"Love," he said
and the word reached out
and laced around her throat
and her mind exploded with words
and “what ifs”
she raised her head at his touch
and his eyes made contact with her soul
and she turned
and ran.

He turned, looked, saw 
nothing pleasing, just plain.
Not intriguing
Was the absence of that frivolous creature
Ran off in the forest, leaving the remains.
To return? 
Only as companion
With truth and sunlight again.

madness reflects the soul in pain,
revealing
a confrontation with the
unconscious-
a voice unheard,
a mind divided,
a shivering heart that fails to mask the
tangled web of lies
scribbled on a blank sheet
in an empty world;
is it survival of the dawning
or of the ending?
are we that survival?
once known all to well 
the answer
shakes free from what, oneself?
too many questions
unanswered, incomplete
hang in despair,
dead;
the stool was taken from underneath
too quick and regret haunts 
blurry dreams where movements are
foiled, actions are vain, breathing is
heavy, and pain is
nonexistent;
but from lives sought after
wrestled and beaten, 
the mind is a tempest.

Shadows intertwine the way I go,
like a crosswalk-
darkness then light;
but will it protect
from oncoming threats,
like people with words
and actions that hurt?
my mind tells me no;
it will not protect 
my dignity or pride;
so I leave them behind,
a sacrifice,
by the streetlight,
and continue on 
with humility
and peace of mind.