they all think I'm wearing,
a bulletproof west,
but can't you see,
I'm lying on the ground,
bleeding,
screaming,
and you are still shooting me?

(e.k.j.)

Every night before I go to bed
I am a prisoner to my mind.
A slave to my thoughts.
The words in my head haunt me.
People are afraid of the monsters under their beds.
But I'm afraid of the ones in my head.

Many people always say
that they're okay
hoping we wouldn't believe
so don't be too naìve.
She needs your help
always feels bad about herself
she thinks she's worthless
never has true happiness

Everyone has a mask they put on
As believable as the rising sun
doing everything to conceal
most of what they really feel
until life becomes a living masquerade
feelings being hidden in the shade
See this is what I mean,
People aren't always as they seem.
Blissful on the outside,
but broken inside.

He needs you to realize,
when he says he's fine, it's a lie.
Learning to read him is key
to see beneath what the human eye percieves.
All he needs
is someone who can say, "You're good enough for me."

We use masks to hide it all
but someday, one could fall.
To prevent that, there's a lot you could do.
Make them feel special to you.

Everyday a living masquerade;
an abundance of hiding the pain.

as i stand, naked, before a full length mirror
i look at myself in confusion
and i desperately search for why
in every crease and line
throughout every dimple and bone
in between the spider veins and stretch marks
pale skin and scars
this isn't beauty

as i lay, naked, in the warmth of your arms
i look at you with sincerity
and i calmly understand why
in every crease and line
throughout every dimple and bone
in between your blonde hair and blue eyes
pale skin and scars
this is beauty

i am alone
totally and completely
it wasn't like this before

i had so much attention recently
slowly i was trying to pull away
i was crumbling under all of it

i'm not used to people seeing me
i'm the invisible one
i'm the one no one pays attention to

i cut off my hair thinking it was time for a change
the only thing i feel is more vulnerable
i don't have my shield anymore

so here i am, alone,
waiting for somebody to save me
when all i do is push people away

This is my white flag and
I surrender with every ounce of me.
I refuse to fight you anymore;
this battle cannot be won.
Because this war in my mind
is never ending
and I am the only soldier left standing.
I am certain that the smoke will never clear
and I have become terrified of what
has made it's home within it.
Please, do not send help,
I've given up on my own terms
and I will lose graciously.

- R. H.

I am so young
Yet so strong
Strongly salty
Like the seawater
Strongly lazy
Like the wind

I am dull
As a knife I don't have worth
Even pen can stab but I cannot
I am the seawater; I am the wind
I don't need to explain my worth to you

Every morning I wake up with poetry
On the tip of my tongue
On every clip of my nail
My fallen hair
The dead cells on my bed
My greasy face

I open my eyes with poetry
This heart beats in poetry
These erythrocytes carry poetry
I breathe poetry
I live in poetry
I do not need words
Not all poetries are words
And that's enough