The click of a lighter,
The tap of a can,
The rustle of a pack.

The nicotine keeps me sane.

A long drag,
A heavy exhale,
A purse of the lips,
Saliva on the pavement.

It rushes to my head.

Gives me the courage to debate,
Am I doing the right thing?
Is it all a mistake?
If I'm doing my best,
Why do I need to cope?

Stop thinking.

Inhale.
Exhale.

Let it wash away.
Let smoke and tar cleanse me.
So that I can keep fighting,
Another day.

After forever
Yet all too soon
We have forgotten
That we did not weave
The flags that we wave
We simply inherited them

There's no point
In telling people what they
Want to hear.
What they really want
Is a reason to strike back
At a world they imagine
Has wronged them.

Rain and tears fall
As the flame climbs,
The wick turns to dust,
And the candle burns out.

There's nothing else to say
Except that,
I've never felt like more of a stranger
Than I do in my own home.

I stopped today,
Wading in the ripples
As time flowed around me
In all directions.

And I understood.

We are all alone,
Yet together.
Our existence and isolation
Bind us infinitely.
Our experience and ignorance
Bring us empathy and apathy.
Our love brings happiness.
Our hatred brings violence.

We are all together in that
We are all human.
We are the same
For we are unique.

The light burns
As the realization hits.
All things end.
Be it sun or storm,
Wind or rain,
Love or pain.
The only option
Is to persevere.
To shoulder the weight
And march on.
All will do their best
But only the strong will survive
Though none emerge unscathed.