suddenly the branch snaps and you
fall
fall
fall
but the ground never hits
it never hits
the vast nothingness envelops you
but who are you to complain
you know nothing about the dark
right?
you open your eyes
grass beneath your feet
it was a dream
all a dream
darkness only exists within
those who no longer live
and yet
yet
here you are
a dead man walking
the void lives on
you are one now
goodnight old friend
please stay by the door
i hope we never meet again

you see,
we're all young until
our brains tell us we aren't
and our bones crumble
under our safety blankets
and every pleasure in life becomes
another ******* prize in the arcade game
our eyes have been glued to
for god knows how long.
all the windows have been blacked out
and the clocks stripped
of their hands.
it's all fun and games until
they tell you you've been wasting your life.
but what do they know.
they've just been playing whac-a-mole
with rifles clenched in their fists.
your chest still rises with
every breath
and maybe we're all just young
because our hearts haven't given into
the anxiety consuming every last bit
of our sanity.
don't open your mouth,
don't let them see
your veins turning to black
behind your eyes.
i'll see you on the other side.

you can almost smell
the rose colored clouds
almost hear the whispers
of sullen storms
slowly changing the sky
from champagne to silver,
feeble strands of gold
slicing through
the dark heavens
a crack! of thunder
breaking through the
loudening voices
and the sky falls silent.
blue blue blue
the whispers reside
dark silhouettes
of the unknown
take their places
until the break of dawn

"dont let yourself break"
they say through hardened jaws
pulling their ropes tighter around you
never letting you b   r   e   a   t   h   e
because that would give you
too. much. power.
the moment you start to crack
they pull tighter and tighter
trying to keep your body together
but eventually
everyone
breaks
and everyone fails their test.

oh how i wished the sun would stop shining for
just
one
moment
but the darkness never came
every day grew to be the same
like playing a game
of chess, of cards
go fish, but dont swim too far

id start a new religion if i could
insane, unimaginable
people dont pray anymore
i dont know why they should
you dont need a god
to tell you to behave

its a ludicrous lust for love
if you ask me
a meaningless mingling of lost souls
who wish for nothing more
than a star to call their own

you'd think i'd know better
than to stumble under his gaze
but my feet don't listen
my heart is so
so impatient
my fingers crave the touch
of his soft brown curls

you'd think i'd know better
than to stare when he walks past
my mother taught me better
but she didn't teach me
how to tame the curiosity
of my hungry mind

you'd think i'd know better
than to fall for the boy
who doesn't stumble
who doesn't stare
who knows better
than to fall for someone like me

and by this point
it feels
like
infinity
is just
out
of
r e a c h

stop.
who are you?
this is no place for outsiders.
the night is a ravenous creature and the stars
don’t shine for wandering men.
how did you get here?
was it the voices in your head or the paths your wounds have bled?
stay back, it’s not safe.
you underestimate the distances ahead.
your mind will try to trick you but please, be warned.
the lost souls look like trees and the trees like snakes,
it seems you don’t realize what’s at stake
but the moment you step behind these gates…
it is too late to turn back now.
I wish you all the best.
may the darkness turn to light and the light guide you.
may your feet not turn to stone and your story lay at rest.
one day the gravel path will turn to dust.
one day your steel body will turn to rust.
and yet I trust you shall carry on.
you must.