They removed all the music
All the resonating themes
All the reverberating halls
They burnt all the notes
All the colors
All the past
They stomped out the language  
All the crescendos did they wipe
All was lost and thrown away
They stole all the music
So only their treacherous tune would be heard
And the trumpets of war did sound
And when it ceased-
Silence overtook us

Have you ever heard a song
That makes you want to cry
That makes you want to love
To fight
To run
To give everything you have?
Have you ever heard a tune
That makes your world worth living for those few seconds left
A melody that makes you think
And understand
That maybe there is an escape
Have you ever heard a note  
That makes everything ok again
Because it sums all the fears you've ever had
And jumbles them with all your courage
And you say to yourself
Within your mind
Within your soul
Within your aching bones that everything is going to be alright?
Have you ever heard those words
In your head
That just kind of flow right onto the page
And you can't explain why
You can't tell anyone why
But it just is
And it alway should have been?
That soothing tune that plays
That tune is your voice
So please don't ever stop
Talk to me till the sun goes down

He was the villain the world needed
The villain the world always had
Yet never recognized
Writing the wrongs of humanity
Puppeteering the people
Hidden behind the devilish mask of "fate"
He was a villain without destiny
A man without morals
A vigilante to some
A criminal to others
Reality to the bitter globe
He was the hero no one wanted
Yet, he was the angel the murkiest city prayed for
He was the Playwright
The shadow who wrote the greatest performances
Who took the most unrighteous city
And orchestrated the greatest theatrical achievement in history
Curtain opens
*Enter Playwright

Rain is such a beautiful thing
The way the drops splash
Drenching all in a liquid sheet
All encompassing it rains for miles
Swallowing the world in a dreary state

I love the rain
Rain means no smiles
No sunny days
A world with rain
Where the people feel my sorrow
Where my darkness becomes reality
And no matter how much they despise it
They cannot escape

Rain is cruel
Trapping you
Holding you
Rain is misery
Rain is my reality
That I gladly give to you

In one hand I held a clock
That ticked with a deep and meaningful tone
The hands melodically spinning in hypnotizing fashion
In the other hand I held the riches of the world
It gleamed with unmatched radiance
Shimmering in the scorching sun
I sat back in my leather chair
Many years later
For me
Money was never a problem
I had no care in the world
The women came and went
The drinks never stopped pouring
The cars were always shining and new
I used hundred dollar bills to blow my nose
Wrote tips to impress the peasants around me
Took holidays in tropical resorts
Smoked Cuban cigars
Peddled ******* coast to coast for an afternoon buzz
I did what I wanted
Because my riches let me do so
I chose this life of leisure
This life of never having a care in the world again
But...
I chose wrong
That clock I held so many years ago
With all the money and power I had in my hands
I could never hold again

The five great kingdoms fought
Till metal rusted upon their shields
Young boys caught in bitter feuds
No longer knowing, why blood spewed
As priests did preach upon guilty stage
Filled with rage did oracles vow
To wage a war of dooming age
With trebuchet and viscous scow
Fire spewed and darkness crept
Swept to the four corners of the earth, with ease
So did appease their desires for death
Did the men of kingdoms old carry on
Until, from the depths of hell did break
In the coming wake of satan himself
A sixth kingdom rose with the intent to take
The beloved land of foolish men
But the ignorant kings, rich with gold
Refused to fight with enemies old
Boys now men fight the wars
Charred and battered city doors
And to this day, our kingdoms fall
To the sixth kingdom of greed
That will ruin us all

We fell not because of hate
But because of sins
Through miles and miles of death we create
With the grinds of gears and metal fins

Like father, Like son
Humanity fell from which it stood
Addicted to victories and battles won
No man truly believed we ever could

Sweet nectar dripped from gun barrels soft
Sipping the fluid from our success
Our golden world we held aloft
Despite the weak we dared oppress

Like fools we cut our very wings
Like caged animals we broke others bones
For when the father's evil sins do sing
The son shall fall and always atones

We were stubborn from the very start
Inventing new ways to **** our foes
But friend from foe we could not tell apart
And solemn notes did play our woes

And here we fall, with deafening cry,
On hands and knees, shall man cower and die

Blankly staring, gaze of hardened stone
Clench fists whitening, knuckles gripping thin air
Jaw line straining, grinding teeth to powdered dust
No words do describe tormented rage
Melted with fury
Churned with bitter taste
Like rusted nails
Wire of the sharpest shape
Acid of purest state
My hate
My hate
A burden to my being
Devil upon shoulder
Days
Nights
Dominos falling
My hate
My Hate
Fire of unending blaze
No fruit to quench its thirst

I realize now the world is rules
Regulations to keep us in check
Fundamentals to our daily lives
And oh so how we fuss and fight
These rules will always win
I realize now this world needs discipline
Orders to keep us straight and firm
Where one man fails
Another helps him up
And together these rules bind us all
So hail my brothers to regulations and rules
Hail to the strict code of truth!
As we fall in place to these guideline laws
We shall never fall down again
Stand straight
Speak soft
Bow
And introduce yourself in full!
No lower can be tolerated
No flaw or change of pace
Rules are set and now inscribed
Forever shall we prosper

I feel *****
Like the ***** you cannot shake or wash away
A ***** that smells but is only putrid to you
The disappointment, the despair
The dirtiness that you feel when you dripped gasoline on your hands
Where the fragrance never leaves and the memory hits you
A constant reminder of what you did
Like a stain that stares at you and reveals what was done
Where it bleeds through the many layers designed to conceal it but it wreaks.
And as I go through my day, I can't look my parents in the eye
I can't smile at them like the son they love
For the smell only embarrasses me more
"They didn't raise me to be this way"
And I stumble with words to form an excuse
Jumbled and fake I have no alibi
I am a convicted man and as the plan goes
My action only makes me lower my head in shame
I want to shove it under my bed, strangle it and let it die with time
But inside I know
Inside I feel
That this smell will be forever there
Another stench I must solemnly bare.

I take a sip yet my thirst is never quenched
Like a hunger with no end
A ravenous abyss, bottomless and forever
I talk yet no one speaks back
Not even an echo wants to chat with myself
My reflection often late when I stand in the mirror
I bounce a ball on the wall but doesn't feel like coming back
I pull the covers up when I lie in bed
But all I get is colder
I study longer to achieve more
But end up bringing the class average down even more
I sharpen pencils only to find them dull without a point
Cause sometimes I feel like their is no point
No crest to my existence
Sometimes the clouds broil
But the rain falls only on me
Sometimes I feel the frowns
The disappointment hits home like cold water on my face
Sometimes we all need to fall
In order to crawl and get up once more.

What happens to the mediocre man in an opposite world
Where the poor are rich
And rich are poor
Where the tables turn and opposite ends flip
For man always cries for the poor and dirtied souls
Or envies the affluent and golden kings
But who cares for the man halfway there
Who stands at the midpoint between the rich and impoverished
For the sad truth is, that when a sealed jar of water is flipped on its cap
The Bottom becomes Top
And the Top becomes Bottom
But the water remains where it had always been before
Never changing any better nor worse
No one cries for the mediocre man

Hey you there,
You sitting with your phone or computer
Scrolling through to find something to entertain yourself with
Or maybe trying to forget about the world for just a moment
Losing yourself for only a second
Hey you there,
Boy or Girl, Man or Woman
Who has some chores or work to do but would rather read some poetry
Who wants to write something
But can't figure how to fit the words that capture the feelings
Who only wants to run away and express yourself through words in print
Hey you there,
Doubting soul, who fears the future and what it hides
Or shameful past and stupid mistakes
Things you wish you could write about and accept it for what they are
I write this just as you do
Hey you there,
I am a human too
A guy just trying to mend the broken pieces and turn it beautiful again
To find the love of my life or achieve something for myself
Trying to fight the same but different fight we face everyday
Hey you there,
I imagine you reading this
Your eyes glancing across the screen
The tabs opened with music playing (or not)
We all do the same kinds of things
So do not fret, for we are all universally unique
Fighting our own battles, yet looking all the same.

Life comes like a smack,
Which slaps the fact
Right back
At you
If you react
Shows what you lack
Or if you're on track
Emotions in tact
Slipping past the smallest crack
Into a dismal state
And all these things proliferate
As they irritate and exaggerate
Is it always fate to wait
And see this all crumble down
For as we sit and stay a while
As another tile in this grand design
I only watch as time ticks by
Asking why did it have to ever leave me.

It's days like these that I wish to float away
To walk through a sunflower garden and admire life for what it is
Content for once, where whispers of olden days play
When staring in awe, I realize how how fast the clouds do move
Or how warm the sun bathes us so
Or how the trees sway
Where birds do sing their songs
And shade covers small patches of purple flowers
Waking from an icy winter sleep
When the world greets you as you step out into its home
That is when you know you have found yourself
In Spring again

And when my name is spoken
When opportunity is at hand
I shall not waiver nor be broken
For my might is all too grand
And through all pain and punishment
With bruises and ugly scars
Alongside my brothers I will carry
Breaking through the stars
And when you hear us calling
With our colors flying high
Prep your greatest warriors
For heroes never die

We are soldiers who do not understand what we are capable of
How one person can send the largest ripple in the puddle of life
Through the power they posses
In an instant the most radical choice
The most ludicrous idea
Can set you on a whirlwind adventure.
Call it ignorance
Call it beauty
Call it what it is
But never forget the power everyone has within them
For every man fights his own battle
Trudging forth through the wilderness
Catching his breath for the slightest of moments
Give him praise when you meet in that forest
For when you part ways
That adventurer will surely never forget you
Squander not the power you hold inside yourself
Be brave
Be unafraid of the consequences
Be wise and fair
For there is nothing as inspiring
For when an explorer
Lost in the depths of the darkest wood
Finally finds himself beneath the undergrowth
And I can only hope for when you find yourself
I'll be there
"Catching some of the light comin' off you that day"

The sun set behind the shambled buildings
All that was left before our end
And on the wind I heard Them
Those left to plague the dark corners
To hide in the cracks of darkened halls
Swings swayed and street lights flickered
Screams echoed through the cities hallways
Deserted cars like matchbox toys
Moans of the dead filled the air
Friends and family gone and passed
In an instant before the storm
I sat nestled in my tree for the night
Alone
As if anything had changed

You always know when a room needs cleaning
When you sit up in bed while slowly dreaming
And you say those words
Those awful words
"I should really. clean. up."
From clothes to papers
Trash and toys
To all you girls and (lets be honest) mostly boys
That frightful moment when all stands still
Where your room goes under the surgeons knife…
And for me
Its easy
But very odd to explain
Am I the only one who can't ever decide
If I 'll ever need this tiny thing again?
From the trinkets to the binders
From trivial to the important
It is simply impossible for me to decide
What to keep or throw away
But!
Don't call me a hoarder
I much prefer the title planner
For what I keep may possibly be used again
In the end I shove it all away
In the drawers and behind closet doors
Gathering dust
And turning to rust
Waiting to be used again.

The greatest men and women of our history
Never gave a **** what others thought
When wrought with the most sour of adversity
And maybe this notion is what separates us from them
When we've lost the confidence to fend for ourselves
Where:
A Nun cared for millions not for herself but for them
The Hopeless and Needy
A President guided a nation toward freedom and unity for them
The Lost and Enslaved
A Singer sang her heart out one step ahead of a racist world for them
The Broken and Battered
A **** defied evil itself to save those who needed it most for them
The Persecuted and Shattered
What we lack in this modern world is the sense to act
From me, to you, to everyone
Where the next one in line says the other will step up
Yet no one takes the stage, vacant, empty
And evil prevails for when good sits back and watches
The world gets ugly
People bicker and fight
Over ancient quarrels and forefather's sins
But for what
For themselves?
What we have forgotten is the ticking clock
And have been wasting the precious minutes
The seconds, the hours
Desperately digging for more in a barren land
Why not live a life not as a digger
A miner sent down into the dark lit caves
But as a human
A being capable of loving thy neighbor
And having a laugh here and there
Why not for once love more and judge less
Cause when we do that
Maybe just maybe
We could become the men and women of our pasts
Acting up as we see a dire problem in need of fixing
Not cause the people around you do the same
But because we choose to for ourselves for once.

I then asked God,
Create a stone no being can lift
And to me he responded
No stone is too heavy
Nor too light
I create things your mind wouldn't conceive
I created your reality
Your perception of what is true
I bend the laws your greatest men have formulated
For those laws are basic concepts
Trivial matters and human logic
I created logic itself
For with a stone no being can lift
It would not be impossible
Yet, it would be possible
For there is no logic that binds me

I feel my power waning
Like the Amazon
So lush
Yet cut down so slowly
By the cruel hands of men
Why me?….

In this whole wide sphere
Do you make a mission to commission me
for decay
Like a city I lay pristine and pure
Yet within my choked out pipes
I pump my veins in sewage glop
***** roads
They part
so many paths winding
So stars may twinkle and beams of the future
May sparkle with arrogant smiles
Be mine

Or be gone
Whichever suits you best
Don't toy with my thoughts
Nor meddle with my soul
I wish to be alone
Yet I yearn for company around me
Shaking hands
Scheming plans
Smiling with rotted teeth
And now…

Now, such a funny little word
A slimy word, a detestable word
For it describes the moment at hand
Though, with salivating lips, only desire the "then"
The kettle screams with steam built up
A child runs from home

(Enough)
A word so sweet so pure to taste
For it means to stop to cease
To end a trail of present things
A happy word
Where I throw my work down to the floor
Responsibility is away on vacation retreat
I want to be alone
But I don't
So maybe stay a while
With my indecisive tendencies...

Oh music box of darkest wood
So strong, so prominent is your frame
Bold with silver, chiseled beauties brass
A polish of delicate touch
Velvet organs do you hold
Of soft padded shelves and olden gold
A trophy upon a dusted shelf
Crested chest of workman's name
Patched with fervent trust
Lined in steel like curving roads
Your story holds remembered times
Saddened tunes and lifted cries
Broken hearts and twisted lies
And happiness all the same
An elegance none can recreate
Prominent upon your resting place
But beyond the outer shell but holds
The truth to your exterior frame
For when opened there plays
A soft melodic piece does sound
Floating notes from your soul
For when you hear the truth
One can't stop but listen
For all of us are like a music box
Where our melodies capture the world

Oh why my friend do you give up so
When life gave such a promising hand
With your brains and smarts you could but go
To any place in all the land
Why squander gifts which you hold inside
Your mentality reflects only shame
You say you don't care, though we know you lied
Playing life like a frivolous game
I shake my head at you, my friend
My trusted captain my first mate
All I wish to lend
Is advice for when you turn your next bend
Don't waste your talents
Or shrug it off with no care
For you will die a regretting soul
Wishing, you could have done so much more.

Oh how I would love to say
How overreaching your mind does think
From simple tones to colored words
Complications are born by your hand
I have no quarrel of your ways
All I say is let it fly
But as fruit does fall not far from tree
I have in fact invented thee
And so I take the blame

When ships set sail, their masts held high
Daunting flags, painting the sky
With rails gold rimmed
And sails sharp trimmed
A crowd appears, waving adieu, goodbye
Thunderous roar, unequaled praise
Wind catching sheets
Anchors raised
A bell rings softly and waves do lap
Against the hull of a wooden throne

From far off shores this scene is spied
With two friends of oars we've always tried
To reach for that deck
In fervent eye
Climb on board or surely die
Tattered clothes, sailors cap
Smudge on cheek
Shirt of burlap
We push off deck
Yet crowd is gone
A journey ventured with bright sun dawned

Water ripples with our wake
Small and steady pulses we make
Though we row to catch schooner bold
As we creak of wooden old
Land gestures for us to stay
Why venture out on choppy bay?
Whispers roll and caustic laugh
With sun beat oars a line is set
No motive sweeter, nor regret
Sweat beads mix with salty froth

Cutting across the water green
Battleship chugs with billowed steam
A voice escapes you as you scream
Sputtering away, with muted cries
And oars but stop
Far from home
As head does drop
Splintered hull tears apart
We're left to cling to shattered planks
And fight to stay afloat

Alone
With far off yacht a speck
Atone for water slapping neck
We groan with defeated boat and deck
Driftwood in salty surf
Connecting with shore
We walk back to land
Imprints swallowed by golden sand
A new rowboat to be procured
Again we build to flag down our Brig
And stand upon its polished bow
We persist to where we are but now
As we strive to grasp victory bell
We strive ever onward
To sail with our destined
Caravelle

It was just yesterday I had my birthday party
With puffy cake and excited smiles
As candles burnt and laughter echoed
When tiny hands and tiny faces turned
Dark rooms filled with jubilant kids
Eagerly sat to get their piece
When the presents were opened
And warming hugs as people left
But here I sit writing yet another poem
Another piece
Another part of my life inscribed in words
Why does it feel like life comes so quick
Just when you think life is dullest
Boring and tasteless
You remember that birthday
And the fictional world you thought could never be found
But here we sit
Understanding that the time has flown over our heads
Wondering where it has possibly gone.

He stood when told to kneel
He stared when ordered to bow
He defied when commanded to worship
For he understood what it meant to be blind
He questioned when guided to be silent
He thought when taught to accept
He refused when expected to follow
For he understood what freedom truly was
He spat when offered penance
He breathed when forced to die
He whispered when life was stolen
"I was the one who defied"

There once was a tune which did but play
A melody of heavenly descent
Able to mend the broken heart of man
Washing desolation of the soul
All doubt drowned out and gone
And sewing the pieces back again
But this song when final notes sound
Would take the life of those who heard
So no man listened or attempted to endure
In fear of the consequences of its curse
Until there stepped a broken boy
Torn by shame and shattered dreams
With nothing to his name he grit his teeth
Immersing his mind in the deep waters of this elegant sound
Journeying through the crescendos and diminuendos of life itself
When final verse of notes did play
Opening his eyes, the old man which took the boys place
Realized, that he was reborn again
And his desolate life was good again
Thanks to his decision
To endure that song
As he died with a smile upon his face

We like to think we are hard to understand
Intricate mazes with twisting chaotic paths
Leading to numerous outcomes
Mysteries woven within our stories
Constantly changing and always anew
We like to believe we are elaborate structures
Constructs of pure ingenuity
Winding corridors with infinite knowledge
With mysterious doors holding plethoras of secrets
Darkened halls to shroud our true motives
Stairways up and down, leading anywhere and everywhere
We like to fool the world
Building these zig-zagging stories
Losing the truth the farther we burrow
Forgetting who we are in the labyrinths of our minds
Forever lost in what we have become
We lied to ourselves
With broken confidence, striving to be who we want
Rather than who we are
Living in a world of other grande designs
Trying to keep up against time itself
We doubted ourselves
Unable to look at the mirrors which spoke the most truth
Turning away and hiding in the lies we fortified around us
The barricaded conscience, locked away and ignored
Emotion took hold and there you sat
We all sat and wondered
Where would "I" fit in this broken world
Of towering deceptive motives
Glimmering pedestals of deceit
Trick rooms and evil men
We all asked ourselves "Where will I go"
When people see the place I've hidden myself away
Calling us out, asking to venture, deep through our halls
We felt simple opposed to the world
Far greater stories, fascinating, colorful
And our structures crumbled
And there we sat
Alone, where the world could see what we ignored in that mirror
But we understood
That Truth can set you free
Despite the lies we make ourselves believe
For simplicity is truth itself

Unknown, so far yet right before us
Paths divided we choose our destiny
Leaning on the hopes of adventure
Forging onward, we all secretly pray
That life will give great tales
Of heroic feats
And golden days
Moments of grand designs
Friendships lain
Enemies slain
Times where endurance is our only ally
But we endure all the same.
People say these are lies
Fictional worlds
Empty rooms, but
Look past the flat world we inhabit
Into the adventure of our lives
The running water and quiet forest trails
Soft sunlit evenings and mountainous storms
This world we live
The greatest map ever made
Holds chances for legacy to be born
But only if you grasp it
Take it in your hands
Feel it burn
See its light break through your fingers
Glimmering it desires a main character, you
Let it drip down your arms
Across your chest encasing your soul
Look onward my friend
And join me on this adventure.

A candle burnt through the dark
Light piercing through the shades of doubt
And all alone it flickered and fought
To shine across the barren land
As faint as it whispered cross' the moors  
The subtle tune it played ever grande
Catching your ear and welcoming you home
It brought you back to good hands again
Through wind and rain did this valiant light
Best the hurricanes and storm
Blazing loud and ever so bright!
To provide the softest warmth
For those who found this candle here
Resting in this secluded spot
It hoped and dreamed it could brighten your life
When wearied souls thought so sorrowfully not.

Please oh please
Listen well
To what I have to say
For Gods sake
Do not hold back
And cheat your life away

Maybe we are the incessant voices crying out for change
Individuals who voice their thoughts
Who give their ideas a color
Adding to the collage of passions that piece together this dying world
Maybe we have a thought which we hold on to no matter what
This passion guiding us to the future we do not fully understand
But know is right,
An idea which shapes our minds and souls
Maybe we are the weak and weary
Whose voices will be carried on the faintest of rhythms
But to those who hear will snuggle under the warm idea we share with the world
And under this quilt of patchwork interests we find solitude in one another
Maybe we want to have an impact on the future
Where perspective will no longer buffer our progress
But accumulate into an unstoppable flood
Where one idea will be carried on the shoulders of his son
Or cradled so lightly in the arms of her daughter
Maybe we wish to see a world where you can be who you are
And be a glowing beacon to your kin
Where your memory will shine for generations to come
Without being forgotten or lost in the eternities of time
Maybe we wish to be heard, rather than standing back
Beneath the arrogance of man
Who clamor upon one another to be listened to
Trampled like newborns to their mother
Leaving behind the ones who are not as strong
Maybe we want something more
Yet not know what that may be
And so we wait here
As this cruel world decrees
Waiting for our turn to be heard