I let the light fade away,
to chase an unattainable dream.
My thoughts assail the blistering glow,
a silent echo of what I know.

I wander the endless fields of lore,
never looking back, nor doubting more.
For I have embraced my truth at last,
and paid the price for sins long past.

Now, this once empty shell stirs to life again,
clinging to old habits, reliving the past.
Only time will tell if my penance was in vain,
or if redemption still lingers beyond the veil.

I have walked through evenings bent with silence,
where the hush of the streetlamp hums my name,
a hero, perhaps, in the whisper of one,
a villain in the frown of another.

I have been carved in shadows by the wary,
painted golden by the kind.
To some, I am a tempest in an unmade room,
to others, the hush of rain against glass.

Was it not yesterday I was brave,
standing tall in borrowed boots,
tilting at windmills with a fool's delight?
And yet, in another's eye, I trembled,
a thing too soft for the weight of days.

Oh, but how I have been too much!
A song sung sharp at the wrong table,
a fire burning too close to brittle walls.
And yet, to some, I have been warmth,
the quiet pulse of a lighthouse on tired waters.

I have been named.
Carved into stories I did not write.
Draped in colours I never chose.
Told where to stand, when to bow,
but the stage shifts beneath my feet.

The world is a house of mirrors,
each face a different truth,
each window another version of me.

So let me laugh at the fickle tide,
let me dance in the winds of contradiction,
let me live - oh, let me live!
not as the world sculpts me to be,
but as the wild, wandering shape of my own heart.

I have been redrawn
My old rendition replaced
With bright new colors and shades

Beneath the veneer
Traces and rough outlines
My foundation sketched in time

The graphite, my blood
It was poured onto the page
Many times it was erased

Unsure who I was
Sketched again and again
Eraser shavings of shame

I was blind to see
These sketches were exactly
who I needed to be

Before I could paint
I needed a rough outline
Before I could find my place

And when I did
The shame was swept away
The brush swiftly hit the page

No longer a sketch
But a beautiful display
Of bright new colors and shades

I have been redrawn
My old rendition replaced
By a colorful bouquet
And there’s still room for change

i’ll fixate on you
til my time is due
the waves we swam
and all we’ve been through

is never enough
to unwrite our glue

seasons may shift but I stay the same
through autumn's loss
and winter’s claim
spring may call
and summer too

Yet nothing can pull me
away
from
you.

I feel that the light is shining on all of us,
Here today,
That are of this generation.
Without thought for creed or nation,
Dispensation or convictions.
I feel in the air
A breeze of change
From the winds of truth.
I hear the chimes
Of a pur of gust on chords
From a pale vision given color.

I see concern in the face of my brothers,
I discern a scent staining my sisters.

That they are not treated as fathers,
That they are not treated as mothers;
That they are less person & more chattel.

Whatever your chosen identity.

And even so, despite conjecture
The majority feel as such,
That line of a nation
Is one without factions.
And yet, by the party system,
That lie of a nation
Is one where we are equals.
Because in being separate
We are not different,
Not in this way.
For we are conjoined
And yet disjointed;
Debating becomes like arguing,
Disagreeing becomes like fighting.

My friends, what are we doing?
Is it not yet evident
That without the cooperation,
Consent,
And participation
By the majority of the populace
That it is impossible for us to attain real order?
Outside of seditious and nefarious plans
For power grabs of total control,
Which will all reliably fail,
There are solutions.
Nothing so final
As the extremist comics,
Often pessimists or nihilists,
So salivate and dream over.
And nothing so care-free
As some sadists or hedonists,
Often pessimists or nihilists,
So swoon and fall for.
Yet nor too meek or rigid
As some fanatics or magicians,
Often pessimists or nihilists,
So worship and practice ritual.
No. We will be democratic
With a government
Who hears of all
That plagues & plights;
By little & tall,
Small & large.
We will have a middle,
Common ground
Where we may all be impartial.
That place we shall call,
Columbia.

Hardship = Resent
Resent = Dedication To Change
Dedication = Hard Work,
Hard Work = Change
Change = Prosperity
Prosperity = Abundance
Abundance = Entitlement
Entitlement = Laziness
Laziness = Procrastination
Procrastination = Back Tracking
Back Tracking = Hardship
Hardship = Reform
Reform = Hard Workers

Repeat Cycle Again

An year ago began a story,
Like any other,
Two lovers live a tale,
A journey, a song ready to be played.

The Boy~

Chasing his dreams, the handsome boy knew no bounds,
Falling in love was the last thing his mind could topple around.
But destiny had a surprise in store,
His life was going to change,
His heart even more.

A dream came by,
Smile worth a million dimes.
His heart skipped a beat,
In that moment,
Destiny wrote their names,
with a heart in between.

He never thought someone could understand him so well,
To believe what he said,
To feel what he could not tell.

He knew he had found the one,
Whom he could trust,
Who cared for his innocence,
Whom he loved more than anyone.

Time passed, things changed.
Fights , ego , laughter,sorrow, paid a visit.
But the bond still remained,
Forged by destiny,
His love will always remain the same

The girl~

She had the world at her feet,
Excelled at everything,
But still,
A void remained down deep.

Meeting him, something struck her heart,
Her father's presence came to life.
She knew he was the one,
Whom she could trust,
Things she told none.

She found him a little dumb,
Naive to what the world had become.
She knew she had to protect him,
Against all harms life brought within.

To feel his touch was what she wanted,
But destiny put her to test,
Her wish was not granted.
Living at the mercy of fate,
She knew she could not stop,
He told her often"THIS TOO SHALL PASS".

Time passed, things changed,
Tears, silence, ego crept in.
But even then they came out as one.
Her love was something uncommon.
Even a thousand miles seemed less, often.

The Poet~

I can't tell you what is true,
I am a poet,
My poems are at the mercy of love's virtue

I feel this story has just begun,
To be remembered by many, not one.
Their love is pure,
I can feel it inside,
For I heard them whisper" FOREVER STAY BY MY SIDE."

I've seen them live,
I've seen them love.
Now I see them rest, beside one another.

A feet apart they lay,
My occasional visits and nature,
Are the only ones who stay.

Some days the winds blow heavy,
Nature uses its brute force.
I still stand in the rain,
My ritual cannot go in vain.

Just as I near the end of our conversation,
Something old catches my eye,
Engraved in the stones,
It still makes me smile.
My steps recede, the music silently dies..
The tombstones say
" FOREVER STAY BY MY SIDE".