"Hey" he said,
"Hey Back" I said.
Then the alarm rang,
And the door to the dream shut with a bang.

I wake up, surrounded by people.
I get through my day, surrounded by people.
I come back, yet again, surrounded by people.
I go to sleep - thinking about everyone and everything.
I wake up, surrounded by people.

One. Two. Three or Four.
One hundred, two hundred or more.
Alone. Can't separate this word from me anymore.
Surrounded by so many,
Yet, every minute, every second, I'm alone.
Do you know why?
Oddly, sadly, neither do I.

The poem, the poet and the reader,
The pen, the hand and the heart
You look for hidden meanings in between the lines,
Or try to look for the message I’m trying to impart.
But, let me tell you a little secret
You won’t find it in the way I
drop my line, or use my commas and full stops.
Nor will you find it by poring over the a’s and the b’s
The long stanzas or groups of threes.
No. If you want to know what guides my pen across the page,
put yours down and let your heart out of your cage.

God. How am I still not okay?

God. It's been so long.

God. I'm so tired of life right now.

God. What happened to me?

I was such a nice kid.
I was calm all the time.
Mature for my age,
Little but so lively.

I was so helpful.
So loyal.
I always supported my trust.
But I never really spoke my mind.

I was shy.
I was small.
I never stood up for my feelings
I never stood up for myself.

And now I'm older.
I realize I don't need support.
I need myself.
I need confidence.

Speaking your mind is not wrong.
Standing up for your feelings isn't rude.
Standing up for yourself isn't mean.
Saying what you feel doesn't make you imperfect.

No one's perfect. Not even them.
The ones you hate for being so amazing.
Maybe she has anxiety.
Maybe his mom is alcoholic.

No one has a perfect life.
There's not one perfect family in the world.
There is not a person in the world who's perfect.
There's not a person who doesn't have one bit of strife.

But just because you aren't perfect.
Doesn't make you less worth it.
You're amazing.
You're still charming, kind, and strong.

You're just more experienced.
You just understand some more things now.

And maybe, just maybe,
You just aren't as shy anymore.

Up above the world so high,
To catch you, many may try
Yet, you are but an image in the sky
Of a time long gone by…..

Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Sometimes too slow, Sometimes too fast
Hold still once in a while
And let us hold onto our smile...