Home is where the heart is,
but a tortured heart that dreams of home
holds for ransom the love inside
and all thoughts of happiness subside.

The heart asks for what I cannot give,
and in all its pulsing patience,
which one of us will outlive
this awkward cadence?

Home is where the heart is,
so as I board the plane
on a return flight 'home'
I left my heart and home behind.

how come the only light i see
tends to be the blink of blue?
as i wander farther into the dark
and farther in search of you
it is only a stone wall i meet

voices speak of a foreign hope:
the light at the end of the tunnel
i cannot see

the shadow whispers in my ear
to keep going and join them
at the end of the tunnel

'i cannot' i reply, conflicted,
my hand fixed on the cold stone

one by one i see souls go by
all but one, free to reach
the light in the mind's eye

if you stop and ask
why i refuse to leave
i would try to explain,  
but it is hard to believe
in something you cannot see;
and you do not see
the wall in front of me

Take a step back and pull at the curtain of your life
Draw on all the factors that shape your person
People who surround you, source of entertainment,
what you agree and disagree with

Now take it all away
Because it is no more
What becomes of you?

Who are you really?
What story do you have to tell...
If these factors no longer existed?
What is your person down to the core?

Take the blanket of comfort away and strip down to your naked self
Your friends aren’t there to influence you anymore,
Your books and shows cease to exist, and never existed in the first place
Your thoughts are not controlled by the authorities rules or the politicians lies
All is lost behind you as you look in the mirror and see your true self

What do you see?

i look up at the sky and i think of you
knowing that we stare at the same moon

just a over a hundred miles away
yet i here i must stay

when i spoke with you times were great
i miss the conversation we had as of late

but you are not here anymore
you had a place in my heart, right at the core
the talks we had took place at night
but the feeling wasn’t quite right

we were friends yes
that much is true i guess
and to me you decided to confess

our words meant "love"
more than the stars above
and i suppose it’s true
i love you too

i wonder what has become of you
to ask how are you doing and are you well
but all i can do is look at the moon
and remember the times we shared

though i’ve never seen you face to face
in my heart you still held that place
a promise we made to one day meet
even if i had to get there by feet

but i’ve lost you now
i don’t know how
it was one bad year
i’ve shed more than a tear

i think of you and wonder who you’ve become
i am alive but so mentally undone  

i smile sadly as i look at the moon
because it will always remind me of you

The world is constantly changing
In so many ways

I think about the future
And what it will bring
Consumed by computers?
No, that’s a far off thing

Is it my fate to see the end?
Or die before the world does,
I ask a friend,
You know, just because.

There is no answer
This world can give
Ugh, what a disaster
It is to live…

there is no choice
what these people see–
will soon grow up to be me
i have no voice

up against the wall
just a child, it is a game
right now there is no shame
this game of duty’s call

but they all yell in my ear
“you’ll be like the rest of ‘em!”
till their face near
I reach the stem

i have no future
no chance to take
all is secure
i think in a wake

i am a black boy
and I always will be
with a gun as my toy
this is my future see,
(at least, it’s what they tell me)

i will be violent
i will fight in the war
i must be silent
to keep the score

my future is locked
no chance of change
i am just part of the flock
inside of the cage


a.g.

There is more than one voice
in my head I must make a choice,
which to listen and which to ignore
but as the days go on I can't anymore
people must think I'm a bore

I don't talk a lot too,
that much is true,
I am stuck inside my mind
not peaceful nor sublime
all these thoughts I must hide

It's difficult to say
words in the same way
My own thoughts go at their own rate
No, I must stop and translate
but by then it's too late

The conversation is over now
I would talk but I don't know how
Not without thinking first
it is hard for me to just burst
I'd wish it were revers'd

So many opportunities I had lost
It is me who paid the cost
I know myself better than any
but that's because I don't share with many
my thoughts for a penny...

I curse the voices in my head
they never stop, just like I said
think too much to say a thing
inside I feel like a king
but out here... nothing

Those close to me are fine
with them I share thoughts of mine
with them the voices slow just a bit
I have enough time to show my wit
Though I'd hate to admit—

At the end of the day
I'd like to go away
Spend some time alone
I don't know, in my home?
All on my own

I need the space
to let the mind race
quiet time
it's not a crime
no more rhyme

the letters create the words
the words create phrases
the phrases create the sentences
the sentences create the paragraphs
and they all mean nothing
if there is no feeling

but the person chooses the letters
the words
the phrases
the sentences
the paragraphs
all that is written

but the meaning is inside
dropped into each letter
hidden in the words
tearing its way into phrases
concealed in the sentences
weaved into the paragraphs

to truly grasp a feeling
to transfer thoughts
into the written word

writing is hard

There was a time
I felt empty

Life had nothing to offer.
I had nothing left to hold onto.

Nothing bothered me.
Nothing appeased me.
Nothing made me feel.

Actually,
I felt but one thing:
Dead.

I felt dead inside,
a walking corpse.

Lived my days as a routine,
inside and out,
the same thing over
and over
and over
and over again.

I was a robot.
Cold,
unfeeling,
detached.

But then something changed.

Something clicked inside of me,
hit me like a train and left me paralyzed.
I jumped back to reality with no recollection
no memory of what happened to me,
what changed me.

Here I am now.
So far from that moment,
I've come so far.

But my journey is not finished,
I still have battles to face,
enemies to overcome,
fears to conquer though I may not admit them.

And I will continue on.

Is there something wrong
with the way I speak?

the way I think,
the way I feel,
the way I believe,
the way I perceive?

Why can't I simply let go?
No more pretending,
no more lying,
no more hurting.

If I fall under the same pattern,
life would be simpler,
"ignorance is bliss" yes.

But, I can't.

Such a word
only a word

only a word
to me

there is none
whom i "trust"

i wish there was
someone to talk to
about everything
but the truth is
there isn't

to relay on completely
to keep my words
to understand them
none

sadly, i am a lock
few hold the key
too bad
the lock is broken

my mind is a festival
my mind is a party
my mind is a circus
my mind is a wonderland

my mind contains all inner jokes
and smiles that become laughter

my mind is a journal
my mind is a filter
my mind is a river
my mind is an attic

my mind brings back memories
both good and bad
and times of days past

my mind is a prison
my mind is a vault
my mind is a trap
my mind is an escape...

my mind is never quiet
never shuts up
never stops thinking
and yet

very little gets out

Broken in sound
Listen to the heart
Broken to shatters
Breaking a part

In an abyss
of the empty flower
petals torn apart

Drowned by the waves
Waves of heat
Directed out
Hope hanging
loose by a limp

Crashing  ground
To pick up
To leave
To stay
or go

Would there be a difference
in different done
or similar here?

To prove a malice
within the center chalice

How about a divorced figure
the idea split apart
To follow up with another bigger
Completing all there is in the dart

In the midst of confusion
There is light
As always there
Perhaps the night
For some, I don't care

Although some late
Some stay
Never go away
Inscribed on the slate
Where have these words
gone to play?