the character of a man is written by
whether he smirks or smiles
whether his eyes sparkle or glaze over
whether he stands tall or cowers forward
whether the lines on his face laugh or frown
and most importantly
whether he radiates positive or negative vibrations
who we are is written all over us

alone in my room
and a blessing it is
to put away my masks
in solitary comfort
peace and freedom
to be exactly who i am
in this moment

desire keeps us busy
but does it make us happy
the way love or purpose do?
love and purpose are not desire
you cannot walk away from them
once they find you

i don’t tell you often enough
and we both know
that i am ******* you
but i am proud of you
you are learning
taking risks
making mistakes
yet remaining curious
and always moving forward
to be a better version of yourself
you are heading where you belong
fear not

             — myself

when the people are rotten
fear yields more fruit than love
but to rule with fist and fear
is to become rotten inside
thus both ruler and populace
rot as one

whatever our endeavor
we try so hard to be seen
to succeed through popularity
but the more we focus on
pleasing the crowd
the further we stray
from our initial endeavor
forget the crowd
do what brings you joy
if you touch the hearts
of only a few
that is enough

arms and legs bound
trapped in a pine box
gasping for air
a feeling that chokes my gut
when a moment of solitude
escapes me