My wings have been broken repeatedly
Though healed
I remain on a golden perch
Afraid to flap my wings
Afraid of the pain of trying
Afraid to fail
Afraid that someone might see
I'm completely defective
So, I sit pretty on my golden perch
Flightless
Without a cage

Rolling the dice time after time
Adding up points to bank a roll
Betting the odds in numbers and rhyme
Losing it all starts taking its toll

Betting the odds though it isn't a game
A thousand points at the roll of a die
Losing your heart in a useless hand
As you gamble your love upon a lie

In the dark of night I see her
In the shadows of night she lingers
Eyes piercing the smoke of yesterdays dreams
Stabbing the life out of my lungs
With the nightmare of truth
With the longing for honor
With the screaming memories
Not of what used to be
But of used-to-coulds
When she appears
All that is left is the grit at the bottom of the cup of life
The leftover flavor of dreams gone by
The reality that I am not what I could have been
That dreams torture reality with rainbows and lullabies
With pastel hues of perfection
In the dark of night I see her
In the shadows of night she lingers
The girl I almost was

And so i sit here in the darkness
Feeling my heart beat slow and hard
Wondering why salt stings
And finding comfort in the feeling
Of cooling salt tracks on my skin
Trying to figure out how much time passes
Between the stale tears and the fresh ones
Without looking at the clock

Greatful for the reprieve from actual thought
Hating myself for needing release
Weak in spirit and strong in heart
Or vice versa
The fan dries the water
That leaves the salt
To dry in lines on my face

Silently i contemplate life
The intricate complexities
The subtle nuances in a smile or a glance
The way emotion runs too close to the surface
How the heart is both fragile and resilient
And how because we love we cry

The last of my kind
There’ll be no more after me
I’m a flightless bird
With useless wings
Dumb and wild and free
Take a good hard look
At what you’ve done to me

On display
In my solitary incarceration
I pace in circles
So the camera will see
Look at my stripes fade
Take a good hard look
At what you’ve done to me

I had no fear of anyone
‘til you got ahold of me
The moon shone through the trees
A spotlight in my final serenade
No brothers left
And there’ll be no more after me

This poem has been a product of the combined efforts of myself and the lovely prrtybrd

I saw the words on a page
And read their joy
Their hope
Their heart

I saw the words on a page
And it ripped my world apart

I saw the words on a page
Penned before my heart was yours

I saw the words on a page
Of how your love for her endures

I saw the words on a page
Kept with all your special things

I saw the words on a page
Read dreams of wedding rings

I saw the words on a page
Of a dream you never spoke

I saw the words on a page
They made my own begin to choke

I saw the words on a page
Of a time when love was true

I saw the words on a page
And read what she means to you

I saw the words on a page
You claim love never dies

I saw the words on a page
Now I see it in your eyes

I saw the words on a page
You know my hearts allure

I saw the words on a page
I know that she holds yours

I saw the words on a page
I see what you can't deny

I saw the words on a page
Your love for me belied

I saw the words on a page
And read their joy
Their hope
Their heart

I saw the words on a page
And it ripped my world apart

I saw the words