Every week
we wake back up
to a tragedy,
a massacre,
an endless cycle,
bound to repeat.

They say our cities are dangerous
they shovel money
into the mouth of the beast
nothing ever changes -
an endless cycle,
bound to repeat.

They say our children are in danger
that they are lied to and manipulated,
fighting against the teachers
they once called heroes,
we are stuck in a cycle,
bound to repeat.

How many more must perish
in the war against each other
the solution is clear -
yet we are still full of fear
please break this cycle,
we don't want it to repeat.

Time spent with family
I'm able to break free
from all these bad habits
constantly chasing after me.
They never truly go away
sticking to me
like a shadow sticks
to the concrete.
Time spent away
distanced from my past
I feel finally free
from the demons in me.
Now I'm home alone,
I'm all on my own
I was naive
I thought I was free.
Knocking on the door
I hear a familiar sound
it's my shadow; the demon
I've been found.

Whenever I return
I make sure to take notice
of all your quirks and the works
that in a few years
will be gone on short notice.
I photograph and I film
so later I can reflect
on all the time together
we have spent.
My best friend since birth
my partner in crime
we do everything together, yet
I cannot imagine a world without you
my beautiful divine.
Hair as white as snow
and eyes as blue as the sky
your pink nose, and ears
and the smile you leave behind.
I cherish and treasure
every single moment together,
you are spoiled and sometimes rotten
but rest assured, that in my life
you will never be forgotten.
They say mans best friend
is D-O-G
but to me that's a fable,
because for me
it's C-A-T
never forget, I love you Kenny

I smoke to forget
I fill my head up with clouds
like a thick fog on the ocean blue
so my memories are unable to cut through

To cover up and hide away
all of my pain and shame of yesterday
I smoke to forget
my life full of regret

Like my head's up my ***
I fill my head up with gas
and feel relief from the fumes
that cloud up my room

As I lay here, I languish
contemplating my own demise
for when I look in my mirror
the eyes I see, I don't recognize

Because I fill my head up with smoke
so I don't have to evoke
all of my pain and shame
I have hidden away since yesterday

I don't recognize the man in the mirror
because he is not the man I see
he is the perception of me
not my reality

When I look in the mirror
all that I see is that unfamiliar stranger
with his crooked smile and fixated eyes
looking back at me

He follows my movements,
my quirks and the works,
yet, all I see is a depiction
of a man destined for work.

The bags under his eyes
carry the weight of the world
His brow is stained with sweat,
his lip is curled

This man in the mirror,
he is not me.
He was, and always will be
a depiction
of what the world expects from me.

This is the poem I don't know how to write,
the one where I am able to express myself
articulately and with ease

the one where I know what to say
and how to say it

the one where I can relax
from the fear of imperfection

the one where I explain myself,
feelings, and emotions all in my head

the one loved and adored by all
remembered not forgotten

This is the poem I don't know how to write.

where do we go when we are alone?
when we are lost without a place to call home
except for a cheap imitation
that looks so familiar to home
with the same outside
with the changed interior
it's like two personalities
trapped in a closet
jingling the handle
to a locked door
fighting to get out
but nobody hears you
nobody sees you
you are alone
so, where do we go?

your absence has been revealing
the reach of your arms; exposed
my thoughts,
feelings and actions
forever altered from our encounter

I have learned from our departure
you were not the flaw
I was flawed before we met
and now understand that you were my voice
but I haven't spoken since

its been two years
without you in my life
since I abruptly left
years full of pain and confusion
of being lost
the pain you brought me
was nothing compared to the pain without you
the soundtrack of my life
missing

it's one of those days
where nothing seems to be going right
and everything is out to get you,
woken up on the wrong side of the bed
and your whole day is off
you feel uncomfortable
but for no particular reason,
you're trapped inside with nothing to do
desperate to socialize
but your mood is contradicting your thoughts
and you get annoyed at the littlest things
but you don't know why
and no matter what you do to fix it
nothing will change
because it's one of those days
and those days never end
while we're stuck inside,
doomed to repeat them again.

You're like the villain in my own story
as soon as it seems good you reappear,
what was once so close is no longer near.

When I take one step forward, you take two steps back
two steps forward, four steps back
no matter where I go, I'm always trapped.

I stand on these crutches but others stand higher,
while they're looking ahead, I'm looking tired
I guess it's just how we're wired.

We've convinced ourself this is normal
"I'm just stuck in a rut!" but in actuality,
maybe I'm just a nut?

When you're flushed with sadness and have no other,
blue is your only color
With a blue heart and a blue soul, a new person begins to unfold

Drowning in a sea of sadness,
Burning in the fires of hate,
Blinded by the deceit of lies,
Only one color awaits

Inside of you, there is nothing new,
meat, bones, a whole skeleton too,

Aside from that only you can see,
That inside of you is the blue I see.

I’ve finally opened my eyes and seen,
That encased by the blanket of this cave, I am free,
Still, I look around and see the world laid out in front of me.

To have woken from the long drawn out dream,
I’ve yet to recognize those surrounding me,
For they’re blinded by its light, my eyes have been opened and seen.

Cushioned by the falsehoods of its warmth,
Deceived by the lies in its message,
Whenever I look out, I don’t recognize this world in front of me.

submerged by the intensity from above, the curtain has fallen over,
Omnipresent, its beady eyes wait to deliver with intensity,
For the facade of the forever omnipresent has opened its eyes and seen,

The cataract of its illusion has lost its control of me.
Comfort in the cave has provided its solace, now
As I peer through the cracks to this wonderful world laid out in front of me,

I see the canvas of an artist, eager to begin,
Waiting for the soon-to-be sprouting daffodils,
Beneath the blanket of the sky, I’ve finally opened my eyes to now see
The beauty and innocence of the world laid out in front of me.