He sat by the fire and raised a glass
Mumbling words from his secret past
I watched him wipe some tears away
As he recalled their final days

As a curious child, I wondered why
My heroic father would sit and cry
Or scream out, from his soaked bed
Pleading to stop the noise in his head

We would hide away, each bonfire night,
In fear of the noise, the smoke and the light
He thought our home was under attack
Lost in the daze of a random flashback

As he grew old I understood why
This brave soldier would sit and cry
He lost his family not bound by blood
Witnessed things that no human should

Mental scars burned deep in his mind
From the devastation, he left behind
He was a prisoner of war every day
Locked in a memory…
...his mind would replay

i am cancer
i am death caked in makeup
i am the creaky floor boards in the attic
i am the foul words that leave your mothers lips
and the stench of the alcohol that rolls off your fathers tongue

i creep through the walls at night
looking for a light heart to help with the demons that haunt my every move
i am torturous laughter and pitiful silence

dont not get close to me
i will burn everything you own
leaving you bitter and weeping
gasping for fresh air

I heard a man putting ladders up outside
Probably to clean the gutters
He suddenly appeared at my window
"Hello" he said
"I'm Father Christmas
I'm just practising"

Romance is beautiful, in every sense of the word. From the very first moment you hold her hand to the last touch of your lips to her forehead. From the moment you first realise you have fallen in love, the moment your eyes brighten when she walks into the room, when she walks into your sight, to the moment you hold her for the last time as her tears stain your shirt, falling from her eyes, down your neck, burning you as you say goodbye.

Even Romance can make heartbreak look beautiful. From cheeks delicately stained with the saddest of tears to lips trembling as she holds her words back, desperate not to beg you to stay but also desperate to let you know how much she loves you. From the way her forehead creases every time she painstakingly thinks of you, every time her mind tortures her with thoughts of you, to the way she bites her lip to stop herself from saying your name whenever she is reminded of you, whenever she thinks fondly of you, remembering sweet memories that are but a distant daydream now.

Romance is beautiful, in every sense of the word. From the time you first laid eyes on her to the last.

*- a.b.

"Mom and Dad, I'm sorry;
I just can't take it anymore.
If you're reading this,
You must have busted down the door.

For too long I have suffered,
And you have never known.
You never saw that I was slipping,
Never heard a single moan.

All those friends you thought I had,
They were never really there.
But there was another girl-
This one that truly cared.

You may not have noticed,
But this girl cared enough to see
That I was locked up in depression,
And she tried to set me free.

'Don't take yourself from me!"
She begged, shedding another tear.
I told her she was selfish
to ask me to stay here.

Several times, she saved my life,
But this time it was no use.
Tell her not to blame herself;
The world tied my noose.

Tell her that I'm sorry;
I know she'll make it on her own.
Tell her I said, despite the pain,
She's the best friend I've ever known.

I'm sick of gasping at the surface,
so finally, I'll drown.
I'm ready to embrace my death
When silence triumphs sound."