There is a sadness to the cheater
Whether he be a cheater of love
Or knowledge
Of ideas or simply looks.

Done maliciously,
A cheater can hurt
They can steal
And their conduct
Can sting.

But some cheaters,
Most cheaters,
Are afraid
Afraid of what
They do not have.

Corner cutters
And "good enough" types
Too afraid to give it their all
There is a battle of thought within them,
To take something else when they believe,
They can't meet expectations alone.

Pity the cheaters that act out of fear
Their hearts are made of paper
And their courage is held up with wire
Resorting to steal and lie because
They do not trust themselves.

Memories tinge the places we've been
Embedded and branded on us.
Once yesterday
Now gone by the way
They were there
But now they are dust.

Though locations they stay
Of warm prior days.
We look back with pulsating lusts
If there was a way
To bring us back to that day
I'm sure we would be on that bus.

The places we've been are places we need
Places of times that were real.
We see this unfold the moment we leave
The moment we yearn for that feel.

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

There are people like libraries
Full of books without words on their pages
Ornate and majestic
Without anything inside

And there are people like mud huts
With fires that warm others who enter
With cracked walls and dirt floors
Who can offer you all the wisdom of modesty

There are people who show and there are people who give.

I fought
I fought
I fought my friends.
I fought with all my might.
I fought until the air in my lungs dispersed into the night.
I hacked I slashed and crumpled my foes
And one by one they fell.
With victory near, and victory close
Tonight I dine in hell.

No man is born with intolerance in his heart
No man is born with hate
But as he grows he learns all to well
That hatred is but fate
A seed is planted many times over
In many forms and all too great
But the farmer must be
The one who must see
How well that seed must grow
No man is born with evil nature
No man is born with sin
But the painter alone paints the canvas broad
And from their does hate begin
A carpenter must chisel away
The form of his grande design
Shaping the wood and carving what could
Become his source of hatred someday
But in the end you become
Whatever you've shaped by your own hand
But the truth of the matter is this
The sun still shines on the wicked man.

We desire the most of what we cannot have
And in the phantasmagoria of it all
We can only dream

We have phrases to mark this thinking
Fantasizing of the grass being greener
Just over that wretched fence

Some take chances with it all
Clawing away to get a glance, a mere taste
Of what could have been

Relationships erode, trusts fall to pieces, we fail
Giving in to our baser instincts
Just to have what we cannot

We desire the most of what we cannot have
And how hypocritical this is in fact
That I chastise those for submitting to such actions
When I want her to do, just that.

I awaken to the beginning of a bridge
The sun shines, peeping through the green mountains
A river gushes below me and the water falls beneath me
It fills a lake with rock henges jutting out
Large pines speckle the mountain

The polished stone bridge leads to the tallest tower I've seen
I walk across, basking within the midday light
The only sound is the rushing of the water
A light breeze catches my hair
The tower stretches above the clouds

I enter the cold hallway
Immediately above me I look up to the light
A light that shines at the top of the tower
Bright enough to conceal what lies above
The air is cold like the marble floor

An intricate design covers the marble ground
I step toward the center as the light breeze beckons me
A low rumble starts off in the distance
I begin to rise as the circular design lifts up
Like a puzzle piece, different sections stop as I go

My platform gets smaller and smaller
But I am not afraid
The light gets closer to me
The warmth of the light surges forward
I reach out to grab the blinding orb

My world goes white
I blink yet see only light
I begin to see my surroundings
The warmth is beyond comforting
I step into an endless field of flowers

Flowers of all colors stretch before me
They bow in the breeze
The sky is of royal blue
A single tree waves in the field of color
My friend hails me from afar

I'm in awe
There is no way this guy made it to heaven also.

I sit on the wooden bench of time
As people pass
Traveling off to new places
Embarking on journeys and saying goodbye to loved ones
I fumble with my ticket
The letters are smudged and unreadable
A train whistle shrieks and begins to chug away
I have only my clothes and small suitcase
Other young men get on and off the mechanical trains
A pretty girl comes and sits beside me
She pays no attention to me
Continuing to read her little book
After a while she gets up and leaves my wooden bench
I am alone now
Even though I never caught her name
The whole station feels empty
As if time has stopped
No sound nor movement
Everything a blur
I squeeze my ticket and glance at the clock
Half past noon
I realize I've missed my train

I have a problem that I cannot shake
Caught between tectonic plates
Where I love the world
But hate the crowds
I love the people
Yet hate their traits

I have a problem I cannot hide
All alone I fight inside
It withers down my patience few
So here I boil, here I stew
I tend to hate those I detest
Though I have never met the rest

I have a problem, this is true
Where I love to live
But hate to do,
Anything with anyone
For I can't stand give attention due

I have a problem, perhaps, so do you
For we are the unfortunate few.
Those who live behind a mask
Who cling so tight upon the past
We truly are a wretched crew,
But for now we are the unfortunate few

I ventured deep within the wood
With musk and fog divine
Past the mossy stones
And through the threaded vines
Dampened leaves from fallen trees
Scattered across the floor
This wooded maze of Autumn glaze
No longer haunted me any more
Pine trees moaned and wind did swirl
Like eddying streams as waters whirl  
The lights did fade from my world
And I roamed the wood till dusk

I forgot my name within the woods
My memories lost like the leaves
Gone with the breeze
And far from home, For home was now the wood
I scampered on without the light
For night was eternal here
Within the woods I played
Like a shadow I swept through the bush
Without fear or meekly afraid
Children's laughter always is the calmest
The quietest and warmest
And in the wood the notes of play
Echoed through the pines
Of children lost but here they'll stay
Forever lost within The Woods

Imagine for an instant,
three men and many crates,
a wall as tall as the second man,
and on other side a baseball game.
The first man is the shortest,
the second decent size,
the last man is the tallest,
who needs no box to see o'er rise.
Suppose we gave them equality,
all three men and one box each.
The first man would still not see,
the second could peek yet barely reach.
The third would watch it perfectly,
yet only two men could watch the game,
what a predicament equality is,
when the result is not the same.
Suppose we gave them justice,
two crates for the smallest man,
one for the second,
and none for the tall man.
All three would see the game,
yet equality was not used
It only goes to show us,
how "equality" is abused.
Though all received the same amount,
one could still not see.
So if you truly want to help a man,
give him justice not equality.

or...

IF you truly care for every man,
change the system, flip the rules.
And if you have the chance,
put up a fence in that walls place.
So men of all heights can see through it,
transparent for all who face.

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

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

Oh come all!
Come all!
Protect the lands, guard the wall
With spear and sword of steely might
Splintered shields of enemy plight
Come one come all to the frontal line
Where men of valor make their stand
Sip the juice of righteous wine
And fortify the King's plundered land!
Take up bow and heavy blade
Upon your foes will you scourge
With platoon the night shall be your raid
And loyalty shall you forge
Come all!
Come all!
Every able man
Come forth and fight
Protect this land!
Open the windows
Knock on the door
For glory is coming
Tis the sounds of War

They came like fire, like brimstone from the sky above
With a fury that painted the landscape black
Soot and ash coiled in the wind
Bodies charred and mummified, pompeii
The wails of the unlucky filled the sooty, choking air
As if it wrapped around your throat squeezing life from your lungs
I looked out over the razed hell before me
The broken glass and crumbled buildings like sand
Ground did shake as screams came from afar
The cry of a shrouded beast
Echoing forever, for it was etched in my memory
Splintered wood dripped with red syrup
A twisted arm sprawled from beneath a toppled house
A rumble sent tremors through the rubble
Through my body it brought me to my knees
Our city burned
And all was lost
For today
The Titans had arrived

To be human
Is to be broken
Shattered, with all sorts of parts
But those broken parts
(Fitted back together)
Make us, who we are

We revel in the hero
Who would selflessly sacrifice himself for the good of all
For that is the essence of a hero
To sacrifice the one for all
One for all and never all for one

We despise the villain
Who would selfishly sacrifice the world for one
For that is the essence of the villain
To sacrifice all for one
All for one and never one for all

But how peculiar that thinking is
For if faced with the choice to save you
The hero would sacrifice you for the world
And the villain give up the world to save you.

For in that instance, who really is the hero or villain?
Is it ever so simple to label?
How peculiar indeed.

Your shadow may weigh
the same,
As if you weren't there
At all.

But your actions
Today,
are
paramount.

To fall again and soothe my heart
I tripped and fell and twas' the start
Before, alone, I felt so smart
That night I fell and soothed my heart

We met together, bullseye and dart
A simple stroke blossomed to art
Who knew what could keep us apart
Forthwith I fell and soothed my heart

Love grays however and drifts apart
Growing cold, cynical, and ****
We forgot what it'd meant if we'd depart
I fell again and broke my heart

We realized there, what this imparts
As tears streamed down for soft restarts
We had to fall in love again like ****** hearts
To Fall Again And Soothe Our Hearts.

I hand this dying torch to you
for though its light is dim
I trust that you shall carry me,
my memory within.

I hand this forgotten torch to you
for though my name is lost
I trust that you shall remember me,
that is the only cost.

Take this old mans torch from him
Sweet child I call mine
He trusts you shall do wondrous things
as he fades in eternal time.

Without eyes there'd be no color
Without skin no soft sands
Without senses life seems duller
No hardness of rocks without our hands

Without tongues there'd be no spices
No aromas without our nose
But as we age and left to our devices
What's taken for granted is forgotten as we grow

From the deaf who first hear the song birds
To the blind who see the sunrise
For the first time that they hear words
Tears flow down awakened blind eyes

We evoke senses with our beings
And though these senses we've had since birth
From those who wish to hear and see things
Never forget how much they're worth

A trumpet rang louder in the symphony of life
A darkness lifted from a well lit room
A star showed brighter in a clear night sky
A baby was born from an expecting mothers womb
A new day brought the glistening sun
A blue sky brought the clouds high above
A boy found a new note to sing
And he opened his mouth
And sung

To say one is a survivor implies
That they are the remainder
Who lived through unsurmountable odds
Where others did not

Survivor implies the hardship has past

But the survivor's journey does not end
Even when the ashes settle
And the bodies are counted
When the funerals are held
And grave stones are set

The survivor survives

They survive the guilt
The **** within their spirit
That haunts there conscience and steals all comfort

For the Survivor knows
They will bleed to the day they die

Love yourself
Before you love another
Or else you'll always wander
And wonder
What love is.

I want to know you better
I want to know what makes you tick
What makes you smile
What makes you mad
What scares you most
What makes you sad
What makes you serious or
Makes you stern
I want to know you better dear,
To whom it may concern

When something truly awful happens
Why does home
Feel so strange to be in?

Why does tragedy
Make us strangers
To our own beds?

They say a spiteful and cynical man
Was once a man who trusted too much
He believed in a cause or personal plan
But it soon became his crutch

The golden apple that seemed so delicious
Was now a weight upon his chest
From caring he became malicious
And now no longer cared about the rest

They say a hateful and villainous man
Was once a man who loved without fail
But he was betrayed and so he ran
His heart now cold and stale

Truth keeps humanity from becoming too boastful
The things we hide would drag our pride
Down to embarrassing lows
Secrets hidden about ourselves
Never to be revealed or ever known
And those secrets hide our true nature
To save ourselves from our destruction
Truth keeps humanity from being truthful in this world
So in a sense, like a double edged sword, we are bound by what is true in ourselves
But gags us all in the end.

He sought revenge
On all those who wronged him
So he dug a grave for his enemies
And one for himself
For he had nothing left to lose

A** path divided where I walked
Road and another split two separate ways
Less did my mind think, looking onward with a gaze
Traveled many miles, did I come this far to see
Is this the world's final laugh, getting the best of me?
Better to find my own separate way, leaving the roads behind
For I could not bare to think of a boring life, on predetermined lines
A life laid out by careful tending, life without any risk
Weary as I may be I set out to find my own path, treading softly, treading brisk  
Soul searching I would have to do, to find what I truly want from my path, venturing outside the norm.

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"

Until we feel the softest rains
And sand between our toes
Till we see our breath on morning days
Or taste the wind that gently blows

Until we smell the earthy dew
Or feel the pebbles in our grasp
Till the lightning flashes through
Till the leaves all fall at last

Until the sparrow sings its final song
Or the wisteria finally blooms
Until we face the moon for long
We shall be fearful of what looms

Last night I fell within myself
therein the shadow found me.
Chasing us from eden
from answers all men must know.
I came across the highest tower
with old and ancient script.
Each brick laid by different hands
each signed by every man to exist.
Within there sprawled the deepest maze.
Labyrinthine with echoed sounds.
I climbed it to the top and found
the answer to man's suffering.
An answer to all lost things.

I have witnessed the oppressed become the oppressors
And in the name of justice, sentenced thousands to die
Without remorse and void of empathy for another

I have seen the war of words
As narratives warp and definitions change
Without sympathy to push nefarious agendas

I have witnessed the world who once cried out "Never Again"
Turn their backs to those who needed it
And thus, let it happen again

I have seen it, with saddened heart
A hijacking of conversation
And the silence the oppressors wish to create

To cover the eyes of those who seek truth
And to muzzle those who speak it.

Upon the morning dew I tread
Up the hill yet filled with dread
For a lass once mine now gone and dead
Up and on morning dew I tread.

Up to Poppy Hill I tread
Where nameless rocks keep homestead
My sweet sweet lass, her name I read
Brought tears upon mine eyes clutching head.

Upon the morning dew I tread
Back down again the road I led
To see the girl who held my heart by thread
Who warmed my soul and filled my bed.

Down on mourning dew I bled
The ground so soft, now red
"Why have you gone" I softly said
This was last time on morning dew I'd tread.

I peer out again
To the courtyard outside my window
Where I face the many neighbors
I never see

I see evidence of life
But never life itself

Sometimes, I wonder.
If I live in a vacant building
Alone amongst spirits
With a sunlit Courtyard
All for me

The saddest villains are the broken boys
Not the tyrannical foes
Whose life came crashing
And days fell apart
So they turned on the world they once loved
Kicked in the shins and pierced through the heart
Bleeding and ignored these boys lay
But up from the ashes
The ruins and guilt
Up from the fire that enemies spread
Meant only to burn them and dust would they stay
They've conquered their hearts and shut out their souls
Broken all ties with the good days of old
And so they do toil in spite and forlorn
With every bad deed a new villain is born

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.

Hello my love, please be well
Ignore the ringing of the bell

For though I’m still in quiet sleep
I wait for you in caverns deep

I wait for you in waters warm
In the roaring of a storm

I wait for you in golden sun
In the soil in which you run

I wait for you in softest silk
In the life of a mother’s milk

I wait for you in the stars
In the glacial crystal shards

I wait for you from now till then
Till we may embrace again.