Treading in the icy swells and
Going through the motions
Pretending that I swim just fine
In overwhelming oceans,
Salt-stained skin and choking throat
Floating in a sinking boat

Descending into darker depths and
Whispering lies in failing breaths
"I’m doing well, I’m only tired"
Twisting, tangled, morphing, mired
“There’s nothing wrong, I’ll be okay”
Drifting, drowning, cast away

Pushing through the iron tide and
Reaching for a hand to guide,
In sorrow I look to the shore
But find that it is there no more,
With blurred eyes I have sailed too far
And lost the light of the North Star.

Sadness has eyes
That never stop leaking
And two lips that tremble
Whenever she's speaking.
Don't let her find
A tear in your heart,
Because if she does
You'll drown there in the dark

Fear has two hands
That fidget and shake
With a voice like knives she whispers
All the risks I shouldn't take.
She closes all the windows
And stands watch at the door
To make sure I'm not tempted
To go out and explore

Loneliness is shrouded
In a suffocating cloak
It's heaviness she often shares,
It smothers me like smoke.
She shivers, aching in the cold
With arms outstretched and yearning
For a love that never lingers
To leave a fire burning  

Happiness is fickle
She seldom comes to stay
Her light once filled my soul but now,
That glow has gone away.
With all these faces that I know
I tell myself I'm fine
But through the glass I see the truth:
Their faces mirror mine.

In the Garden of Memories
I tread softly
For dreams lay buried
Beneath the soil,
Freed from the
Binding ties
Of worldly toil

Auras etched in
Marble epitaphs
And sculpted
In statuaries,
Traces of warm
Remembrance
In the solitude
And stone.

We were like two ships
Passing in the night,
Fading with the
Waning light

Two glowing sparks
Extinguished
Before they could
Ignite

Two lines,
Perpendicular,
That met and then
Departed

The knowing
Of beginning's end
Before it had yet
Started.