We are the wood
And we stand as one
While outside, the world unfolds

Mother Earth is ever-shifting
Her children have grown feet
And we look on
As they warily step closer

Hush, children
Quiet now
Man treads between our trunks

Wide-eyed, he stares
Up through our branches
Shafts of daylight glow
Through dappled shadows

From the springs
He takes water
In a silver chalice
Of shining light

But he changes
When night falls
And the howling
Chills him to the bone

He has magicks
And strikes the stones together

A quick spark
And a flame

Furious winds beat
At the strange scarlet water
That climbs higher
Charring our skin

We stand helpless
Sweating sap
As the frantic, blistering heat
Bears down upon us
Tearing us away

And when the rains come
The blaze gives in
And dies away
Leaving nothing but ashes

But Man left his magicks

We are the whispering wood
Standing solemn and silent
Watching
As a single sprout
Peeks through the soil

You are the ocean
And I am a tiny boat
Bobbing about on your surface

You are fathomless
The home of shadows and lost worlds
And the keeper of secrets

You are sometimes serene
And your touch is delicate
You lap at the edge of the world

But you are terrible
Your rage builds walls of water
You crush entire fleets with your might

You are eternal
The wonder of all whisperers
Filled with a lifetime of reflected heavens

And I am made of wood
Drifting aimlessly through you
'Til I smash against your rocky teeth

Zephyr, won't you come
Cast me upon the shoreline?
My head grows heavy.

I spend so much time
Pinching the skin
Between my thumb and forefinger
Hoping that the pain will grab the tears
And drag them back into the ducts

I have to shoulder the burden
Though my insides are trembling
And my soul is shaking apart
For these ghosts pale in comparison
The the skeletons in your past

Still, the tears spill
And I need to cling to you
Because you are my shattered rock
And you're steady enough for me
Let me be steady enough for you

I was beautiful once.

No lines creased my face,
No grey streaked my hair;
My eyes were bright,
My voice was loud.

I used to dance;
To sing
And command every ear to listen.

Yes, I was beautiful,
But every fire has to burn away.

voices


They speak to me
When I am alone;
They tell me about you.
Now that I know you, they know you too,
And they will never let you stay.

They hate you.

They flaunt your flaws,
Force my eyes open
And make me see.
They leave me exposed
To the heat of your words
And the coldest of your ways.
They make me hate you.


voices


I squeeze my eyes shut
And they slither through my mind,
Coiling around my senses.

They hate me

Rustling in the darkest corners,
I hear them.
They whisper in my ear,
Feeding my fears,
And they make me hate me.


i try to shake them off
try to keep myself awake
i can't let them hiss at me
make me despise everything


But they persist.
They want me to fail,
And so I want to fail.
They want me to fall,
And now I'm falling.


i turn up the sounds
to try and drown them out
but i can't stop them!
...they hate me
and now i hate myself too


voices


in the darkness i tie knots
and i tie them tight
i loops loops and i loops them right*


And the voices have won.

Not everyone is born to be happy.
I know this because there are people
Whose lives are torn apart
Day after day, by demons
That live to taste their tears.

Not everyone is born to be beautiful.
I know this because of the futile hours
I spend trying to overcome my poor eyesight
And make myself look pretty
In the bathroom mirror.

Not everyone is born to be loved.
I know this because of the lonely hearts
That call out in the night,
Beating and breaking as they wander
Until their bodies give out.