I have but one vice
On days such as this
To live everything twice
In indulgent ‘what ifs'

In the brushstrokes of a painter
Sweeping across the canvas
In the eye of a photographer
Holding present seconds past

In the rhythm of a symphony
Stringing its harmonic melodies
In the swift rising and ending
Connecting the hero's journey

You can find me.

We can make you fall in love
We can make you sing along

We can craft a love affair
We can fake it like we care

We can lure you with our bait
We can be your worst mistake

Both truth tellers and deceivers
We are poetic word weavers

Beware of our siren songs.

Like a kid in a candy store
I was loading up big
Filling arms and hands
'Till nothing else fit

But up at the counter
They gave me the bad news
The price was work and time
And I was overbooked

So I pushed aside the pile
And picked up one tiny thing
Hoping it was worth the price
Of all my other dreams

Music, I don’t hear it
Like most of the world
Rhythm, I can’t feel it
Like I can touch words

But you, you hear it well
The sounds I cannot see
They live inside your head
Before you set them free

So let us walk this path
Where both of our arts meet
I will spill out my heart
To your new melody

Feed me with
favorites, re-tweets
and likes

Feed me with
hearts as
flat as knifes

Feed me with
double taps
and false reality

Feed me with
comments
from a celebrity

Stroke me
gently and
repeatedly

My ego
enjoys a timely
delivery

Have you ever stared at
tree branches in the night
sorted out twisted shapes
against a black blue sky?

Have you ever gazed
at the disappearing line
beneath the summer haze
of ocean blue for miles?

Has anyone, I wonder
actually watched the rain
like they do in the movies
against the window pane?

Do you think that we'll ever
watch daytime clouds go by
like young and naive lovers
far from their last good bye?

I wonder what the sky
looks like from where you sit
I most prefer the dark
from where the stars are lit.

It’s nice up here, you know?
Where my ego can fly
A God view to down below
Watching the frantic fight

Once searched high and low
For the meaning of it all
Connected the dots
To a line that circles back

It’s vicious they say
Goes round and round
Repetition at play
Where patterns abound

See my shadow below
Deep down I know the truth
It’s where I too belong
Among a sea of fools

I read a stream of musings
Of amber autumn leafs
Thunderstorms rising
Blue oceans and ravines

And turned to look outside
Hoping to find my own
But saw dying grass for miles
Beneath a blinding sun

Perhaps I'll drive a while
And find myself upon
An undiscovered sight
With nature's gentle song

I’m sorry, I can’t seem
To write about you, love
Believe me, I’ve tried
It always comes up short

But I think I’ve solved
The root, evil cause
When it comes to us
I’m an unyielding wall

If every other subject
Is an open heart laid bare
For you I come up empty
And unwilling to share

Not on a piece of paper
Or on a glowing screen
Apart from all the others
You just belong to me

Truth is the square
In white block letters
No sources needed
I’m all educated

I remember the night
I wished to rip my skin
From my bones, from my veins
Clawing at it to bleed

To drain you out
To scrub me clean
To dig out all the
you in me

I remember the screams
The murderous shrill sound
Coming from my own mouth
As if to shout you out

I remember the days
That followed and the weeks
Of sitting still in darkness
Waiting for you to leave

I remember the hole
You left behind to fill
I remember it all
I remember it still

Down the rabbit hole
Chasing my own tail
Needing time alone
Feeling overwhelmed

Forest for the trees
Missing little things
Now into the weeds
Worried about everything

A walking contradiction
Pushing close to the edge
Racing in all directions
I'm a ******* mess

Going down in flames
Stirring up a storm
But what's in a name
If it all feels wrong

Exercise in futility
Everything I say
Endlessly repeating
Yesterday's mistakes

Selfish with my time
As well as my skin
Truth is I’m no good
For the little things

Great in theory
Like a bright idea
I lose my shimmer
If you come near

It seems that distance
Brings out my best
For as a stranger
I fare out well

Bulging Veins
Twisted faces
Hands raised
Angry shouts

Bold comments
Unveiled
Exclamation points
Abound

Crowds stop
as does their
sound

Fingers pause
and screens
shut down

Returning
to the daily grind
Resetting
default smiles

Small minds
to inbreed
Prejudice

Fallen lovers
to dwell in
Bitterness

Wealthy elite
to ensure
Inequality

Wishful thinkers
to escape
Reality

Introverts
to finally be
Alone

We all gravitate
to our own
black holes

It’s unintentional but for a moment
What follows after is designed for pain
The daggers from my mouth are automatic
And I know exactly where to aim

You’re breaking the emergency glass
But it’s all too little too late
You’re standing in a bloodbath
And I’m running high on hate

The boiling in my blood rises
As love gives way to rage
I’m burning it all to ashes
And taking you down in flames

Run out while you still can
And don’t try to be a hero
I’ll say what I can’t take back
To make it all even clearer

You say that I don’t mean it
And I try harder to scream
You don’t want to believe it
But this might be the real me

My expression changes
And the conversation turns sour
When your name is mentioned
Everything gets awkward

People talk of lessons learned
And things they’d never take back
But I know I’d get rid of you
Without a second thought

A pointless second heartache
Not even my first love
I was moving on with life
The moment you showed up

Regaining all my strength
I built up enough trust
To place in your hands
The beating sign of love

The night you told the truth
I felt my soul go numb
No tears in front of you
But I did shed them all

In the corner of a room
Cradled in my best friend’s arms
Curled in a fetal position
Choking on my bleeding heart

No, I don’t want to remember
The way any of this started
None of your eternal promises
Or the things I thought once mattered

If I got a second chance
To life live a different way
I’d go back and take from you
Every single thing I gave

Conviction, certainty
Knowledge of the world
A clear understanding
Of how it all worked

I had all these things
A long time ago
The moment you'd speak
I'd know the response

No changing my mind
My worldview was set
Thought I was a delight
But I was a little ****

I am
A freshly broken heart
Not yet grieving
the aftermath

Stuck
Holding my breath
On the edge of a cliff
Frozen in step

Looking out
At a million paths
With feet planted
In quicksand

Swimming
In a sea of thoughts
Of the days ahead
And the days past

Nowhere
And everywhere at once
Processing
As much as I can

Slowly
It starts to sink in
Everything I knew
Is spinning

Every story
Ever told
Held
The secret
To a soul

I cannot find it here
It seems

I search ahead
Far and distant

Wishful things

I frame their shape
I shade them in

Ignoring where
I rest my wrist

Sand spills

The words she would have said
Became a pleasant smile
Remembering what mother said
Some things aren’t worth the while

And holding tight a war of words
Burning beneath her skin
She answered in a silent nod
That seemingly agreed

The truth is
An abyss
Between two

I am a ghost
Unseen
In the fog

She is words
Rising up
Standing tall

I am clothed
In accepted
Social norms

She is naked
In the eye
Of a storm

I am cautious
to think
before I speak

She is wild
spilling out
everything

I am
her worst
enemy

She is
screams
from captivity

Endless deserving subjects
It takes but one look around
Even in the smallest object
Poetry waits to be found

Yet we write with closed eyes
Failing to unveil a thing
Rhyming about our own minds
With a narcissistic ring

Hearts lay bare
Equally protected
Thoughts peel back
Without consequence

Questions are told
Only to be heard
As we slowly fold
Into a steady breath

More than lovers
Tangled between limbs
We are soulmates
Listening

When it comes
To inspiration
There's no waiting
I force her hand
Daily