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166 · Jan 2019
Shutdown
Stephen S Jan 2019
We cannot move.
We cannot cry.
We cannot love.
We cannot lie.

We cannot heal.
We cannot fear.
We cannot dream.
We cannot cheer.

We cannot laugh.
We cannot cope.
We cannot thrive.
We cannot hope.

We can only stay frozen.
Until someone sets us free.
165 · Aug 2019
The Kid on the Tracks
Stephen S Aug 2019
The wind rips through
my meager clothes.
As I walk down the
long wooden rows.

The forest is dark
and dense.
My pain is severe
and intense.

There's little hope
to be found.
In cold
and desolate ground.

If I go back to school,
they'll beat me.
Out here natures wrath,
may defeat me.

Still I plod on,
Awake and alone.
Hundreds of
miles from home.

Staring at a
weathered old map
to keep alive
my hope to go back.

But I've got almost
nothing to give.
Very little of my life,
left to live.

I wonder: When
everything's over
will they remember
the kid from October?
Written about Chanie Wenjack, a Canadian Inuit child who ran away from a religious school where he was abused and tried to hike 400 mils home in very cold weather. He made it only 13 miles before he collapsed and died on the tracks. You can look him up in Wikipedia for more info.
163 · Apr 2018
Bomb
Stephen S Apr 2018
Tick...Tock...

I feel it coming for me.

Tick...Tock...

Fear trickles through my bones.

Tick...Tock...

No room left for sanity.

Tick...Tock...

Our politics have failed us.

Tick...Tock...

Our egos have failed us.

Tick...Tock...

Our arrogance has failed us.

Tick...Tock...

And we have failed our children.

Tick...Tock...

There's not much time left.

Tick...Tock...

I suppose we can only hope...

Tick...Tock...

Doomsday won't be as bad as they say...

Tick...Tock...
...
...
        
BOOM!!!!!
162 · Mar 2019
Downward Spiral
Stephen S Mar 2019
Spinning violently through the air.

                       Terminal velocity is my friend today.

                                                  Faded memories flash in my mind.

                       As the rugged ground draws ever closer.

I see the taunting glares of the clouds.

                       My legs get cut out from under from me.

                                                   Life thrashes me around a little more.

                        Faster and faster, the descent into chaos.

I can’t help but start laughing.

                         As the world falls apart around me.

                                                   Maybe this is what I deserved after all.

                         I barely have time to say my goodbyes.

Before everything turns to black.
160 · Apr 2018
Dear World
Stephen S Apr 2018
I'm sorry I haven't seen you in awhile.

I've been off doing my own thing,
in a distant place.

Somewhere I can't see you,
Somewhere I can't feel you.

Somewhere you can't hurt me,
Somewhere you can't find me.

Before we were friends.
Then the storms came.
The ground shook beneath my feet,
and the forest turned to desert,
before my very eyes.

You might want me back,
but I don't think this is going to work anymore.

In the cosmos, your beauty glistens,
a jewel draped in sunlight.
So pretty, so overwhelming,
and so dangerous and petty.

Go ahead, act like I don't have a choice in this.
You think you know everything about me?
I hate to break it to you,
but there are plenty of other jewels
amid the stars.

So long and farewell then.
A new frontier awaits.
159 · Jun 2019
Scorecard
Stephen S Jun 2019
Ten grueling rounds.
Eight twisted shadows.
Seven broken bones
Four bruised ribs.
Three kicks to the gut.
Two knives in the back,
One ****** lip.
And a final, crushing blow to the head.

All that remains is the cold stench
of betrayal.

I have lost the war with my worst enemy.

Me.
158 · Jan 2019
Sentenced
Stephen S Jan 2019
I cannot find the right adjective.
The best of nouns elude me.
Suddenly, a narrow verb enters my mind.
But what to pair it with?

Articles and pages,
Expansions and contractions.
Pieces and fragments.

The grammar isn't working.
I'm not enamored by such an object.
Nervous, I am, and tense
I've built a prison with these words.
157 · Feb 2019
Live
Stephen S Feb 2019
Rusty chains,
Years old pains,
A faint soul awash in the rains.

Live free
and you'll see
what this existence can be.

Imprisoned
just isn't
the fate we envisioned.

Live free,
turn the key,
Just do it for me.

Metal bars,
And deep scars,
Are no replacement for stars.

Hear my plea,
and to a wondrous degree,
Live free.
157 · Jun 2020
Burning Questions
Stephen S Jun 2020
Why is understanding so elusive?

Why do we have to turn against each other?

Why does the tear gas sting so bad?

Why are they not listening to what we are saying?

Why did those people have to die?

Why is this flag in tatters?
157 · Jul 2019
Low Tide
Stephen S Jul 2019
It comes and it goes,
but why? I don’t know.
Just another little mystery
Of life I suppose.

It exposes and hides,
What nature keeps deep inside.
Sometimes it’s quite narrow,
others it stretches out wide.

It ebbs and it swoons,
By the will of the moon.
The old cosmic dance,
To a long ago tune.

It’s the unflappable motion,
from the heart of the ocean.
And to the grains of sand
Shows its quiet devotion.
156 · Jan 2019
Up/Down
Stephen S Jan 2019
I find my place
With the fear you will not forgive
the harms I caused you
I will always regret that night
fatigued and consumed
my eternal sentence
will pass down
the great judge
traps me in this prison
the deep of my loneliness
There are you are.
Be sure to read it both ways. ;)
156 · Apr 2019
Rear view
Stephen S Apr 2019
Didn't find what I came to find,
No calm moments, no peace of mind.
I'm off the grid and over the line,
So I can leave these **** things behind.

Didn't see what I came to see,
No restoration, no drive to be free.
Now on the road and I think you'd agree,
that whatever will be will be.

Didn't feel what I came to feel,
Just endless shadows, nothing was real.
Packed up when the lie was revealed,
and I'm not interested in cutting a deal.

Didn't learn what I came to learn,
Now I've been tossed aside, spurned.
And perhaps this thing I haven't earned,
but I'm gone now... and I'll never return.
155 · Mar 2019
What have you done?
Stephen S Mar 2019
This house lies in rubble.
A veritable pit.
Are there not more remains?
Is this all? Is this it?

My skin is damaged,
and stained with red blood.
Devastation comes
Like a torrential flood.

There was no sympathy.
We never had trust.
In the shadows of betrayal,
I fade into dust.
154 · Dec 2019
CRAZY/WILD/LOVE
Stephen S Dec 2019
Come with me tonight
my darling
and we’ll ride on beautiful rainbows
Across the expanse of a star filled sky.

The galaxy is our playground.
The majesty of all the planets
awaits us.
It’s an incredibly wondrous sight.

Even still,
I find myself unable
to shift my gaze from you.
As it was surely meant to be.
149 · Dec 2018
Skeleton
Stephen S Dec 2018
What is this shell that's left of me?
This bundle of brittle bones.

Cold. Dry. Lifeless.

There was a time they moved.
They laughed. They cried.

All of that is over now.

There are no gentle touches,
There are no flowing tears,
There are no joyful smiles.

What little of this soul remains
is drifting away
into an endless sea of white...
149 · Jun 2020
Glutton for Punishment
Stephen S Jun 2020
I know I should stay away.

I know I should heed the warnings.

I've lost track of all the times
I've been burned by your fire.

And yet still, I keep coming back.

Why do you do this to me?
149 · Jan 2019
FLY
Stephen S Jan 2019
FLY
Off the cliff.
Into the open.
Spread your wings.
Let the wind guide you.
Feel the embrace of the sky.
The horizon is the only limit.
148 · Aug 2018
Closing In
Stephen S Aug 2018
They're coming for me,
They're coming for me,
The walls begin to crumble.

The war is here,
The war is here,
Beneath me the surface rumbles.

I'll stay and fight,
I'll stay and fight,
It's my duty to resist.

With whatever I've got,
With whatever I've got,
I'll throw the iron fist.

Never forget,
Never forget,
The hell that happened here.

If I should die,
If I should die,
The war won't disappear.

There's not many left,
There's not many left,
But no one's going to leave.

Peace is so distant,
Peace is so distant,
Still, we march on and believe.
147 · Nov 2018
Home for the Holidays
Stephen S Nov 2018
Already been three sleepless nights,
Endless phone calls, connecting flights,
but I'm going to be there.

They lost my keys at the rent-a-car,
The road ahead is still very far,
but I'm going to be there.

The tank is about half full with gas,
My wits are shot, I'm low on cash,
but I'm going to be there.

I haven't eaten for a couple of days,
and I can barely see through the murky haze,
but I'm going to be there.

Be sure to leave the sheets turned down,
I promise I will not let you down.
I'm going to be there.
146 · Jun 2019
S.O.S
Stephen S Jun 2019
Hello?
Is anyone out there?
Is anyone listening?

You don't know me.
Or maybe you do.
Because I fear like you.
and I hurt like you.
and I grow lonely
like you.

I'm not asking for much.

I spend my days
surrounded by a blanket of madness.
I would give anything
for a hug and a smile.

Is anyone out there?
Is anyone listening?

Will anyone find me
before it's too late?
145 · Mar 2018
Extinguished
Stephen S Mar 2018
For so long I saw it coming,
but still I searched for an escape.
Now the book of life is changing,
and a new chapter's taking shape.

It's like the sunshine in my heart,
will not come out to shine.
Instead, I'm out here cold and lost,
What I have done this time?

You said we'd never change,
and I was your forever guy.
But now I've lost my range
and sometimes I wonder why I try?

I wish I could fly away instead,
but this thought's rolling around my head...

You're killing me today,
Like you've killed me every day.
And I wish that I could stay,
but it has to be this way.

Through the fire and the smoke,
We tried to make amends.
But maybe now my dear,
we're just better off as friends.

You know I never wanted this,
but I guess life had other plans.
I'll take what I can get out there,
but I don't have to be your man.

I wish I could fly away instead,
but I've still got this thing I dread...

You're killing me today,
Like you've killed me every day,
and you've lost your only sway,
'cause the truth is on display.
145 · Mar 2018
Where Angels Walk
Stephen S Mar 2018
Your heart was pure and decent,
Your spirit kind and good.
I love you more than anything,
and I did all that I could.

I watched you from the first day,
I saw you learn and grow.
You changed my life and warmed my soul,
In ways you’ll never know.

Now you're where the angels walk,
Safe from harm and fear.
And one day when the sun shines bright,
I'll join you there my dear.

It's never easy with the emptiness,
I don't like to be apart.
But on this journey that I'm taking
I'll always keep you in my heart.

No matter where I go my child,
No matter what I do.
I know one day, where the angels walk,
Once again, I’ll walk with you.

There was so much I never told you,
A world of wonder left to share.
Now I’m left with a hollow place,
That’s difficult to bear.

But I know you're where the angels walk,
in the shining glory of the sun.
My precious darling sweetie bug,
Your trial on earth is done.

When I shall finally go there,
To the wondrous golden shore,
I'll meet you where the angels walk,
and hold you forevermore.
144 · Sep 2019
September Blues
Stephen S Sep 2019
They say when autumn rolls on in,
beneath the reddish leaves,
There's a melancoly wonder that lives
just beneath the trees.

You won't find it there in August,
but as the calendar moves on,
There it will be waiting,
In the deep and early dawn.

There are some who love the harvest,
on the farms this time of year,
But there are others out there who
find only empty fear.

One day I saw a lonely girl,
On the edge of the rolling fields.
In a quaint moment of sadness,
a truth of the soul revealed.

Tell me darling, what's the news?
Is it summertime medleys
or September Blues?

She didn't say a word to me,
just stared long across the grass.
As if searching in the distance,
for some innocence long past.

A hint of coolness in the air,
carries echoes of the pain.
drowned out in the misery,
of a dreary morning rain.

Floating not too far away,
Is a lonely maple leaf.
Perhaps that's mother natures way
Of sharing in the grief?

At once a tear streamed down her cheek,
and the mystery overcame her.
It was as if right then the entire world,
had sought it out to shame her.

What road now, is it you choose?
The path of wonders
or September blues?

The little morning song continued,
the sun peered out from the clouds.
And in the middle of that field,
A desperate spirit tore the shroud.

The one that had ensconced her,
The one that shed her blood.
Trapped her in that inner prison,
and dragged her through the mud.

And here now the same girl, young,
but clearly somewhat broken.
Filling the sky with distant dreams,
and memories unspoken.

She looked back at me and smiled.
In her hand, a frail clover,
And one wish for a brilliant ride
On the fresh winds of October.

Do you see now, the misty ruse?
Is it a trick of the shadows
or September blues?
143 · Oct 2019
Hello
Stephen S Oct 2019
Do you remember me?

Does my soul echo in your mind?

Does my voice cry out to you in the dark?

Does my touch still dance across your skin?

Does your heart still beat in tune with mine?

Or have you forgotten

Every last wonderful piece of what we were?

If only I could know for sure.
143 · Mar 2018
Full Circle
Stephen S Mar 2018
This is the beginning of the end.
This is the fall from grace.
This is the pain that's been given me.
This is the quiet disgrace.

There went the last bit of harmony.
There went the best chance I had.
There went whatever was left of me.
There went the good from the bad.

Now I have nothing worth fighting for.
Now there's no comeback to try.
Now there are shadows and emptiness
Now I just sit back and cry.

Don't tell me this isn't permanent.
Don't tell me things that aren't true.
Don't wish me well from this moment on.
Don't think I'm listening to you.

Leave me alone in my emptiness.
Leave me to drift in the sea.
Leave me and don't think a thing of it.
Leave me to be what I'll be.

Promise me you won't come in search of me.
Promise me you won't be the one.
Promise me you'll know it is finished.
Promise me you'll know it is done.

This is the road I will wander down.
This is where I lose my friends.
This is where the wall comes closing in.
This is the beginning of the end.
142 · May 2020
I have to put the mask on
Stephen S May 2020
I'm not much for concealment.
I prefer to fight in the open.
But this an enemy I cannot see.

So I have to put the mask on.

I don't like hiding from you dear.
I've always been an open book.
But I've sworn to protect you.

So I have to put the mask on.

It's not exactly stylish,
and it pinches near my ears.
But I realize the dangers around me.

So I have to put the mask on.

Someday this will all be over.
We'll dance without any fear.
But right now it's about survival.

So I have to put the mask on.
142 · Jan 2020
Deal with the Devil
Stephen S Jan 2020
I made a deal with the Devil,
in a play to strike it rich.
Him the puppet, I the master,
but soon the roles were switched.

The money up and vanished,
right before my very eyes.
And the devil, loudly laughing,
Sent brimstone falling from the skies.

Sweat poring down my forehead,
and a most repugnant smell.
The newest slave among the demons,
In the darkest depths of hell.

No reprieve from all the gruntwork,
not a single chance of rain.
Just the Devil's fury,
And a sharp eternal pain.

The smoke forever suffocating,
I don't think I'll ever learn.
I made a deal with the devil
and now I've got to burn.
141 · Apr 2018
Below
Stephen S Apr 2018
Great sunken mistress
Take me to the depths of the sea.
Let me wallow in the whispers,
Coming from the murky darkness.

Iron giant slips beneath the surface.
The stars, now but invisible.
Moonlight can not touch her.
Cruel emptiness fills the air.

Barreling through the salty chaos,
In a desperate race for death.
Crashing into the muddy bottom,
She finds a watery grave.

In the lifeboats, lamentations.
The survivors far too few.
No Captain to take command,
He's gone down with his lady.

A young girl softly crying,
On this awful frigid night.
So little movement in the distance,
Is help even on the way?

At break of dawn, a rescue,
but no jubilation to be had,
Survivors far too few
and heartaches far too many.

Still, sunken mistress waits there,
For a day that won't ever come.
Just another dreary chapter,
in the great mysteries of the sea
138 · Apr 2018
Burial
Stephen S Apr 2018
There I am, it's kind of late.
Shadows abound.
What madness is this that condemns me?
The muffled screams fill the air
on a strangely naked night.

Guilty as charged.
Yes, I did the deed.
The punishment will be soon and swift.
More than a sentence,
I'd say I've earned a page or more.
Send me off to the gallows.
I am ready.

For I do not cry when good men die.
and I do not weep for the pain I keep.
I cannot undo the nature of what I am.
I cannot forego that which has been done.

So throw me in the hole!
Just like the rest of them.
I'll rest quietly in the shallow muck.
Good and strong and noble.

What else can it be, on the deathbed you see,
but the ashes that billow from my eternal pillow.

No grace in this here.
But that's how it goes.
I never wanted anything special.
Remembrance is for the honored.

For me, the end is very different.
I get no eulogies or dirges.
No songs or poems.
Just a rugged damp hole.
And if I'm lucky, a tear or two.

But this is who I am.
And it's too late to go back.
The pain has suffocated me.
136 · Mar 2018
Fireflies
Stephen S Mar 2018
There, on the edge of the Midnight river,
her cares get washed away.
Crystal clear, the endless current,
rides through the misty bay.

Through the fog, a tiny tear,
falls softly down her cheek.
For many years, she's nursed her wounds,
and fought through being week,

In the heart of the forest there,
she'll find that which she seeks.
Watching the tiny insects dance
Across the sky in streaks.

No secrets, no disguise,
No more fury in her eyes,
No deception, no more lies,
Just the glow of fireflies
136 · Dec 2018
Reality / Totality
Stephen S Dec 2018
I'm a good man, I'm just in a bad place
I have a heart for justice, for duty, for grace.

I was raised well and lived in a comforting space.
Taught good defeats evil in the duel of the fates.

As I grew up I found broken hearts, dire straits,
and a large group of people with tears down their face.

I feel as though everything I knew is slowly erased,
and I'm nothing but destined to lose in this race.

So I shall accept my new spot right outside of the gates,
in realization of my rough, new found state.

I'm just small drop of white in an ocean of grays,
I'm a good man, but I'm in a bad place.
136 · Jun 2018
THE PLANK
Stephen S Jun 2018
Go out there now ye varmint ****,
You'd best move fast now. Run, run, run.
Ye mustn't take me for a fool,
I was watching when you broke the rules.

Slashed the ropes and loosed your lip,
tried to wreck my dear old ship.
Bad for you this pirate be,
Now find your grave fresh in the sea!

One step, two steps, three steps, go!
No mercy heathen, **, **, **!
No more gold nor *** for you,
No more plunder, no more stew.

I wouldn't save ye if I could,
now go on and walk that piece of wood.
Before long I'm sure You'll know
No mercies from the muck below.

The boys are here to watch the sentence,
and there shall be no appeal or repentance.
The jury ruled, the judge has spoken,
and the fury of the waves has woken.

Pray if ye want, it's your last breath.
Soon awaits a sudden death.
And if instead you choose to scoff,
I'll be quick to shove ye off.
135 · Mar 2018
Fury
Stephen S Mar 2018
You've got me,
You've got me,
In the harsh grip of your madness.

You feel me,
You feel me,
as I try to break free.

You toss me,
You toss me,
To the edge of forever.

You burn me,
You burn me,
'Til I have nothing left.

You strike me,
You strike me,
With a fist of cold vengeance.

You thrash me,
You thrash me,
Until I am shattered.

You tempt me,
You tempt me,
with the heart of the beast.

You hear me,
You hear me,
as I shout into the darkness.

You trap me,
You trap me,
In a prison of flames.

You crush me,
You crush me,
until I turn into dust.
135 · May 2020
Void
Stephen S May 2020
The waves are rather strong
but do not allow yourself
to be consumed by fear.
Unfamiliarity is a friend today.

An adventure need not be vibrant
to be exciting.
Grey can be just as much fun as other colors.
Do not be afraid to take the first step.

Once you are comfortable in the water
you will have no problems finding me
for mine is the most beautiful boat
on this great sea of nothingness...
135 · May 2019
Final Words
Stephen S May 2019
The night is coming my love.
My hand grows weak.
A life spent fighting the twisted darkness.
So many things wasted.

Eternity comes for me soon.
In my soul sits a mountain of words,
that remain unsaid.

So many regrets in these last hours.

If only you could know my heart.
If only you could know everything.
If only you could know...
If only...
............
135 · May 2019
Cast Ashore
Stephen S May 2019
There I wait by moonlit night
thinking of what I’ve not done right.
By the beach side near the crashing waves,
a mess of chaos, wind and rage.

The torment in the nearby sea
may as well just be the soul of me.
Lightning dances on the horizon line,
As we pay the price for natures crime.

Not far for me the city speaks
in a voice so soft, so calm, so sweet.
By the waters wracked by fear
I know it’s close but I barely hear.

Just a scant few miles away,
The concrete colossus guards the bay.
And then there’s me feet in the sand
trying, begging to understand.

The universe, a complex cosmic dance,
Then when might I just get my chance?
If this world’s a stage and I’m a player,
What lurks within the darkest layer?

But there’s no answer in this place,
Just an empty void of space.
Perhaps someday I’ll find my sleep,
In the madness of the oceans deep.
133 · Jun 2019
Awaken
Stephen S Jun 2019
There is a dormant power
that courses through my veins.

A building wave of anticipation
wafts across my skin.

My heart rate increases,
my breathing grows intense.

I have been left far too long
in this cold, dark place.

It is only your touch,
that can bring me to life.
132 · Jul 2019
10:00 PM
Stephen S Jul 2019
A young woman, the wind whipping her hair around.
A middle aged man in an SUV
screaming into his cell phone, oblivious to the world around him.
Two children crying incessantly, begging their mother to take them home.
A fifteen year-old rusted up Chevy
with only a few miles left to give.

The blinking lights of a police car in the distance.
A lone and frail cat, scavenging for food.
The flickering signs of the restaurants nearby.
An endless soft hum from a vending machine.

A married couple about ten feet away, fighting over their last few dollars.

Some tore up old newspapers strewn around.
And a little bit of music dancing over the breeze.

You never know what you’ll find...

...in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
132 · Apr 2018
X
Stephen S Apr 2018
X
I have no name...
No identity...
No destiny....

I am the child of nothingness,
The feted offspring of anonymity.
I feel neither pleasure nor pain.
I am but an afterthought,
A forgotten shadow in a valley of lights.
I do not yearn to explain my existence,
I simply accept it.

There are those of us meant to thrive in ambiguity,
To embrace the power of the obscure.

I seek not rewards nor accolades,
My only desire is to remain an enigma.
I am the lone soldier in the War of the Mundane,
Forever cloaked from the eyes of the world.

I am Nothing...
I am No one...
I am simply...

...X.
132 · Jun 2018
Urban Mistress
Stephen S Jun 2018
She beckons me with fireflies,
there's concrete sadness in her eyes.
Leave me soon these complex walls,
Of dust and steel waterfalls.
Guide me with your neon beams,
Through this sonic maze of dreams.
Out there in the summer heat,
Where flames burn up and down the street.
Lost in the glow of asphalt haze,
Dreaming of my younger days.
Waiting for my long lost friends,
At the grey place where the sidewalk ends.
132 · Mar 2018
Jupiter Blues
Stephen S Mar 2018
The Cosmos are quiet tonight.

Bright, vibrant, filled with marvelous wonders...but quiet.

Drifting through the starfield, I've got Saturn in my rear view.
The opaque beauty of Neptune awaits in the unending distance.

So cold it's striking, but I'll have to get over it.

The sun can't help me today.

So turbulent in the asteroid belt, I did not escape unscathed.
My hull may be damaged but my engines are intact.

The interstellar journey continues.

Below me I see the barren expanse of Pluto.

The tiniest of threads on the galactic blanket.

Then she fades into the darkness.

Earth is but an echo, Mars is but a shadow.

Out of the Solar system I fly.

Where to? Who knows
131 · May 2020
Inevitable
Stephen S May 2020
Why did I try to stop this thing
I always knew was coming?
Why did I waste the energy
on a war I knew I wouldn't win?

Was it pride?
Was it ego?
Was it self-denial?

Nothing matters now.
The monster is here for me
and I have no choice to follow.

It can be no other way.
130 · May 2019
Appearances
Stephen S May 2019
Just because I'm unassuming,
doesn't mean I'm weak.
Just because I'm quiet,
doesn't mean that I don't have thoughts.
Just because I blend in,
doesn't mean I can't stand out.
Just because I'm off to the side,
doesn't mean I'm unimportant.

Just because I don't scream.
doesn't mean I'm calm.
Just because I don't show affection,
doesn't mean I don't love.
Just because you see me as simple,
doesn't mean I'm not complex.
128 · Sep 2019
A Disturbing Thought
Stephen S Sep 2019
How exactly does a Cannibal decide
who becomes his next meal?
128 · Sep 2019
Amidst the Waves
Stephen S Sep 2019
It is so very easy
To get swept away
In the chaotic flow of the ocean.

The tides aren't always pleasant
and much danger lurks in the deep.

But it is my hope
that even though the water
can be turbulent.

You never forget
how much you love to swim.
127 · Mar 2018
The Struggles
Stephen S Mar 2018
It was another sunny morning and I was in bed all alone,
My lower back would barely move and pain surged through my bones.
I stared beyond the window to the gorgeous day outside,
And from my bedroom prison I just cried and cried and cried.

I would give most anything to be the one I was before,
This disease has taken all my body had from me and more.
Now a constant stream of scripts and multicolored pills,
And each day in the mailbox, a brand new load of bills.

Doctors, nurses, hospitals and my insurance corporation,
They do their best to bleed me dry in my recurring desperation.
Surcharges, fees and copays, it's always much the same.
I grow so tired and weary of this wretched little game.

Now I'm faced with selling most of the meager things I own,
Just so that the debt collectors stop blowing up my phone.
I try to put a brave face on and smile for the world,
But just a bit below the skin I'm coming so unfurled.

I didn't decide to be this way, I can't help that I am sick,
But sometimes this society can lay the guilt on thick.
Don't judge what you don't understand, it's not a wise position.
I bet you'd feel differently if we shared the same condition.

Sometimes I really have no clue what I'm supposed to do,
but I have folks that love me and are trying to pull me through.
They're always there to make me smile and lend a helping I hand,
I want to make it up to them but I'm not sure that I can.

I wish I'd never heard the name of this horrible disease,
I wish there was some change in which I'd finally be set free.
Though I'm not at all too thrilled to face the fresh pain of tonight,
I want to make it clear to you: I'm not giving up this fight.
126 · Oct 2019
A Brief Memo
Stephen S Oct 2019
To whom it may concern,

The odd, shiny objects
that you see on the floor.

Are simply the broken remnants,
of the soul that once stood here.

Be careful to walk around them.

Though they may seem damaged and faded,
they still glimmer in the moonlight.

Maybe some distant day,
I'll get around
to putting myself back together again.

Sincerely,
A mysterious stranger.
126 · Apr 2019
Fire
Stephen S Apr 2019
It is damaged.
It is burning.
It is destructive.
It is haunting.

It casts a light in the darkness,
It brings warmth to the freezing,
It brings food to the hungry,
It brings help to the stranded.

It is vicious.
It is primal.
It is roaring.
It is fierce.
126 · May 2018
Unity?
Stephen S May 2018
There we are at war,
the men of a hundred flags.
Prejudice and tyranny,
and a wave of body bags.

We don't care if it's religion,
gender, race or creed,
whatever your dividing line,
we've got the fight you need.

There's polished propaganda,
playing on the radio,
Got to get the meat to all the wolves,
So they'll move on with the show.

You might call it ***** politics,
but don't blame the legislature.
This my friend, is flesh and blood.
Simple human nature.

The guns are fully loaded,
the line of tanks have started rolling.
Surely you must understand,
the views that I'm extolling.

Some may call it inhumane,
or unfair extermination.
But sacrifices must be made,
to rebuild this torn nation.

You're either with us or against us,
there can be only one decision.
When we strike, we strike to ****,
with utmost sharp precision.

Don't worry friend, you'll have your wish
when the noble war is done.
Finally you'll see the day,
This country stands as one.
126 · Apr 2018
Caution
Stephen S Apr 2018
Fabricated of delicate wisdom
Ravaged by an unsettled world
Astonishing yet vulnerable
Guarded, like the stalked prey
Inevitably more complex than before
Listening for the futures thunder
Emotional 'til the very end.
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