life isn't easy
but i've learned
not to show i care
just to hold it all in
to build it up, a mountain
keeping all my feelings at bay
to ignore what's in front of
my very own eyes
in plain sight
the boundaries
the utter lack
of normality
or of hope
the absence
of dreams


she lit the pyres for that self
those thoughts drifting away as smoke into the night sky
as the flames burnt brighter than the moonlight
consuming the pity and self-loathing
replacing it with
love and promise
and a future
i rose from the ashes of the dungeon of my mind
like a phoenix
and with her, i took flight
never to return