so you
tell me off
&
force me
not to eat
while you munch on your snacks
in front of my face
wow.

I hear them say,
"You only have one life, be grateful
Keep your stance firm, be fateful."

I say to myself,
"I try to -- every cold night, every warm day.
But as I wake up, I can't help but drag myself away."

I hear them say,
"Always look at the bright side,
There are reasons for what transpires in life."

I say to myself,
"I said I try to -- every cold night, every warm day.
But every little good thing seems to always come with a price."

And then they say,
"Oh, ye of little faith, stand tall,
He is with us, and I'll always pray for you."

Yet again I cry,
"I did not ask for your faith, nor did I ask for you to pray.
Listen for once, and one day, maybe you'll know what you can and need to say."

After leaving I thought I knew it all,
and that’s the worst part.
Because all I ever wanted was silence
but now the silence pierces
like a dart.
And I thought I was strong to walk away
from ruins- but tell me,
does it take more strength
to walk or build, in all honesty?
And all the words I chanted to my heart
are the opposite of what I now croak
from the bottom of an empty bottle,
from the hollow of my soul,
from the redness of my eyes,
from the fullness of my mind
and every ounce of my wit
now only proclaims,
you made me a hypocrite.

hypocrite | shevaun stonem

He fancies himself a cowboy
In line at the corner store
Concealed carry snug on his hip
(He secretly hopes someone gives him some lip)
The cashier hands him his change without meeting his gaze
He’s surprised and aroused.
She knows her place.

Selling your soul’s not a deal with the devil
Selling your soul is a deal with yourself
Make the choice over and over
To shake your own hand
And pretend that it’s somebody else

He fancies himself a nonconformist.
A free thinker
The sheep will all do what they’re told
And he’ll be ****** before he goes peacefully to slaughter.
It was easy, he figured it out
Demanding proof is just an excuse to hide behind doubt
A warrior,
he wields the flaming sword of truth
His wife asks a question; he breaks her front tooth.

Selling your soul’s not a deal with the devil
Selling your soul is a deal with yourself
Make the choice over and over
To shake your own hand
And pretend that it’s somebody else

Somewhere a fat man is checking the math as he’s being served lunch
Picking through numbers, looking for nibbles
He dribbles drool onto his chin,
as he dials his guy in The Caymans
His stomach is rumbling, it’s never enough!
To deepen ones pockets, one first must make cuts.

The determinant cause for the silver mine fire
Will read “Accident: faulty electrical wire; Company denies liability
per signed agreement at hire.”
And the cowboy free thinker won’t laugh at the joke,
he’ll just choke
There will be no survivors

But today, The Cowboy nurses his hate,
while Somewhere a fat man is writing the fate of the cowboy in pen,
pleased to be Great Again.

Selling your soul’s not a deal with the devil
Selling your soul is a deal with yourself
Make the choice over and over
To shake your own hand
And pretend that it’s somebody else

she wanted me
to change my size for her
like i was an wrong pair of shoes
but it wasn’t me
that didn’t fit
i had outgrown her
a long time ago

Esther L. Krenzin

I daydream for multiverse.
The entirety in reverse.
All the enimety,
rebuilds into intimacy.
A place equal to Paradise,
occupied by people with faces less than that of a dice.
Where maybe I wasn't invisible to you.
Where my existence was a little less blue.
A place where you'd love me,
and I could love me too.

Your pain keeps you company.
You let your demons come out to play.
You wear your anger as a coat of armor.
And then wonder why everyone runs away.

We love our freedoms so much
we fight for it
protest for it
**** for it
die for it

And suddenly, we forget it

This is when one ceases to be an individual
And when the world becomes one-sided
the mind utterly uncritical

This talk of freedom?
Mere babble

Hypocritical