They're here
and there
and everywhere.

Their eyes stare
daggers into me.
They fly around me,
ready to swarm at any moment.

They will not leave me alone.
It has to come to this.
Who will be the one
to fly away first?

They're just out in the yard,
They won't go out of sight.
There's nothing to worry about,
The kids are alright.

Sometimes they get bullied,
or beat up in a fight.
But it's part of getting older,
and the kids are alright.

So what if they're lonely,
or cry out in the night?
Believe me when I tell you,
the kids are alright.

Nothing bad is going to happen,
though you think it might.
Just trust me on this:
The kids are alright.

I feel the fire against my skin,
the embers dance against the ashes.
Brilliant pyres of light stream down,
In eruptive, blazing flashes.

The heat wraps me up, so intense,
in the middle of this furnace.
I feel a strong and primal fury,
thrashing at my epidermis.

You may call me an unstable fool,
but there are secrets I have learned.
That's why I'm here, amidst the flames,
with no fear of being burned.

She tempts me.
Teasing me from a distance
with eyes as beautiful
as the glow of a diamond.

She beckons me,
Begging me to come closer
With lips as red as roses
in a spring garden.

But it is not to be.

Rather than enjoy the splendor
of the one I want.
I instead endure the madness,
of the one I cannot escape.

Reality, it seems
is a harsh mistress.

Nothing's amiss,
I just want a kiss,
but perhaps life just
can't be as simple as this.

Got in a fight,
In the deep of the night,
and messed up my sense
of wrong and of right.

And so I will go,
on to what, I don't know.
My road ahead? Treacherous.
The journey is slow.

Fabulously decadent.
Amazing and powerful.
Incredibly tantalizing.
Lovely and enticing.
Unreal beauty and grace.
Ravishing, like a brilliant rose.
Endearingly joyful.

Young man, look at my life.
Was it worth the pain and strife?
Jagged like a rusty knife,
That's been left out in the cold.

Went in search of paradise,
Saw my dreams in front of my eyes.
But as the days and years rolled by,
I put them all on hold.

Walked the road that most men walk,
Settled down and punched the clock,
Now, I'm grey and taking stock
of everything I lost.

Trust me son, you don't want this,
faded dreams and a bucket list,
A life spent far away from bliss,
with all the pain it brought.