Saving face
is not
my saving grace.

What I was never brave to say
I never meant to hurt you
I know the pain you felt that day
I wish I could turn back time
But the cogs of the clock don't work that way
I wish I could undo all the wrong
But I hear you have a different tune to play
I never meant those dreadful lies
But I thought I would hurt you anyway
So I'd better do it now so you'd know
That I hurt those close to me afraid that they won't stay
Everyone abandons me unless I hurt them first
But I realise I only hurt more that way
So can you ever forgive me?
I hope it isn't too late to say
I'm sorry for the lies I told that day

You tell me,
      -take off your bracelets
      -roll up your sleeves
      -don’t be afraid

               .

I hear you say,
      -I want to see
      -I want to know
      -be brave with me

               .

Then I think,
      ~if you saw
      ~you would stay
      ~until you couldn’t

               .

No matter what you tell me,
and the trust I put in you,
when you see the true pain I’m in,

         ~ - ~ - ~

     you’ll be scared,
          *just like me.

The concrete jungle.
Home of the dreaded concrete beasts
Who lie in plain sight for the world to see

Crouched in marble ledges, twisted in metal beams
Wrapped around handrails, perched in their cemented trees
They laugh at those who cannot perceive
Because they don’t believe.

And who am I,
Yes possibly me
To find my identity
In removing my wooden sword from its sheath

Placing it beneath my two shuffled feet
To answer the alluring call of the beasts beckoning
To my hero’s heart, for my eyes to blink
To suddenly see them as they were meant to be.

In a world between
Real and imaginary.

For it is I,
Yes I believe it to be
Chosen to find my destiny
In a single push

That propels me
Into the path of the snarling beasts
Approaching their stairs and rails, ledges and beams
Gaps and bumps and ramps with speed

And as they stare at me hungrily
Opening their mouths expecting me
I will stand strong on my wooden sword
As the wheels of fire erupt beneath

And the scenery blurs in the flash of the rapidity
I bend my knees and grit my teeth
My eyes narrow and the drum in my chest crescendos its beat
A shout explodes from my chest, a primal scream

As I press on
In the concrete jungle.

Home of the dreaded concrete beasts
Who quiver in plain sight for the world to see
And whimper at the sight of who they now perceive
Because I do believe.

And it is I,
Yes undoubtedly me
Who will find my destiny
Conquering the concrete jungles of the world unseen

Surfing the concrete waves of the world between
With my loyal vessel being the wooden sword from the sheath,
That remains steady in the face of danger beneath my feet.

I am alive
In the concrete jungle.

How brave are our fire brigades?
As they battle bushfires each day,
Yes, it's summer in Victoria,
Not exactly the Waldorf Astoria,
For all the fire brigades,
Our respect they've totally gained,
Laying their lives on the line,
When the weather's too hot and fine,
Burn, Victoria, burn,
El Nino's torrid urn,
Our noble defenders each day,
Real heroes in the news, I say,
As they battle bushfires today,
How brave are the fire brigades?

Being brave is smiling even though you want to cry
Being brave is not leaving those you love because you can
Being brave is staying alive just because you don’t want to hurt others
Being brave is crying at night and not telling anyone in fear of them being worried
Being brave is helping others with their problems even though nobody helps with yours
You are brave
You smile through the pain
Hide your feelings so I don’t hurt
You never asked for help
Or cried aloud
You stayed with me when I cried and had a bad day
Or when I wanted to talk
You talked first I never said hi first
When you asked for help I left you hanging
When you wanted to talk I was busy
Now you don’t talk to me
And when my days are long and I need to talk
You aren’t there because I never was
We smile in passing
No words escape your lips
Just silent cries and it’s pretty sad
I loved you the most when you were saying goodbye

Do not bring your light into the dark.
It is not meant to be seen though;
It is meant to be felt through.