Bring me to the edge
the water bubbling and deep
let me see the fear and drink from its cup
show me the shadows, let me hear their whispers and feel the chill of their touch
let me bask in the darkness, absorb the night and bathe in the light of the falling stars
give me the clouds, the ones that block the moon, and show me the monsters that hide in their shade
I will indeed drink deep from fear as the chilling rain rolls in
pouring, falling, falling, failing
crashing in steady cacophony
Am I brave yet?
Is courage embracing fear as a brother or withstanding its onslaught

No, I am not brave.  
I wanted darkness and I have it
It is not scary, it is lonely
and I am so
very scared
of being
alone.

Don’t leave the light on for me
I’ll be home late tonight
I need some time in shadow
A moment away from the light

I need to walk among the trees
Beneath the pinprick stars
I need to smell the quiet air
And watch the passing cars

Just please give me a minute
I swear that  I’ll be back
back to deafening brightness
returned from peaceful black

It's just,

My eyes are always sore
My head it always pounds
It's all so loud and busy
and I can’t drown out the sounds

I can’t hear myself thinking
and I cannot sleep at night
But at least it isn't dark in here
That’d be so awful right?

You’re all so scared of blackness
So afraid of what you’ll find
But I promise real fear comes
After light has left you blind

“Only evil dwells in shadow,” they say.
“Only roaches hate the light”
Then call me roach, and evil too
'Cause the world is much too bright.

Oh cold, dark mistress mine
is our union so taboo?
the day is master to us all
but I yearn to be with you

in your arms I feel at peace
you hold my  fears at bay
but sleep comes swiftly to my eyes
the tool of jealous day

I want the dark and not the light
the moon and not the sun
let them go blind on their fattened star
I prefer billions to one

Night, my dear, please do not cry
I lay awake for you
but a yawn now summons me toward day
and the things that I must do

though my will is 'bout to fail
I will return again
for sleep will find in me a foe
and this battle, I shall win.

Sir Knight, Sir Knight
please hear their plight
Beasts are attacking the land

They target the weak
the gentle and meek
It's time to take a stand!

but Sir Knight, Sir Knight
why show you such fright?
How quickly your courage fades

"I surrendered my sword"
said the cowering lord
"and let beasts devour the maids"

I see, Said I
as I tried not to cry
You lack both a sword and a spine

Those you swore to protect
now lie derelict
you are no hero of mine

Although I have no sword
I shall serve as their ward
and show there is still honor in men

I will fight for the weak
for the broken and meek
I'll not allow monsters to win.

Reader what about you?
Will you join in too,
and fight with sharpened blades?

or will you sit in the dust
as your sword starts to rust
and beasts devour the maids

****** me in the fire
Hold me 'neath the tide
leave me on a desert isle
with no one by my side

throw me off the highest cliff
bury me alive
beat me till the edge of death
and dare me to survive

lash at me with all you have
give me your best try
no matter what I will not break
and I refuse to die.

Drinking *****
Breathing lies
Sniffing crack
Injecting likes
Blazing ***
Smoking hate
Eating coke
Believing fate
Tasting ****
Doing mine
Licking molly
Puffing crime
Vape opinions
Lines of cash
Feel the E
Camera’s flash
Popping oxy
Juiced on texts
Craving H
Hits of ***
Buzzed on pride
Shooting crank
Chewing shrooms
Dipping swank
Sweating spice
******* dust
Shots of self
****** on lust
Cutting white
Burning black
Craving dope
Snorting smack

Always high
And hungover
Never dreaming
Never sober.

Here I stand toes in sand
waiting on the shore
The sky is dim the clouds roll in
I know what is in store
There! I see, it comes for me
A wave ten stories tall
If I flee, it will catch me
But if I stay, I fall
Impending doom will be here soon
so what now do I do?
I'll not retreat nor stay my feet
I'll instead...try something new
Oh, threatening wave, oh promising grave
so powerful, fright'ning and large
although I'm scared and unprepared
I'll meet you, with a charge
and if this be death, my final breath
at least you must agree
you master of fears, purveyor of tears
You could not frighten me.

I met a man along the road
And crooked was his smile
Crooked were the steps he took
Along his crooked miles

His arms were long, his fingers too
Though neither pointed straight
His legs were like two twisted ropes
And cause his crooked gait

He flashed a crooked grin at me
And bared his crooked teeth
He wore a crooked coat of black
and no shirt underneath

His body was a twisted mess
Jutting all around
His crooked bones rattled and cracked
As he shuffled ‘cross the ground

“And to where do you go?” His crooked voice rasped
I pretended not to hear
“Answer me my new young friend,
There’s nothing for you to fear.”

“I do not know,” I whispered back
“I know not where I roam.
but I know life lies ahead,
and behind me lies my home.”

“And where are your friends?” he asked of me
A crooked gleam in his eye.
“They did not want to come,” I said.
“I never did learn why.”

“My boy that’s cause they do not care,
You’re not worth caring for!
Look at you; useless, dumb
Weak, ugly, and poor.”

“Well how far have you come?” he asked.
“13 years,” I said
“Only 13?!” his broken voice creaked
“Oh, you’re sure to end up dead.”

“Better men have walked here than you,
More experienced, and with more help.
They died here alone, and so too will you.
You’re an insignificant whelp.”
_____________

I tried to ignore him, really I did
I fought back against all his lies.
But one cruel blow, on one cruel night
I looked straight in the Crooked Man’s eyes.

Then before I could scream
My heart broke at the seem
And I felt an unyielding pain

My insides were hollow
Mouth too dry to swallow
I begged, “Please, make it stop!”

So he took out a brand
And placed it in my hand
“Burn it out of your skin.”

Then he watched with a smile
Relaxed for a while
As my agony tickled his ears

Though I did as he bade
He took out a blade
“Not enough, try harder my boy!”

But the blade and the brand
One in each hand
Could not purge the sorrow within

So covered in scars
Beneath all the stars
The rest of my life began

I fell to my knees as the crooked man laughed
He placed a crooked hand on my head
“Ignorant boy,” he said with some joy

“You’re mine until you’re dead.”
____________


For five long years we walked together
Every night a repeat of the first
And when others would pass, I’d smile and laugh
They never knew I was cursed

Then one fateful night the Crooked Man said
“You’ve grown so dull and so dry!”
He gave me the knife and said, “End your life.”
“I believe its past time that you die.”

I placed the knife against my neck
And felt the familiar blade
Just one more cut, like all the rest
And my tortured life would fade

I closed my eyes then took a breath
And felt myself let go
But right before I did the deed
My broken heart said…”no”

“no” I said, then “No” I growled
Then “NO!” I screamed and screamed!
I threw the knife into the dirt
And doused the brand that gleamed

I turned toward the Crooked Man
His smile had withered away
“Pick that up you worthless cur!”
He tried his best to say

I charged at him with all I had
We fell hard into the mud
“You’ll never win,” he grunted, “You’re weak!
You’ve lost far too much blood!”

“I have a home you wicked thing!
Some friends and a family too!
And I’ll never die, nor even try
If it means they’re left with you!”
_____________

I still wrestle with the crooked man
And sometimes he almost wins
But I refuse to lose to him
nor surrender to his whims

“I’ll never let you go,” I say,
“Or let you get ahead.
Because you filthy sack of sin

You’re mine until you’re dead.

I have a story to tell you
Please listen, I'll be concise
You see, my name is Love,
Love Poem to be precise

I was born beneath a shaking pen
Moved by a racing heart
The child of a lovesick boy,
whose love moved him to art

I have smudges from erasers
My corners have dog ears
In the valleys of my wrinkles,
are the stains of quiet tears

I may not look like much at all
but what you do not see
is that locked inside my margins and lines
is a love that was never set free

He trapped it here, between my lines
writing with heart and pen
then he crumpled me up, tossed me aside
and never looked at me again

But don't feel bad, it's happened before,
I am not alone in this world
for many a poem lies alone and unread
on a paper both crumpled and curled

So now you've heard me tell my tale
I pray that you ponder upon it
why aching hearts pour out their love
just to join in the wastebasket sonnet

You who goes by "Lonely"
Yes you, who reads these rhymes
Please pause here for a moment
I won't take much of your time

You see my friend, I'm lonely too
In the dark with paper and pen
So I'm writing you this poem
and signing it "Your Friend"

Though I'll prob'ly never see you
nor ever know your name
I do not need to see your face
nor know your cash and fame

I do not care what color you are
how short or tall or fat
I'm weary of all these parties and creeds
So, for a moment, forget all of that

Yes you, dear friend, forget with me
Inhale this moment serene
where we are not opinions or castes
Just two humans with two glowing screens

Be human with me, simple and pure
For a moment breathe deep and feel free
then should you have the time, and a halfway good rhyme
Perhaps write a poem for me.

Signed,
Your Friend

Before I met you
I  believed my words could capture
anything
but yours is a wild beauty
that I could never hope to tame
even if I wanted to