Self-promotion arena supplying for
social gatherings and family space,
at times useful mirror and judge onto the lives
of the untrue, the corrupted, the vicious,
at most theatre for public sacrifice by the rule of the thumb
with mercy at the hands of the pleb.

Samnites, secutores and retiarii fighting to the death,
noxii and damnati hacked in the man-made
monument built for entertainment,
barbarian combats in the name of munus,
lethal games on the tilt of a double-edged sword
serving political agendas and commercial must,
their successes encouraging others.

Youths sold, batches addicted
to the screen of civilization
erected to conceal and divert the eye,
to the glittering murderous show
permeating the four cardinal directions while
confusing children's moral compass,
morphed into unactive witnesses,
blood-thirsty enablers, wishful executioners,
as loved ones helplessly watch
the self-destructions, the stabbing cuts,
and hear the roars of beasts feeding,
the shouts of be-headings acclaimed.

In the arena
she carried
all her failures
her misgivings and regrets
her empathy and pain
her madness, bitter and vain

As if they were battle scars
and she held them close, like armour
because she knew, that without them, she wouldn't exist

Brain, brain go away
Don't want to listen one more day
Already lonely and afraid
Feel insecure and full of shame

Brain, brain don't act this way
You're always angry; Filled with hate
You know we're joined; Can't separate
Yourself your punching in the face

Brain, brain what can I say
To make it so you see things straight
Don't know how much more I can take
Of constant warring and debate

Brain, brain it's getting late
This journey's not some endless race
Life's flying by and at this pace
Forget a win; Not gonna place

Brain, brain let's medicate
I'll feed you drugs and we'll sedate
The only way to mitigate
Discrepancies we generate

Brain, brain we sadly waste
This outcome feels like it was fate
But never was there a sealed date
Fulfilling what we self-create

Brain, brain so much we faced
Success so close could almost taste
Instead our tail we always chased
We'll die alone sad and disgraced

I live in a magical world
Where doors create portals to opportunities
Opportunities to change where you are
But those doors are being closed
And locks turn those doors into walls
Doors are rejected
Walls are erected
Walking into the middle of a cul-de-sac
Is like walking into the middle of the Coliseum
Where everybody watches you
And hopes you die slowly
When we trap ourselves inside
We trap ourselves when we dare to travel outward

We need to bring closure to this enclosure
By gathering the courage to approach her
Or the strength to approach him
For love, not on a whim
But my tires are worn to the rim
When I can't see through the win shields
As I drive myself through this pin field
My tires are flattened
Like sheets of satin
That drown me in love
Until the tension starts stewing
When I see their hatred buoy

Why the need to isolate
Like it's 1938?
Modes of thinking I can't appreciate
We should share the food on our plate
But I fear the hour is too late
Even though our power is so great
The car starts to die
When it should fly
We find things to buy
When we should cry
We take those things inside
And lock the door
Lonely to the core
We stare out the window searching for hope
Only to see the arena we've made
Built from the prices we paid
To buy the things
That guard us from contact
The materials build up
Until we're compact
Crushed by the weight of our security
Pushed from the light of our purity
Unable to muster communication
We stare at the PlayStation
We need to end this graycation
And enter an era of compassionate contemplation

I've always heard that you can't fight together if you're both not in the ring;
But what if we're both in but not fighting for the same thing?!
Because I found myself always fighting for your heart while you were fighting me to save your ego
I was fighting to understand and to be understood
While you fought to muffle my voice with yours.
My concerns were held in chokeholds-
Unreleased even as I was wheezing and suffocating.
You were trained for this and I have no idea what I was thinking;
But I'm tapping out...