks
Life-gone still
No breaking til i’m back
I don’t just live for the thrill

I can feel myself tripping
Crack
Crack
Crack
I could go on forever listing-
All the things holding me back

Life breaking before my eyes
Grabbing for strings-
Falling in the process
As they pass me by

An all time low-
You’d know if you've been there
Feel like time moves slow
And you’re just watching

A glimpse of hope?
Shrouded by darkness
A feather in the wind?
Smashed with my loved ones
A picture of me?
I’ve changed too much-who am I really

Time to let go-
You can’t hold on forever
No bits of hope-
Cause I’m tripping in the darkness

Tick-Tock
As time goes by
Moving along with a purpose

Tick-Tock
Ending the old
Beginning the young

Tick-Tock
Yielding to none
Stopping for nothing

Tick-Tock
Recording life
Creating eras
Continuing years

Tick-Tock
Embodiment of love
Creator of space

Tick-Tock
Running out
Spin into oblivion, but it won’t stop

Tick-Tock
Time is a mystery
But it creates history

Tick-Tock
Coming to an end
Moving to its final destination
Bringing everything with it

Tick-Tock
Builds a rhyme
A poem
A hymn

Tick-Tock
Ruler of space
Of earth
Of us

Tick-Tock
When it stops
So do we
And everything, that is

Tick-
A whirlpool of emotions comes crashing in
The rhythm of your heart beats out of tune
You control your time
When it’s up, you decide

-Tock
When you’re done
You stop the clock
Turn off the lights
And hear your last sound;
Though pleasant to the ear, dangerous as time
Tick-Tock

Children, parents, pets
Lining the streets
Looking through shops
Enjoying treats

Youths laughing heartily
No troubles in mind
Parents mingle among each other
Nobody shows worry; not even a sign

Pets bark at everything in sight
Running around with delight
All unaware of what’s to come
For that may be the last time they run

Workers bustle in their stalls
Bartering and selling
Earning their last dollar
As they begin to hear the calls

Men in uniform come running
Warning people of what’s coming,
Though it is all in vain
Since the gates were closed that day

Screams erupting through the streets
Chaos reigning all throughout
Fumes spilling over town like a sheet
Silencing those who couldn’t escape town

An explosion causing the ground to shake
Bodies littered astray
Pleading cries filling the empty space
But nobody could see through the blaze

All gone after the blow
Children, parents, pets
Once cheerful, and lining the streets
Looking through shops
And trying all of the treats
Now laying, still on the ground’
No laughs or barks
Just big ashy mounds

Uniformed men stop calling
But instead creating a massacre of their own
Filling more streets with bodies
Unsuspecting of what was to come

Riding on the waves of those around you
Copying their stance to get it right
going til they stop since that’s what they do
Yet they still laugh just in spite

Drifting away, with your hope
Of ever finding riding partners;
You’ve found none no matter how you scope

Finding a wave to call your own
Riding along with your own moves
Doing a twist though it’s against what you were shown
Now nobody can even hope to match your groves

Spotting a rider all alone
Drifting on a board so out of place
But you help them make their true colors show
Red
Blue
Green
Suddenly their loneliness is gone without a trace

Copying others was no easy feat
So now you follow the waves with an individual rhythm
And find it to be one of the easiest things
Now you create your own waves
And help other people find their wings

Walking alone, like there’s no tomorrow
Because is there really, when my only friend is sorrow?

I wallow in pity, for myself
Wanting attention for my mental health

An adolescent who only sees it their way,
Makes up half the population so these things happen everyday

Climb on the bridge with no actual plan,
But i’ll come down when i’ve played out this scam

Looking around at my foes, calling them names
Attention seeker
Attention seeker
Attention seeker
This is just the way it goes

Doing obnoxious things, to gain popularity,
Breaking my bones for the game
It makes some of us wonder, if it’s even worth the play

Not like the others, so I got kicked down
Screaming ****** ****** but out comes no sound

Am I heard, I question myself
But i’m not mute, so it must be everyone else

Only me on my mind
Not caring for the unfortunate,
Yet I still call myself kind
But this is just how it is, so nobody is willing to scorn me for it

  The newest generation
Is strange it seems;
With no confrontation
And twice the mental needs

“Gen z” we say proudly,
Yet what do we have to our name?
A couple of jokes,
And a few weird games

Of course adults don’t understand
Since we don’t try to make sense,
But” that’s the point” some say,
As an excuse for our mistakes

How to be scared of the unknown
For there is nothing to see or hear;
For us to fear

Knowing a truth, but telling all lies;
Seeing a scute, saying a hide
Hearing a hoot, saying a cry
Feeling a root, saying a snipe  

What is seen behind a light
What is seen late at night
What is seen walking alone
What is seen inside a  home

Looking at nothing;
But something in truth
A dark figure
A monster askew,
A hand on the wall
A blur of blue

What is perceived to be;
Is suddenly  true
Says the fox,
With no sympathy for you;
A meal on mind,
Which  makes you food

When fear is analyzed
truth shines through,
Lies realized
A scute
A hoot
A root
A shadow, clear as day
A fan creaking as you lay
A light switch there lay, on the wall at night

The Unknown is oblivion,
For there is no end
See what you want;
Night or day
Clear as water;
Affected by a ripple
A ripple caused by you;
Unhappy with the reflection

Find the light masked by vision,
Hidden within;
With unseen precision

Unravel the tale,
see through the lies;
The act

Observe closely,
As not to miss it;
A  glimpse of the hidden

The beauty within;
Hiding from the world
Can be found ;
With closer inspection

Ask a question
Tell a truth
Share a secret

Be open
Share  light with the surrounding darkness

Tell the tale of the flower;
Though it may seem bright,
There are many untold sequences
That help it to thrive

Use metaphors to convey a past,
Show what shall be seen,
Shine through at last
To  tell the tales of what was once unseen