canvas empty, ready to be filled
brush in hand, ready to fill
deft strokes flew across the clean canvas;
to fill the empty with the painter’s heart
yet in doing so, the ugly strokes that taint the white
only create an emptier canvas

I thank thee
for granting us with memory
for allowing us to remember
things so precious

I thank thee
for letting us relive
our joys, our sorrows
our loves, our pains

And though thou warps
And changes and transforms
And weakens and fades
And dies

I thank thee, o memory
for thy transience
for giving us the bittersweet beauty
of thy temporal gaze

It took me so long
To find the way out
Only to be pushed in once more
By my own foolishness

It took you so long
To guide me back out
Only for me to fall back in
Of my own volition

We three dancers
Dance to the crowd
A well-rehearsed farce
A perfected tapestry
The show comes to an end
And all the blind mice clap.

Powerlessness
Helplessness
All I can do is cry
Wrapped up in a web of lies
Are they mine
Or are they yours?
I don’t know.
And I don’t care.
I cry
Once again
My crimson tears

Caught in a mirage
Never ending, never ceasing
Parched throat thirsting
For that sweet illusion
A silent empty vessel
Adrift in the ocean of dreams
Taken back to the past
Away from these hellish scenes

The poet writes
with no pause and no rest
in the vain hopes to finish
his works in due time
as he stares at his canvas which was
a sheet of innocence
now tainted by shades of black
that has since lost the ability
to reflect that which is inside
leading him to question how
he fell this far
to writing to cater to
a crowd of sheep
praying for a chance for himself
to finally,
breathe

He was closed
In a gray concrete cage
Scents of smoke and metal wafted
Mixing with the aroma of stale bread
Drifting from the nearby bakery
Gazing around he tries to find
Something human
Something alive
But finds naught but mannequins
Cleverly crafted to be a perfect mimicry
But behind those windows lay no soul
Even he felt as if he was losing himself
He turned to those windows that still reflected
Who he was
Seeing his soul in the distance
But he cannot he must not he should not
Or perhaps he dare not
No longer however as he steeled himself
Leaping out to regain what he had lost
To bring a full stop to the agony
But alas all he found
At the end of the road
Was a
Comma

Insanity
What exactly is insanity?
The state of mental decline?
Then the lucidity of the insane
Must be some sort of twisted miracle.
Perhaps insanity means nought more
Than being the odd one out in a hive mind.
Being sane in a sanatorium then
Is he sane or insane?
Perhaps the very thought that he may be sane
Is proof of insanity
We may never know

Plastic perfection
Man-made nature
A constructed reality
My dreaded heaven

I call
But no one answers.
An echo
Through the caverns
Of my wounded heart.
Prayers falling on deaf ears
A never-ending penance
A never-coming deliverance

Mirror mirror, on the wall
I pray, do tell me who I am
Am I man or monster?
I cannot tell.
Not from those blurred reflections.
Not from your simpering smile.
Not from your howls into the night
As you mar yourself with maroon.
Pray do tell me who I am
Before I forget who I am.

Keep me locked in
Condemn me to my
Joyous utopia
Solitude as my ally
They tell me to stay here
Where I’ll be safe
Within my paradise
I hold the bars of my
Lithium-laced heaven
And cry for an end
To this happy existence

My heart is one
Created out of glass
Exquisitely made
Beautiful yet fragile
It wasn’t supposed to break

But you let it slip
Purple cracks crept around
Its once crystalline surface
As it oozed
Crimson regret

Will someone fill these gaps
Or is there no tourniquet?
I kneel down and pray
A lithium vessel clutched in hand
Begging for an unrealizable salvation

The embrace of the Sun doth make Icarus’ wings melt.
Drip drop, pit pat.
Forgotten dreams, fallen wings
Fading into nothingness as the two embrace
Broken hearts, torn feathers
The tale of the star-crossed

Icarus, bundle of joy
Overflowing with innocence
Soaring through the air
And with him
Freedom and happiness
And the ability to lie

Sun stood. Prideful, strong, bright.
Lonely.
She yearned for another
With whom she could share
Her light and warmth
Her darkness and coldness.

He desired nothing more than the company of another
She desired nothing more than the company of another

So Icarus said to the Sun
Let me stay, I won’t leave you
This place is right where I need to be
And though Sun knew
The embrace of Sun, will make Icarus’ wings melt
But she kept silent, and nodded.

The two were happy for a long while
-Drip drop, pit pat-
so very happy together
-Drip drop, pit pat-
never wanting to let go
-Drip drop, pit pat-

Drip drop, pit pat
Drip
Drop
Pit
Pat
Drip

Waxy tears coating his disappearing surface
Waxy tears lining her marooned surface

The embrace of the Sun doth make Icarus melt.
Drip drop, pit pat.
Forgotten dreams, fallen wings
She faded into nothingness as he melted away
Broken hearts, torn feathers
Never seeing the light of day

Never seeing, the light of day.

Not only is this
A ****** haiku, but I’m still
Gonna **** it up

I miss him
He who could melt away
My solitude
Bringing light and colour
To my monochrome world

But perhaps
The oasis had dried up
Or it was merely a cruel mirage
Conjured up by the cruel puppeteers
And the utopia ended

Still though I miss him
He who froze up my world once more
Restoring my world to its monochrome state
Bringing away with him his joy, his light, his colour
My joy, my light, my colour

The star glows
Shining with all his might
Burning with the fervor
Of a thousand suns

Yet the moon laughs
Effortless pale hue
Illuminating the night
None shall see
This poor star’s light

The star
Dyed by despair
Begins to fall
He falls, he burns, he dies

And yet,
In that moment of limbo
It is he
Who will shine the brightest

Liquid ember liquid ember
burning me up from the inside out
feel the burn rush down my mouth
choking up my eyes and nose
searing my throat with the warmth of heaven
fires of passion burn deep in my stomach
reigniting my hopes and dreams
may this flame reach the pits of my heart
so that it may once again jumpstart the sparks of life
or at least bore a hole so deep
I never have to feel again

Deep in the world
Of dreams and nightmares
Lay a lone girl
Lost in her slumber

She lay quietly
In a quaint blue dress
Eyes closed
To the horrors of the world

Taken to a joyous paradise
Of maroon flowers
Once bright pink carnations
Turned a dull silvery red

Though this time
It was no temporary siesta
The beeps of a hymn come softly to an end
Closing with its finish
Her weary, willing eyes

I scream
For none to hear
Because
There is none to hear
My scream

I scream
For none to hear
Because
I dare not let them hear
My scream

I scream
For none to hear
Because
They have grown tired of hearing
My scream

I scream
For none to hear
Because
There is none who will hear
My scream

Today marks the start
Of another great play
Actors prance around
Wearing masks of clay

Do they need to smile
Or do they need to cry
No matter the emotion
This mask helps them to lie

But sometimes they wonder
How it would be
If they could cast away their mask
And be truly ‘me'

But the audience desires not they
But who they have become
So they can't, they mustn't, they shouldn't
Clad in masks they become numb

Day in day out their masks they don
All so their perfect show can go on

I’ve been feeling really
Ugly as of late
So filthy, so unrefined, so
Ugly
I want to be beautiful!

Someone told me
If you really want to be beautiful
You gotta look hot man
You gotta feel hot man
He tossed me his magic potion
And I ingested those magical embers
That made me hot again

But even though I’m hot
I’m still so ugly
So *****, so revolting, so
Ugly
I want to be beautiful!

Someone told me
If you really want to be beautiful
Go talk to the clouds yo
They all fluffy and cute yo
He tossed me his magical stick
With it I soared to the skies
And learned the secret to being all cutesy
But even though I’m adorable
I’m still so ugly
So soiled, so disgusting, so
Ugly
I want to be beautiful!

Someone told me
If you really want to be beautiful
Put on some makeup bro
Cover your skin all up bro
He tossed me his magical pen
And I drew pretty flowers
Pretty flowers of maroon which suffocated my skin

But even though I’m so hot and cute and all made up
I’m still so ******* ugly
So ugly, so ugly, so ugly
So ugly
I want to be beautiful.

Then you told me
If you really want to be beautiful
You have to be completely still
You have to be completely silent
No one likes a monster that moves
But if you don’t move and don’t speak
You’ll be beautiful

Alas with the secret to being beautiful at hand
I popped my fireworks to celebrate
Beautiful shades of red filled the sky
As at last, finally
I shall be beautiful again.

I feel the coolness of the ocean blue
Engulfing me as I enter my ‘home’
The ocean beckons me deeper
Back down to where
I feel so safe and sound
Poseidon gently takes me by the hand
And shows me his world of magic
Existing only beneath the lands
And in the paradise
By forgetting the woes of being alive
Life for me begins anew
But once again I am reminded
I am nothing but a visitor
The fires of reality burn
Calling me back from over yonder  
I begin to ascend, though slow and gradual
The ocean pulls, reluctant to let me go
Poseidon’s sad smile makes my heart break
But alas I must go
With the promise to return
For their sakes and mine
I emerge, leaving behind
My oceanic sanctuary

Why do you say
"2+1=3"
And look at me when I disagree?

You say
"It's basic math: 1, 2, 3.
Add 2 and 1 together and they naturally give you 3"

But I beg to differ
And pray do hear me out

2+1
What does that tell you
Two with the addition of one

3
What does that tell you
Three. Simply. Three

And whilst mathematically
the addition of 2 and 1 does equal 3

2+1: Forced amalgamation of two disparate terms
3: One simple solid term

How then can you claim 2+1=3
2+1=/=3

The boy stood on the top of the world
Cold dark day
Gales of reality pelted the young lad
As he shivered under the frost of the everyday
He wants to scream
But he had long lost his voice to the demons below
The winds howl
Summoning the torrents from above
And though the gods wept for the young boy
None more will shed tears of feeling
Ignoring the crimson stains on the earth
The boy’s last mark on the world
Soon washed away by the angels’ requiem
As he is slowly carried away
To his final destination
Where away from his devils
He may finally rest

Thou whom we live in fear of,
Art the final moment of respite
Bringing rest to mine weary soul
Thou whom we live our lives dreading,
Art the ultimate salvation to wretched life
That deep down we so desire

Ah! Greatest irony!
Lamenting the numerous woes of life
And yet thy cool embrace is shunned
Man! How foolish!
Blinded by greedy pursuit of Life
We fail to see the beauty of her cousin

Oh, rejoice at the coming of he!
Whose cold bony hands shall caress
My lifeless drained spirit
And softly in my ear
The melody of heaven
He shalt deliver

Beautiful white violet
Untainted by the elements
Standing tall and proud
Swaying elegantly in the winds

See thee, gentle violet
Charm many with its innocence
Oh, beautiful violet!
How I wish to endear myself to thee

Pay no heed to the minions of Invidia
Who tell thee less is more
Fill thyself more blooming flower
Enrich thyself with the joys of nature

And whilst it may be selfish
To deprive the world of thee
I beseech thee to come
And be the flower for me