Men **** men
Then kiss the
Rosaries around
Their necks.

ARI

The invasion of other countries
Has to come to a full stop.
You’re making us the Evil Empire
By playing at being traffic cop.
We are stuck in a sick cycle
Of meddling in the internal affairs
And financing revolutions and wars
In countries where nobody asked us there.

You’re evil
And even more so;
Pure evil
Because you don’t think so.
At least that’s what you claim
But you’re as phony as your fame.

You tell the voters one set of lies
And secretly agree on others.
Your backroom manipulations
Kills our sisters and brothers
While hiding behind patriotism
The overseas battles of duplicity
Are not about threats to us here,
But are about oil and ethnicity.

You’re evil
And even more so;
Pure evil
Because you don’t think so.
At least that’s what you claim
But you’re as phony as your fame.

You take advantage of the state
Of poverty out nation is suffering
That you politicians caused
By removing our safeguard buffering.
You are doing your best to remove
All the national checks and balances
So you can ***** our world at large
That has no recourse for grievances.

You’re evil
And even more so;
Pure evil
Because you don’t think so.
At least that’s what you claim
But you’re as phony as your fame.

If I don't make it to tomorrow, the notebook will be in my backpack.

is this what peace feels like?

All I know at the end of the day is you want what you want
and you say what you say, and you follow your heart
even though it'll break sometimes. All I know at the end of the day
is you love who you love, there ain't no other way.

Beauty should
Never be measured
By skin
Hair, make-up, money
Nor fame.

For we
Are meant to be more
Than simple
Mannequins designed by
Paid keepers.

Beauty is
Enchanting dreams that
Dance upon
The surface of your
Living soul.

The glimmer
In wide eyes watching
Boats sway
To silent melodies beneath
The sky.

Beauty was
Never meant to be used
Against ambitious
Children trapped inside our
Broken hearts.

We were
Meant to love the bodies
We have
Been given; like a small child
Holding flowers.

-ARI

I tried
With all my heart
To weave together
A poem worthy of
The life of which
You have happily lived.

But I failed
For I do believe
There is not one
Living poet today capable
Of immortalizing such vibrancy
Within permanent black ink.

-ARI

This is my empire
I am the king
I am the ruler
I am the only one

This is my time
Count the seconds
Count the minutes
Count the hours

This is my crimes
Call me a monster
Call me a killer
Call me a clown

This is my city
Under the floor
Under the boards
Under the lyme

This is my mind
Paint it all red
Paint it all blue
Paint it all ugly

This is my life
I am a husband
I am a leader
I am a son

This is my death
This is my life
This is my time
This is my empire

When you smile
I smile too
Happiness is contagious