In the end we’re all the same
Just wandering around trying to find a comfortable cage
Trading one set of bars for another, hoping the nagging voices in our heads go away
We all just want somewhere warm to stay

We’re all the sum of broken hearts and fresh starts
We’ve all known the peace of living in our sleep
Stitching what it is we believe on our sleeve so we can read it back to ourselves and find the courage to continue to breathe
We’re all taped together by the same dreams

We all check the weather forecast, trying to figure out whether or not this is a storm we can weather
Slapping bumper stickers on our pain like band-aids that read “it gets better”

We’re all the sum of everyone else
Picking and choosing our skins
Like a Frankenstein-created chameleon
We all wish we could just blend in

The bonds of affection never die
But we all hope if we build our white picket fences high enough they’ll stay inside
Avoiding each other trying to figure out why we were even given a sense of touch
We all use our fear as a crutch

We all cast ourselves towards the same sun hoping our shadows won’t show
Looking over our shoulders only to see our skeletons in tow
We all wish there was somewhere else for this regret to go

We all bleed the same fervent fear
Trying desperately to keep the fire inside praying no one will hear
We’re all held together by the same hope that morning is near


In the end we’ve all committed the same crimes
We’ve all divided ourselves by the same imaginary lines
We’ve all believed the same lies
We’ve all been living off the same borrowed time
In the end...we're all going to die

But we all hope we can say we tried.

Back in touch with virtual reality,
fingers caress the keyboard
and the screen
(the gentle, intimate touch of lovers),
plugged in the earphones and became
part of the circuit,
electrons zipped into one ear
and were discharged from the other.

Put aside the world for an hour
or two (lost track of time;
it flies when you spend it
with love interests);
drowned self in a smaller /
larger world of blue glowing
screens and perpetual music.
One thousand million songs.
Free. Click. Here. Now.

All you lovely strangers so much
more real than real,
so cool and artistic and how I
wish I could write poetry like you.
How I wish.

Open the door and observe:
the human component of
a full parallel circuit.
Exchange and exchange.
Fixated on a blank screen.
Tapping foot to invisible sound.
Typing faster than would talk.

Close the door.
Walk away.

My soul literally pulsates
sideways out of my body
I watch it with heavy eyes, my head
on my pillow
I hear a motor revving down the street
And it grounds me
This stranger with a completely different life than mine is running a stable engine
And he has no idea that our disconnectedness
has connected me
He doesn't know that we never met and shall never part, for that reason
He doesn't know that he put my soul back in place
I listen to that motor humming and I inhale
Suddenly, it stops-

I think I'll be fine.
You have your reasons,
And I have mine.
We've come to agreement,
We are civilized,
Empathetic, and decent.
Intoxicated confessment,
You feel a strong
Emotional connection.
Words so sweet,
You reserve for when
I'm in the midst of sleep.
At least I know
Our feelings are understood.
Together, we can't grow.
We couldn't bind, but our emotions could.

Its all just crazy this world I mean,
How do we know whats real? Is it all just a dream?,
Our minds can't fathom the nature of this platform,
Its something you just feel we are one with where we came from,
This tingling aliveness burning in our skin,
Clues left outside that coax us to look within,
To see not with our eyes but simply feel this connection,
The path may be laid out but our heart sets the direction,
Its all apart of what's needed for personal evolution,
Hard times, mistakes, let downs are designed to keep us moving,
I don't know any answers but I do know how to contemplate,
Bound body with limitless being so it's never too late.

Standing in the crowd I was
Surrounded by strangers
In the dead of night.
People from across the globe
Connected through this single
Experience. Sharing tells
And their walks of life.
The ball drops
And confetti springs
People look around in awe
As I look to
My right,
My left,
My front and back
I'm not surrounded by strangers
Anymore.
The Portuguese behind us,
the Brazilians to my left,
The 7. Foot New Yorker in front
The spaniards to my right
N in my group two new friends
From 2 hours away.
The crowd disperses
As we all say good bye
Carrying with us the joy
Of new life, friends and
An experience that connected
Us all.