In the realm where shadows dance,
Society weaves its intricate trance.
Amidst the ceaseless ebb and flow,
People's stories silently grow

A tapestry of vibrant threads,
Interwoven with joy and dreads.
A kaleidoscope of souls entwined,
Seeking purpose, elusive to find.

In bustling streets and crowded squares,
A symphony of lives, each with cares.
The masks we wear, a fragile guise,
Concealing truths beneath our eyes.

Within this labyrinth of desire,
Hearts burn with passions, blazing fire.
Yet, veiled in masks of apathy,
We yearn for bonds, a shared empathy.
With hurried steps, we chase success,
In the pursuit of dreams, we acquiesce.
But amidst the race for worldly gains,
The essence of humanity often wanes.

A fractured mirror reflects our plight,
Divisions deep, casting shadows of spite.
Boundaries drawn, walls rise high,
As unity crumbles, hopes sigh.

Yet, in this realm of paradox,
Hope endures, a resilient paradox.
For in our hearts a flame still gleams,
A longing for a world of dreams.

Let us transcend the confines of fear,
Embrace compassion, lend an ear.
For society's strength lies in unity,
A tapestry fused with diversity.

So, let us tread with mindful grace,
Embrace the beauty of every face.
And may this poem be a gentle plea,
For a society where all hearts can be free.

The mother slips into a drunken haze
as her daughter’s heart is hardened still.
She wishes for the former days,
before rejection claimed, “I never will.”

He tried his best to care for her
but to her he was but a splotch
or a stain on her sundress, unconcerned.
Picked flowers nearby, on his lips, “Forget me not.”

It is everywhere

Like time kissing the stream of my life
or the wedding night of a husband and wife
Like splitting one hair
or ruining my heart to get there.
Rejection is surrounding me. Everywhere.

Yet even closer somehow
is the warmth of an embrace, 
a protection from rejection. I feel it now.
I feel it in this secret space.

pouring out paragraphs of poetry
reading until i stop absorbing
my confidence built on words
i worked to make this work
confident, optimistic, and brilliant
pursuing activities for pleasure
demanding a stronger tether
binding, finding my tribe
aligning, trying to vibe
my confident built on words
redefined all my hurt
made my hurt work for me
embrace the shadowy

The night wraps itself around me, a velvet shroud,
Whispering promises of warmth in its false crowd.
I stumble into her arms, but her name escapes me,
A faceless phantom, filling empty shapes.
The lights blur, the music dulls the ache,
Her touch a fleeting balm for what I fake.
Laughter spills like wine, hollow and thin,
But it can't drown the silence screaming within.
Her eyes search mine, but find nothing inside,
Afraid she'll see our feelings collide.
A soul adrift, lost in an endless sea,
Clinging to strangers for company.
I tell myself it's enough, this fleeting play,
A masquerade to keep the darkness at bay.
Yet when dawn arrives, her warmth is gone,
And I’m left with my shadow to lean upon.
The bed feels colder, though I am not alone,
Her presence fades like a forgotten tone.
What am I but a man with borrowed fire,
A marionette of fleeting desire?
I long for something deeper, real and true,
But my hands are too stained to reach out for you.
And so I drift, lost in the night’s disguise,
Hiding my emptiness beneath blank eyes.