I can't stop drawing her
Though the ink stutters from my pen
Are no form of the lines of her face
She humbly takes them anyway.

She has no place in my eyes
But for the gentle push of her petal hands
On my page, while I sit and
Let my mind take the toll.

The still morning is pulled in
Or the night claiming the light
But I am still here
Drawing her,

Her poise
Her smile
Her attentive eyes
And the knowing, the truth

It's with her every time.

I walked to the desert sun
And found my days were not ill spent
For
On its halo words were writ'
A script of firm hand on the fire itself

"I have the strength of iron,
The shine of steel,
I am the flint in the cliffs and the venom on the tongue.
No man shall fear me more than I
No man shall shiver like the cold set in me."

I looked about for the author,
But saw only mischevous stars twinkle
And the pen in my hand.

The boy came back from school
'My head hurts, I think I'm ill!'
He said, clutching his knowledge.

'Not so,' said his father
Bearing his own like a banner
'You're just learning.'

'Every book read is a weight on the soul
Every word spoken is a scar on the heart
Each pencil held is a sword broken.'

The boy stood taller, but faltered still,
'I can't bear this curse, take it away, please.'
And the father looked down.

'If I could I would try a thousand times more than I have,
If I could I would spare you the pain,
Knowledge is a tunnel and,
There is no turning back.

Feel the crushing certainty of
Our hidden world in flames
And weep
You're a martyr to the truth my boy.'

From that day on
Books bore poisoned pages
Words were as vinegar
Pencils were heavier than the lead within them.

But the boy kept going
For, his head held high,
He knew he would die with the truth,
Rather than live with the lies.

When I was five I learnt that wide eyes weren't wise eyes

When I was seven I learnt that tears are just wasted water

When I was nine I learnt that love is as dead as life

When I was eleven I learnt that rings can be broken

When I was thirteen I learnt that friends can only speak for themselves

When I was fifteen I learnt that death is a holiday

When I was seventeen I learnt that people can be used like tools

Now I'm 19 I realise that nobody is alive like you.

It's easy to leave dead things behind.

All these odd numbers find me loving them, out of empathy, not patterns.

But the sun shines through.

When I was four I learnt that there is no warmth like two arms around you

When I was six I learnt that laughter is mighter than the lie

When I was eight I learnt that it's easy to ignore what hurts you

When I was ten I learnt that everyone wants to smile

When I was twelve I learnt that my solitude was strength

When I was fourteen I learnt that we all will forgive

When I was sixteen I learnt the flush of lipkissed smiles

When I was eighteen I learnt that scars give words more truth
And the dawn came

The sun is beautiful

Do you fear the night,
And not the rain?
Do you fear the flesh,
And not the pain?

You're not human,
Clattering like chattering teeth,
It's not you and I,
But I and it
When you're around.

What's the spell
To the faith?
What's the candle
To the wraith?

Don't fear the dark, my dear
For I am near
And you and it
Can't stand my leer.

Try to see one man
On the street
While the other
Is warmed by the fire he sets in others

Try to see people
Ignored
Because of where
They are from.

Try to watch as
Your life slips away
Under some minute decision
Of a man miles away

And not do anything.

The state is above us all
And we cannot pretend
That it is "made of oak or iron
Instead of the human spirits who make it."

Don't call politicians evil
Don't call them men of spite
I know some are hollow trees
But the forest remains green

Don't call all of them greedy
When most would sooner
Take death than a bribe
Don't confuse the few for the many

For they are the few
And we are the many
And we are getting in the way
Let's stop.