When seen from afar,
the painting looks complete.
Colors all neat,
the disposition - sweet.

But beware the greedy eye,
No more than canvas will it find.
To nothing - resigned,
The illusion now left behind.

Shaky hands and shaky legs
A constant impulse, a cause and effect.
A conditioned habit, a savored indulgence.
A fist never raised, a nail skin deep.
Racing minds and racing hearts.
A constant thinking, a deafening silence.
A planned future, a greedy present.
A goal never met, a promise unkept.
Shaky hands and shaky legs,
Hate and pleasure, such similar ends.

I am happy now, but I won’t be later,
My smile, a vow, to be ripped like paper.
My thoughts will grace, a mere moment in space,
quickly displaced, then temporarily re-placed.

My memory is vast, but it soon will stall,
A life, a past, I’ll no longer recall.
My mind will grow, til today is ago,
Leaving only a shadow, of what will be tomorrow.

I can dance tonight, but will stumble in time,
My bones, my might, a brittle design.
My body will sway, up until it lay,
To stay and decay, up until one day.