We are the strangers we were meant to be.
We are lost, we are cold, but never free.
How do we escape this dark unfriendly town,
streets they are so empty, streets they are so brown.
As we make our way through life,
we try to bury all the strife.
We turn around the bend, losing every good old friend
now we know we can't pretend that this moment is now the end.

In a world so filled with apathy
Someone has to feel
I'm sorry that you're one of the chosen

Plagued by the weight of the world
It can be hard to deal  
The task of those who live with their eyes open

Your thoughts are your thoughts
Your emotions are just
Nothing could make that less valid

Those who don't understand
May think they have the upper hand
But their lives are the ones that are pallid

I'd like to tell you a story
It begins in 1492
When dear old Christopher Columbus
Sailed the ocean blue

He landed on what he thought
To be the country of India
He stumbled upon a group of people
Who appeared to be indigenous

Because these native people
Happened to be where he thought he was
He called them all "Indians"
&& somehow that name stuck

They welcomed his group with open arms
Even offered them their feast
Unaware that deep inside
They were but wolves, dressed as sheep

Columbus && his crew
Soon ravaged the land
They took what they saw
Then they took full command

Of the people they found
On the land where they landed
They felt they should rule
So they stepped in, heavy handed

They murdered the people
Who had taken them in
Set fire to their villages
While the victims watched with their kin

Flash forward to the future
It's now 2016
It's been over 500 years
Since the overtaking by the regime

Future settlers decided
To let the survivors live on
They designated them small areas
Of what had not yet been robbed

These Native Americans,
Generally keep to themselves
They get by living off their land
But now they need your help

The Sioux of Standing Rock
Are being horribly mistreated
The state of North Dakota
Is poisoning them without reason

A pipeline has been built
That runs through this Native territory
When Bismarck residents didn't want it
It was rerouted, how discriminatory

People from all over the country
Are seeming to agree
They are making the commute
To protest peacefully

In defense of an oppressed people
Who only want to live
But the government is stepping in
Even blowing off some limbs

"Let them die, they're not like us"
the message the administration is sending
It seems that after all this time
The battle is never-ending

What exactly does it take
For people to see eye-to-eye?
In the end we're all just human  
We kiss, we laugh, we cry

So if you have a heart at all
If you know that this is wrong
Please join the Sioux in their mission
By coming together, we can be strong

I don’t know what’s coming
The silence is clear
Sharp and painful
And nobody’s near.
I came to get hurt
To be torn apart
With shattered worth
And a broken heart.
I crave the pain
Deep in my skin
Creating warmth
As the darkness seeps in.
There is no telling
What is to come
My mind is racing
And my heart is numb.
I’m a very small piece
On the large scale
Unable to be seen
So I am bound to fail.
The walls are bland
As I look around
For a part of me
That cannot be found.
What will happen
When I see the light
And my soul disappears
Into the night.

Through the keyhole darkly,
he could now remember his name

Through the keyhole darkly,
his medicine kicked in once again

Through the keyhole darkly,
he knew his daughter by her face

Through the keyhole darkly,
he was back at home in his space

Through the keyhole darkly,
his dog was closely by his side

Through the keyhole darkly,
his eyes though saddened, opened wide

Through the keyhole darkly,
her voice unwrapped the precious gift

Through the keyhole darkly,
a love once anchored, set adrift

Through the keyhole darkly,
he felt the light begin to dim

Through the keyhole darkly,
his markers fade, his reference thin

Through the keyhole darkly,
the killer thief arrives once more

Through the keyhole darkly,
  all loss of self—a closing door

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2016)

I lived at home so long
And then one move away
Makes home feel wrong
My new place I want to stay

Away from my old problems
I don't want to go back
A new experience blossoms
I finally feel on track

This new life feels better
Home isn't home anymore
The sun shines brighter
Allowing me to explore

Despite forgetting my roots
I am someone I want to be
Eating from life's fruits
To experience life fully