I have lived my life
As a monster
From an awful, low-budget, found-footage horror flick

Do not let our love be forged in sweet ease,
Nor should vanity be used as our base.
Let not our joy be a product of peace,
Nor should we dwell on our warmest embrace.

Let our love be a product of roughness,
Let it be steeped in our tears and shed blood.
Let our anger be the source of toughness,
And we will stand against the coming flood.

Let all the others take their unearned love,
With its ease and hugs, and their flowers, too.
So that when, as always, push comes to shove
We will stand as one, not apart as two

The flood will sweep away all the others
As we stand as the only true lovers.

No matter how hard the fall
I shall scramble to my feet.
But even if I have to crawl,
I shall never face defeat.

A life of leisure will not define me,
The scars that bless my body do.
Nothing worth having comes easily,
The best things in life ravage you.

A broken leg can be walked off,
A shattered skeleton will mend
The lungs recover from a cough,
So long as spirit never ends.

You don’t see what I see.
Someday soon it’ll all be worth it.

In ten years we’ll be lying in bed.
A child in your stomach and my arm under your head.
The dog supposed to be on the floor but he’s between us instead.
The tears of frustration you shed

Will dry into the text on your fresh new degree
You and I both know through everything that nothing is free,
But we can tear it down and restart, you’ll see.
And we’ll start a new world for just you and me.

We’ll burn down our debt and sorrow
And from the ashes will rise a new tomorrow.
Everyone will ask if our smiles are up to be borrowed,
And you’ll remember the challenges that were higher than Kilimanjaro.

We both know that we never asked for the task,
And it’s been hard not to drown ourselves in a flask
And wake up the next morning after a ****** and gruesome crash.
But when we’re down, the rewards are ours to bask.

You’ll see what I see sometime soon.
And when you do, it’ll all have been worth it.

Walking through a meadow, so slowly I journeyed.
And as I walked, I saw all that was.
I saw before me all that we have known and will,
The grand and dull, destructive and loving.

There was an old woman upon a log.
She looked kindly and loving,
But behind her were flies around an object I couldn’t see.
I walked on.

Further along was a beautiful mistress.
One who had known many a tantalizing sin.
She beckoned for me with a mesmerizing swing of her hips.
I walked on.

Upon a horse sat a man who shone with splendor.
His rings cost more than my house, and his wealth was distinct.
He held his hand out to me with a wide smile, offering me a place upon his steed.
I walked on.

An innocent hag with a rancid secret;
An unmistakably breathtaking concubine;
A promise of friendship and wealth.
I walked on.

Upon a boulder sat a girl alone
Her brown hair pouring out a gray cowl
She did not beckon to me, she did not call.
Yet something inside me stirred still.

I called to her and she looked up to me.
Hazel eyes shining with stubborn tears.
I held my hand out to her, and she took it willingly.
I sat down.

We didn’t always have to worry about things like this.
Getting scheduled for work on our favorite holiday, Halloween.
I suppose it doesn’t matter, since you wouldn’t be able to come down from school that day.
I guess we’re always busy nowadays.

There was a time when our biggest worry was the teacher moving our seats.
A time when missing a day of school meant we wouldn’t see each other.
And I think, though I may be wrong when I say this,
I think that we may have liked it that way.

Our favorite thing to do for a date wasn’t a fancy dinner.
We would get in the back of my parent’s car.
And they would drop us off at the park with a picnic basket and a sheet.
And we would sit by the pond and eat fruit salad and lay down.

That was when I fell in love with you, and stopped just having feelings for you.
You lay down with your hood over your eyes and your feet in the grass,
And simply rested. You just let yourself be at peace.
It was what taught me how to do the same.

Now, I sit here, miles away from you.
Watching you cry your eyes out on a webcam,
Because I have to work the day that we wouldn’t have been together anyway.
Perhaps it’s just a bit too much.

Growing up is a part of life, unavoidable and quick.
It cannot be stopped. One by one, we all have to accept responsibilities.
It is a vital and wonderful part of life.
But you know, it’s also pretty much ****.

She wore a plain black “V-neck” shirt and simple jeans with sneakers.
No make-up marred the beauty of her graceful features.
Yet she still outshone every woman who she passed.
Their caked disguises falling like glass.

It was hours until she gave me a passing glance,
And I felt my heart surge at the chance.
My mouth went numb and my throat went dry,
As my brain filled only with you and with I.

You held out your hand and said "Hello, I'm me."
And I took that hand and asked if you were free.
At first you stared at my blunt question,
But eventually giggled and said to get you at Eleven.

I thought you meant AM, but I was proven wrong.
As we ventured around the town all night long.
We kissed in front of every single shop,
and despite the sun coming up we refused to stop.

We stood on a dock in a closed public park,
Too far in on this journey to dare disembark.
But as we watched the sun dot the trees,
You told me how great your night was with me.

And now when you walk and you garner their envy,
You do it as you walk hand-in-hand with me.
I've never had so many people staring.
But if it means another night with you, I'll take the glaring.