It’s hard to appreciate a day like today
Where my head is forced from the pillow
By stress flooding my body
My responsibilities dragging me
From the comfort of my blanket
And then I work myself to exhaustion
How can I find myself worthy of my life
If I don’t consistently go all out

But what makes a day like today
Even more of a challenge
To appreciate and get through
And not wish away or waste
Is that it’s a day that stands
Between where I am
And where I want to be
Beside you again
I try to tell myself
All time is so precious
But I can’t help feeling
That in comparison
This time is worth less
Than the time I spend with you

It’s a hard time existing
In a plane of smooth surfaces
And nothing that will give at all
Foreshadowing society
It's just squares and boxes here
Nothing concave
Or convex
Everything is made of plastic
And I'm living in a numb world
That won't ever accept
Something that tries anything
Different.

I was just going to school
I was just picking up groceries
I was just seeing a movie
I was with my friends at a concert
I was with my family at the mosque
So many statistics were just people
Like yourself and me
Living their lives
Not looking for trouble
But there's a hate and fear
That gets poured into the pockets
Of arms dealers
So the hateful and fearful
Can pour lead into people
Like yourself and me
Who lose their name when they lose their last breaths
And become another number in this year's statistics

The dark comes in close
Wrapping me tight tonight,
And I search for someone
To save me.

Helpless, alone,
Just embers left
To guide me
From the candle fuse,
And the darkness closes in around me.

Begging, pleading,
I strain to be let away,
But its grip is tight
As an anaconda,
Tracing its fangs to my neck
From my shoulder blades.

Within an inch of foresight,
I can feel my heartbeat waning,
And hear teardrops
Pierce the night silence
While the city sleeps;
I ask once more for someone
To give my feet placement,

But one cannot hold another’s heart
Whilst forsaking their own,
And thus, one cannot give another their heart
If giving is expectant
That to whom it’s given,
Will put back together,

For my mistake,
Was hoping for someone else,
When I, so many times,
Could have freed myself,
If only I put myself back together,

But I’ve swept the shattered pile
And sewn the tattered pieces,
Slowly feeling more encouraged
With every change in season

With now, a reason,
And even a desire,
To press on.

The fire surrounding me couldn’t get hotter
The pain is starting to make even breathing harder
Beads of sweat and tears of agony fall towards my feet
But evaporate before they can touch the ground
Another walk through hell is just beginning
No turning back, and pausing only means more hurting
So I look forward and let the music fill my ears
And dance my way through to celebrate the fact
That it’s never getting worse than this

The knife I take down my throat
To vindicate my thoughts
Of ruinous infection,
Deceives all sensation,
All thoughts, and ceases
To exist myself,
Until the blade conceals,
And the only tell
Of even its unsheathing
Is that of the daylight
Pouring in through
Windows of which
I had forgotten,
To strike the flower
I left out alone in the open.

The scent of the previous day
Made aware though permeation
From the bottles
Left open
To fill the air
With their intention,
But lit candles
Will once again
Flush the awful realization,
As the day sheds colors
To the night,
And when the music hits,
And the temperament
Fills veins with built and bottled-up
Stresses, the candles will smell great
As the chaser takes away the sting
From the blade,
And the flower, unconcealed,
Let without any pressures
Or internal guilt,
Finally able to be myself,
If only for one more night.

I depend on you
You depend on me
They depend on us
We depend on them
One goal
Every hand building
Equal parts of the ladder
Know your position
Take pride in your tasks
Together we will do
What none of us could do as one