People tell me I'm strong.
I'm not.
I'm strong willed.
I have a strong will, but there is no thrill.
I don't live, I survive.
I do not have a strong will to thrive
In my passion, my art, my career
But a strong will to survive
Without looking up to steer,
My eyes pinned to my feet
I don't know what to do
So first I take one step
Then I take two.

I'm so determined to keep my eyes on the ground
In part because I'm afraid of what's around
And as an artist I'm told to look within
And hear with-out sight, and never give in
And always move forward
Even if you're stepping on thin
Ice. Or thin air.
And if I look up, I'll see nothing's there
I'll be too scared to take that next step.

They tell me I'm wise beyond my years.
Because it appears I've conquered my fears.
I put on a smile, but it's just for show
I see people come and I hear when they go
And I wonder how many are feeling the same.

And just like my life
I know not where this goes
I rhyme without reason
I make the words flow
I walked a mile and a half tonight
(And of course I speak of the time which I write,)
And not once did I glance at the stars so bright
That used to fill my life with light
Because my soul and my heart and my eyes are weighted
I feel as if my existence is fated
To perpetually fail
I'm a boat with no sail
Oversized driftwood
Just wishing that he could
Stop moving.

But that I can't do.
So first I'll take one step.
Then I'll take two.

Silence is a song I know all the words to
And I will read your eyes like an open book
A single glance is all it took
To know you were in pain.
I now call you my brother.
This is due to two parts you
And two parts me
We share this same animosity
Where in our eyes there's sorrow and loss
And as our tears drip down and water the moss
Keeping us pinned as the world moves forward
We pray to god for some misdirection
Any rejection of our inner reflection
So at least that way it wouldn't be so bad.

Silence is a song you know all the words to,
And as I saw you smile that guise of a grin
It filled me with this disgusting chagrin
That I wasn't alone in my misery
The truth is, I loved the company
And I'd moan and whine and grovel and complain
But having someone helped the pain
To fade.

And though I've sung it for who knows how long, I'm done with silence's solitary song.

In the absence of time, I created space
Words from my mind to my fingers to the page
Emotions burst forth in a crescendo of rage
And I'd cry and I'd scream and I'd laugh and I'd toy
With the thoughts in my head and the fears in my mind
The toils and turmoils all bouncing in time
To this desolate orchestra I play with no help
Conducted by the faults I saw in myself.

In the absence of light, I found this void
This space without time where I tried to avoid
The feelings repressed underneath the sun's rays
Compounded and bolstered, god knows how many days
I'd ended with smiles, to come home in tears
I'd gone from crying in laughter, to facing my fears.

But there's another song  I see in your eyes
Hear in your voice,
Louder than the lies that echo inside as we're falling asleep
Each one a wolf we counted as a sheep.
And though we share this animosity
I look in the mirror and the thing I didn't see
Was a friend in sight. But... again, I was wrong.

Silence is a song I read on your lips
And as your smile slowly slips
I pray that you'll open with deafening sound
Send fault lines through the silence around
Chasms deepened with every note
A cacophonous joy from both our throats
A sudden duet like some Disney dream
A resplendent note piercing the  seams
Of the absence of noise
And the presence of fear
And amidst the chaos
I can finally hear
Your voice.

Silence is a song I know you sing.
Humming quietly as you think
You're alone.
But you're wrong, too.

Each outburst adds to the melody
So every person should sing with glee
Louder than the pursuing chorus
Sing so loud they can't ignore us
Silence is a song the world knows well
But it's our turn now so let's raise hell
And raise our voices to the heavens above
Fill the deafening silence with words of love
And as the walls around us begin to crumble
Slowly we'll begin to stumble
Free from this prison of our own minds
No longer fear what lies behind
Look all around and be at peace
For the truth will set us free.

Silence is a song that damages the soul
And only through noise can our lives be whole
The things we don't say never get said
The things we don't hear will never be read
In the eyes of another singing the song
Because without words they can't sing along
So make your own words, and play the notes wrong
Throw a cog in the workings of sweet siren song
Acknowledge the light and let others in
You've got the new lyrics already within;

Hope is a song we all know the words to.

You are but a reserve man of emotions
The one who answers only to yes or no
The one who stands in the corner of the room of every party
The one who chooses to be alone just so

But when you write, the world stops
To listen to the words you've woven
with beauty and intertwine with sorrow
To listen to the rhythmless music
where all the butterflies in my stomach dance to
To listen to the raging wave of sentiments for humanity
To listen and to feel the love and ache that the world chooses to neglect

You, you may crack the lamest jokes
But when you write, *the world stops to listen

Two brown stars alight with fire fill my heart
with wanderlust. I'm aching to explore
the cosmos she creates within her art,
Galaxies expanding evermore.

Autumnal tones reside upon her pate
And winter's temperance somewhere in her gaze
With summer's passion lurking in her gait,
Spring's abundance in her creative ways.

The seasons below join the stars above:
A marriage of both mortal and divine.
Exploring and chronicling new love
Amidst these cartographic words of mine.

And if, by grace, my journey isn't  bare
The borders of my heart shan't keep her there.