i lost myself
so i went for a drive
& the cracked payment led me here

i then pulled to the side
          on that foggy night ride
& remembered my dreams
& the mountains i'd climbed
& the dragons i'd slain
& the nights i was weak
     - but decided to stay,
          if only for
                         one
                            more
                               try
                                  to just stay
just stay,
oh please,
please stay.

so on that foggy night drive
i found myself
   on the edge of that bridge
just repeating a phrase

& then i realized:
my soul is fierce,
my heart is brave,
& from here is where all the best stories are made.

Tell me your darkest secrets,
I am not a stranger anymore.
Tell me your forbidden sins
or what keeps you awake till 4?

Tell me your deepest thoughts,
I am not a stranger anymore.
Tell me all the battles you fought,
or what keeps you on the floor?

Tell me your truths, not lies,
I am not a stranger anymore.
Tell me your failures, not tries
or what keeps you behind that door?

--Poetry by Paras.

pick your battles.
you can scream
into the mountain
but
are you ready
for an avalanche?

- katrina ******

I leap across the open field.
I hear them, distant then close.
They stifle my freedom.
Follow me endlessly
To the point of no return.
Do they ever tire?
They chase me all over.

Freedom is all I want.
I search for means of expression.
Release. For these experiences,
These memories, they strangle me.
The only reason I still breathe;
A narrow escape when
Time catches me and drains my life force.

I breathe.
I suffocate.
The immensity of pain weakens.
Then there is nothingness.
I feel them fight while-
I, myself fight against those who chase me.
For freedom for self.

We all have our battles to fight.
Please respect all the battles
I've fought.

"We are routed, Fall back!"
A call of many battles,
Battles and war, always so frowned upon.
Yet where else has humanity done the most?
It seems humans can not have peace for long,
Without some war happening,
We are living in the age,
Of cold wars, and Cyber battles.
The age of battles fought with half-hearted ideas,
Buzzwords and insults.

©BAS