I know to be alive is to breathe
But what does it mean to live

Not just being alive
But rather living the life

Internal conflict rife
Cutting me like a scythe

Maybe when I count to five
The pill will finally end my strife.

But a light shines on me
She makes me feel free

Now I see
Life should be lived like a tree

The leaves may fall
But it remains standing tall

Branches may break
But a failure that does not make

Fighting against gusts
Despite pressure, it lasts

Provide shelter to those who need it
But keep around your wit

Do not lose hope
Even if you're hanging on a thin rope

For only in the darkness of night
Do the stars appear just right.

She was like none I’ve ever met
Meeting her I would never regret

Her quirks, fishing rods
Reeling me in with ease

When I’m at crowded places
Her silhouette is what I seek

I can’t help but wear a smile
Whenever she’s within a mile

I lack the courage to tell her this
And her image I always miss.

It’s Alurad’s turn to speak

Humans are cruel
Humans are a abomination
A problem to be dealt with

It’s Matches’ turn to speak

Humans are curious
Humans are in need
A species to be saved

It’s Nook’s turn to speak

Humans are mysterious
Humans are the fluttering in my chest
A source of warmth that eludes me

It’s your turn to speak dear reader

sleepless nights are my blight
stuck awake beyond first light
there is no fight

within the darkness and shadows
I hope to find the peace I picture in meadows
yet turmoil is all there is when my head hits the pillows

I run and hide
try as I might
still filled with fright

trapped in my head
feel like I’m being played
an annoyance that doesn’t fade

anxiety grips me
yet I’m not sure I want to be free
whisper to the world: "don’t just leave me be"

Life is like the ocean
Vast and deep

Sometimes there are storms
And it feels like you’re sinking to the bottom of the sea

Sometimes it’s calm
And you feel so peaceful. So tranquil.

But one thing's for sure
Nothing is ever constant

Things come and go in waves.
Some big. Some small.

Live not trying to separate the waves.
For every wave makes up the ocean that is to be.

7 billion on this earth
Each one beautiful from birth
But so many concerned about their girth
Focused on getting the curves
They forget to give themselves love

Everyone is beautiful and unique
Or as the French say; magnifique
We’re all the same, no one’s a freak
If someone says otherwise, don’t give them a kick
Instead, give them a kiss on the cheek

For violence only adds to the animosity
Use love to generate positivity
Pave the way using generosity
Think before you say, have some sensitivity
Toss out all the negativity

And just love yourself.

In our last breaths,
memories would be all we possess.

All the laughter and sadness,
all the sorrow and madness

Tales of pain and regret,
may we forgive and forget

But as time progresses
our mind regresses

Turn distant and foggy memories will
these voids we cannot fill

There will come a day
forget these times we may

Though we may forget.
try we must, to live without regret.

What's with the world we live in
There's nothing we believe in
What's the point in living
They say keep believing
So suffocating, barely breathing

We were filled with hope
Now barely hanging by a rope
How are supposed to cope

Tryna do things our way
Stop making trouble go away
Driving us to the fray

But amongst all the gloom
We will not meet our doom
And although clouds loom
Our abilities we will groom

A sorrowful gust of wind blew in-between you and me,
I shivered in the cold yet you remain untouched.
For a long time, I chased your shadow.
Afraid of losing sight of you.
afraid of forgetting how you looked like.

But as time rolled on, so did we.
Drifted apart from one another.
The fear of being left behind gone.
Replaced by the fear of hearing your voice,
the fear of seeing you,
the fear of missing you again.

All the strangers that I’ve met
Tell me things I can’t forget

Khalid says we’re all young dumb and broke
And yea I agree, hopes and dreams gone up in smoke

Yea, I get that I am blessed
That much I confess

But can’t they see the mess?

Economy so bad
How can I not fret

University so expensive
Just looking at it makes me apprehensive

Don’t even bother looking at HDB
Too expensive for me

Do they not see?

People tell me to go find some comfort in god
But I find it kinda odd

To seek help from something not in sight
How can something like that understand our plight

Why do we pray in a church
To someone who leaves others in the lurch

What do they see? [purge]

They say the future is ours
They say we got the power

Sorry can’t afford that
Maybe I’ll ask dad

Oh wait he’s never home
Hell, he’s even less useful than a garden gnome

Guess they can’t see

Things people plant in my mind’s interior
Makes me feel so inferior

With all the doom and gloom
How can we be expected to bloom

With the future looking so bleak and uncertain
Maybe it’s time to bring down the curtains

Guess they’ll never see

Our time together was brief,
Yet the bond ran deeper than a reef.

Your departure was too soon,
Needless to say I wasn't over the moon.

I still feel your touch in my palm,
A strange chaos within my state of calm.

Just want you to know I truly cared,
About your wellbeing and how you fared.

Your being and presence will be missed,
This is as far as we go, here's a goodbye kiss.

It’s 2003
Brother’s almost 3
Where did you go Papa?
Some place far far?
I missed you papa.

It’s 2006
Almost primary 3
Another in the house
Quickening my pulse
Soon to be, Spouse

It’s 2009
Another sister’s 3
Where are you papa
No one to set the bar
Failure never far

It’s 2012
I’m secondary 2
Always playing a fool
Why’s the world so cruel
Failure became my fuel

It’s 2015
Almost year 2
Emotions run rife
Hatred is my drive
But love I am not deprived

It’s 2017
I will not be the one
Hatred, still my drive
Obsession keeps me alive
Stay away from my life

We created constructs that touch the skies.

We invented crafts that reach the moon.

Yet for all our technological advances,

There is still war.

How many more must be lost,

before we recognise,

not a scientific theory or tool,

but rather a simple fact.

The reality that the only victor in war is death.

We may have touched the skies,

we may have reached the stars,

but we cannot grasp the insanity of war.

And until we do, can we truly call ourselves a civilisation?

"We are so intelligent and do such astonishing things. We can fly to the moon and yet still do such stupid things." - Ken Sturdy, Dunkirk Veteran.