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Sep 14 · 26
memories
caicrab Sep 14
a grassy path beside a road, illuminated by the fleeting glow of a flashlight
the sky, a whorl of deep, royal purple, flecked with stars, so clear, the image you would get if you googled 'milky way'
small animals responding to the light of a lamp, 7 dollars from the local store
cicadas chirping, deafening
a brick wall, mottled, like a piece of raisin toast
a water tank, 8 waterbottles in my arms, filling them one by one
the plastic taste of mosquito repellent in the back of my throat, delirious
COVID tests strewn out in front of me, desperately praying for the second line
a clock hanging over my bed, my only hope, the only thing anchoring me to this world

it says:
4:23 am

3 more hours

i want to go home
but where?
Sep 14 · 31
fever dream
caicrab Sep 14
cars race by, a blur
of colours and lights and too-loud sounds
like a monochrome rainbow, paper
crayons, shapeless silhouettes,
the outline of fingers against a silver
beam, shining through
gossamer curtains.

i wake,
sweating, panting, screaming,
horrified, but unsure why
like a blurred photograph
like distant memories
like lost loves.

i wake, but do i?
Mar 2021 · 76
shattered
caicrab Mar 2021
Expectations are like puppet strings
Hooking around limbs,
Pulling tighter and
Tighter until you
Can’t breathe
Can’t move
Anymore.

Expectations are like a burden to carry
So heavy, so tiring,
But you can’t put it down,
For the fear of dissatisfaction
So you keep carrying it
Until your arms and legs break
Under the pressure.

Crushed dreams are like the pain after the shock
When you crash to the ground
Hoping that it’s all a bad dream
Hoping that you’ll wake up soon.

But it’s not
And it will never be
And the more you try to piece together shards of glass
The more your fingers bleed.
Jan 2021 · 88
Hatred
caicrab Jan 2021
Hatred is a smoke-screen, blurring sight, thoughts, decisions.
Hatred is a living thing, whispering thoughts in your ear.
Hatred is a shadow, forever there, always inevitable.
Hatred is a poison, planting seeds of scorn, envy.
Hatred is a burden, a monster on your back.
Hatred is a weight, dragging you down
the spiral, the cycle of scorn, regret
but realise that a spiral goes
on forever and ever. A
spiral will never
bring you
to an
end.
Jan 2021 · 93
Human
caicrab Jan 2021
There was once someone who asked me who I was.

I am life, I say. I am joy and tears,
I am wilful blindness and cunning innovation.
I am white, I am black, I am light, I am dark,
I am flesh and meat and blood and bone.

I am ambition and laziness and deception and trust,
I am work and labour and pain.
I am broken promises, words yet spoken,
I am generous and selfish, wise yet a fool.

I am human.
Jan 2021 · 94
I bleed
caicrab Jan 2021
Your words brush off my shoulders
For I am iron
I am unbreakable.
But not unscathed.

I bleed,
Bleed until there is nothing left
Behind a blank mask.
“It’s fine, I’m alright,” I say.
I lie.

We all do.
Jan 2021 · 134
Tears
caicrab Jan 2021
When you were there, the sky was blue.
You were my universe, my all, my everything.
You caught me when I fell, comforted me,
Nursed me back to health.

But I should have seen that
You should have been on the bed
I should have been at your bedside.

Your tears traced lines into your cheeks
As you closed your eyes to me.
You never opened them again.

I        am       alone.

And I think
That your sad smiles,
Your pain
Carved a million scars deep into my soul.

When you were there, the sky was blue.
But now that you’re not, nature’s tears run down the streets.
Jan 2021 · 90
Dreams
caicrab Jan 2021
Dreams are a scene
Glimpsed behind
A wall of glass,
So close
So colourful
But not real.

Dreams are a painting
Crafted by
A gentle touch,
An escape
An illusion
But not real.

Dreams are a nightly terror
Tainted with darkness
A touch of fear,
Dreading night
Dreading sleep
But still failing.

Dreams are unpredictable
Follow them down
A rabbit hole,
A torment
A delight
Let unconsciousness decide...
Jan 2021 · 593
Secrets
caicrab Jan 2021
A whisper,
A glance.

Their eyes are like hooks
Latching into my soul
Demanding for secrets.

I come to you
You, my bedrock
But I see guilt
I see scorn

And I understand.

A whisper,
A glance.

— The End —