It gets steadily harder to breathe
And I want to turn and leave
But those that keep me alive
Would be distraught
If I died.

Alone in a world of people
It's easy enough to be.
All you have to do
Is follow after me.
Step back from all the ones you love
And never tell them why.
Avoid contact with all, in fact,
And never say
Goodbye.

Fictional characters
In worlds of their own
Are eager and willing to
Welcome me home
As I reach for a spine    
My own skin tingles          
I can feel our lives
Are ready to mingle        
The delicate pages
Turn gently in hand
In my mind's eye
I can hear the band
The crowds are all rowdy
But brimming with glee
And all, my dear reader,
Are waiting for me.

What do you do
When relationships
Fall through?
When even your
Family wishes you
Would just do
it.
How do I go on
Trudging along                  
Alone in a house
That's no longer a
Home?
Why do I still try
Not to cry
Not to flinch
While all those around me
go on even when I do?          
I used to say
"I matter forever"
Cuz I "matter to me"
But when was that?
What, and
When, and
How, and
Why?

I dressed like you
I spoke like you
I admired you
but then you came home
she was tall
but she was not you
She responded when called
but it could not be true
my sister was caring
And loving
always sharing
But not this girl
this one was
Arrogant
and crude
heartless and rude.
Then my eyes were opened
I saw the truth.
You were no longer the girl
I admired in youth.

Words of encouragement
Are vaguely detected
but language of hope
is viciously deflected.

How miserable humanity is.
How unimpressive our miniscule feats.
How can we possibly proceed to progress,
When our brothers we leave in the streets?