A sight more beautiful than that of any mountain-top,
a love of true purity, unadulterated by passion,
such joy a mother has with her child,
it seems to me a great mother is truly a blessing for any child.

I am sorry,
I am sorry that this is what my culture does,
And the world has the audacity to call it honor,
God gave honor I thought,
But it seems that only honor people see is in the eyes of others,
What religion do you study I ask,
Is it truly submission or is it some *******,
How have societies throughout the world not advanced beyond this?

I am a closed book
full of feelings and emotions
and I have let you in
for I want you to read my story
and fill the blank pages.

For I want your quivering hands
to be the one flipping
and ripping my pages out.

For I want to experience
all of the hurt,
the joy,
the sorrow,
the love,
the sadness,
and the desire,
with no one
but you.

one: isn't she just gorgeous?
two: i bought her the best clothes i could afford. i know she can't really appreciate them now, but i wanted her to look nice.
three: look at that smile, she's definitely one of God's beautiful angels
four: she looks so peaceful.
five: go be loud somewhere else, this isn't the occasion
six: thank you for the gifts, they're truly appreciated.
seven: i haven't been able to properly leave my house in a week, i've just had so much to do to prepare.
eight: her brother and sister brought a teddy bear for her, it's one of the softest things i've ever felt.
nine: i wish my father could have been here, i haven't seen him in such a long time.
ten: i just got her baptized.
eleven: i think the flower headband is a bit much, don't you? i mean, it's pretty, but i don't think it's necessary- she's pretty enough as is.
twelve: i'm going to be stuck at home for a long time after this, aren't i?
thirteen: when does the pain start going away?
fourteen: i haven't had time to take a shower in the past few days, it's been too difficult.
fifteen: come give your little sister a kiss. yes, i know she looks kind of funny but she's still your sister.
sixteen: these bills are going to be expensive
seventeen: i'm not sure what to do next.
eighteen: it's awfully cold in here.
nineteen: i've been tired for days
twenty:  look at my beautiful baby girl!

Water only runs in the house of a holy man
But the prayers of a parched child are ignored
in favour of the money man's plan
Believe in a God all you want
he won't save you

Nihilism saves valor
Believe in nothing and nothing can hurt you
Those empty symbiotic phrases of the faithless

Listen to the chimes of the ice cream van
and despair at the crimes of a suit and tie man
Crunch of steel in a midnight collision
they collude in hopes of derision

Under desk lamp ambiance, in heated rooms
13th floor apartment blocks
where the doorman knocks
where the doorman knocks

Time and crime again, and lie and try again
Paid protests in the streets
Digest your intellect, removal of a safe space
So that they might turn the power switch

The blackout comes when revenue succumbs


In your ancient catacombs, where matted bandages hang
and drip crimson onto dusty floors
Smeared where they jeered at the death of a democracy

This is the corner of civilisation, torn down and replaced with a bank

and if i were to compare you to anything
it would be to how i like my coffee:
strong enough to wake me up
when nothing else will  do the trick
sweet enough to remind me
that there is still magic
but most importantly i want you
warm and pressed gently
against my lips.

THE DOCTORS SAY
HE'S NOT NEARLY
A MANIC ENOUGH

TO BE BIPOLAR

BUT THEY FEEL
HE'S NOT BEEN
ALTOGETHER PLAIN SPEAKING

STILL DIAGNOSED WITH
SEVERE DEPRESSION AND
A SCHIZOID PERSONALITY

HE ALWAYS THOUGHT
HIM NO ONE
OR LIKE GOD

TELL DEATH I
STOLE HIS OLD
MASK OF HIM

TELL LIFE HE'S
NOT NEARLY BRAVE
ENOUGH TO MAKE

THE SUFFERING END

Transported
by the waves of sound
so transcendentally human
I am swallowed, surrounded

The basses are an ocean swell
the tenors, a hull of solid oak.
We stand upon the altos’ sturdy deck,
gaze upwards at soprano sails
swollen with song

What strange creatures we,
to join and mingle so
to vanish in the whole.
This ritual enacted
for this God, or that
has outlived immortals and still
floods with lifeblood

Anu, Enlil, Enki, Baal,
dived divinely
in the sea of song
and vanished.
Forgotten gods adrift
in harmony, in melody

And while I wish
all gods forgotten
I would abase myself
before Jehovah’s golden toes
to be a part
of this eternal choir.

Maybe it was the fact that you laughed
Even at the most stupid things
Or the way you made your problems seem unimportant
Though the pain was inevitable
Maybe it was the way you smiled at everyone
But only cried in front of a select few
And maybe it was the fact that you treated me like I existed
Though I was but a speck of galaxy.
But I found myself falling for you
Even though I knew from the beginning
That you weren't mine
And you would never catch me
And I would forever fall
In love
With you