I am drawn beyond repair,
My marbled pillars failing,
And every shallow breath I take—
The ticking of a worn-out watch,
Winding down
until it’s still.
It’s not death that harries me,
But the trifling cares of life—
Fissured webs
beneath my facade,
That weaken my weary frame,
Meant to support
this edifice.
The sleepless debts,
the silence,
Erode the stony structure,
Once defined by rigid lines,
Now smoothed by sandpaper winds,
Marring all former identity.
I cannot tell you how long
Before the coming crumble,
And I’m crushed
under the burden,
Pressing heavy
upon my mind.
Till nothing remains but
the gravel and bone,
of a starved poet.
©️2025

I fear a ghost has taken hold of me;
I feel its presence when I tend to wake
From eerie dreams that blur reality,
A haunting feeling that I cannot shake.
It steals from me the things I once enjoyed,
And leaves an empty feeling in their place,
As if my life were something to be toyed,
Then left alone and broken in its case.
I'm at the mercy of an angry kid
Who died alone, afraid and far too young.
Too scared to face his fears, he only hid,
And choked upon the words stuck on his tongue.
Shackled to him, I try but can't escape;
To bear the burden of his sins, my fate.

I could be talkative if I wanted to
but I worry that I might say the wrong thing
or say too much
or be annoying
I don't want to be annoying or too much
I don't want to burden people with
spewing words out
I don't want them to feel obligated to listen
so instead I shut my mouth
and become the quiet kid
therefore I won't be bothersome

I don't know.
I don't know what to write what to say how to say it how to be.
I have ideas.
I have people I could talk to about it.
I have it but I can't use it.
I could but that means opening up...
Opening up about something deep inside of me...
Opening up about my biggest burden...
Opening up about something hurtful...
Opening up about something I kept hidden...
Opening up about something buried deep...
Opening up about something I pushed down...
Opening up about something I ignored for years...
So I can't do it.

I plod on, with my

shadow on my back, flat and --


yet very heavy.

Baseless turmoil I have carried
       for you was faithless.
Aged me fine in my youth
       groundless.
No longer I was more sure
      about the lore.
No doubt it was offshore,
     I have to build my own floor.

Look at the pond
You & I
Paddling together
Beneath the sky.
Within the ripples ~~
With a watery sigh
Let go of the burden
Let it lie.