I remember in grade 4, when "*** brain" was rude
offensive, like calling a girl a dude
but now it's different,
kids saying "**** yourself", why?

blame it on a bad mood
it's a bother to try

there's conflict
and there's resolution
we were supposed to be the role models, what happened to a solution
because right now, we're falling back in evolution

this language, these words,
the trouble
everyone wants a good rebuttal
but it's not just the words, sticks and stones
now kids in middle school are breaking their bones

knives brought to a fight, we're killing our own
because we wanted what, to get in our zone
this shouldn't be okay, this shouldn't be accepted
we're destructive, taking society just to break it down and wreck it

sometimes I go to sleep
and I dont want to wake
I want to sink into my bed
and sink deep as if it was a lake

I ask a lot of questions
but do I ever get an answer
I just need some help
it's killing me like cancer

but with cancer theres hope
I dont have any
I feel worthless inside
useless as a penny

I try to get better
but I just get better at getting worst
my happiness is gone
they carried it with a hearse

why am I this way
please tell me why
they say be happy
but all I seem to do is defy

I have it good
so why do I feel bad
I dont know anymore
its just sad

I hate this

Stardust
Indeed, everything is stardust,
Yes, you and I both,
The chocolate wrapper blowing down the street,
The cat arching its back as I walk by,
The child skipping, and the rope,
The watching dog, licking its paw,
Nonchalant to the whole world.

The tree in the forest,
The axe ending its life,
The startled squirrel escaping
The grubs feeding on its leaves,
(Visible and invisible)
Land ocean and sky,
All are, and forever will be,
Stardust.

© Paul Chafer 2014

if i had three wishes
id wish i was still a kid
with that over confidence
dreams always growing big
because when i was young
i wouldnt be afraid of all these people
always racing to be better like they're in a game of steeple
now we're shooting our own,
for the simple plot of attention
it's like hollywood wanted more
and this life was an invention
because we live around drama
we live around war
i just wanted peace
they just wanted more

if i had three wishes
id wish for a world of peace
people saying "he's a terrorist"
when he's just from the middle east
we're fighting battles,
without so much as a reason
and we keep poking fun
but try to look sad when they're leaving
and we're grieving them
when we led them to their action
all because we wanted what
a ******* reaction
do you know they have a family
a mom and a dad
they have brothers and sisters
and friends that are sad
its like these people are objects
and we're playing with toys
it's like we evolved from adults
men to boys

if i had three wishes
id wish people had morals
always arguing,
for the sake of a quarrel
this **** is getting old
this **** is getting bad
is this life
or just another stupid fad

you tell me to describe you,
but there's no words good enough
they say there's fish in the sea,
but you're a diamond in the rough

it's tough to be patient,
but you make time fly by
you're the perfect creation
and you don't even try

I'm confident it'll work,
and it'll be hell if I'm wrong
because you're stuck in my head
you're my new favorite song

you're the sound of the water,
the birds and the waves,
I think I need rehab
because you're the drug I crave

this life isn't for pretending,
we open our book, just to wait for the ending
and how it's gonna turn out, but all that's depending
on how we act, who we are, but are we really going far
judging kids on who they are by the model of their car
and it's sad when kids are dying, because one wants attention
but we're not going to cure bad by handing out detentions
where do we cross the line, it's the bad that's being mentioned
they expect us to better ourselves, just by reprimanding
we need help, but it's just hate that we're sending
so it's a game of survival, they just left us fending

why can't I sleep
on those lonely nights I try,
why can't I dream
on those nights I want to die,
why can't I think
when I want some imagination
and now I'm stuck
in this maze of an equation
always looking for the answer
but it seems it got taken
so I'm on a search
looking for the right reasons
to live and be free
when its death that I'm eating