My skin crawls
My heart aches
My mind starts longing
Yet I feel like nothing
The thoughts surround
They leave me pained
I’m thrusted against
My own regret
With no chance
None I’ll ever acquire
To find that escapism
That I see in that dream

Life is a match
To start you need someone to light the match
Once lighted, the fires starts, the match reaches it's prime
The match then burns and slowly starts to dim
The dimness represents our life burning away
When the flame reaches its final flame, the match burns out
The burnt match represents how the life in everyone slowly follows down their own path
Eventually when we have reached our time, our flame burns out as that of the match
The flame dies but the smoke proceeds to carry on

He was, he is, and ever will be
The most famous bard; by th’ name of Will; he
A question posed that’s baffled generations
“To be, or not to be...”; by these one very very words alone
reserved himself he the star-studded throne
Among th’ infinite constellations
From whence he came, and whither he did go:
For ‘ndeed ‘tis was for him too much ado;
Too much alike to those one star-crossed lovers
He was unhappy in his life; but once it’s over
Was - he did arise; not from his grave,
But to eternity to thrive
Among th’ eternal things, fair and sublime
With not even the palest peer,
Or the worthy rival to challenge his position
Where he still stands as if the exhibition’s
Greatest monument; which, well, he is
That shines so bright so no one could him miss

You couldn’t sleep
You were ecstatic
And it was very clear
The texts rolled in
My phone never tranquil
“I’m getting a dog!”
“Isn’t this amazing?”
I was so happy for you
Almost like a proud parent
I never had ever thought
That I could have a pet
So when you got one
It felt all the same

What was its breed?
I never remembered
I think it was Havanese
Or something of that type
I write this beside my dog
He’s very caring and dashing
It’s a german shepherd
Sometimes he bites hard
Do you think somehow,
They would have been friends now?
I believe that answer is best left unsaid
Because if the owners don’t get along
The dogs won’t either, right?

To Whom it May Concern,

My blood begins to burn
and I’m compelled to spurn
the current plans to turn
our mascot to a worm.

The members from my firm
cannot stay taciturn
when our alumni learn
that strangers overturned
the past we had governed
because they’re all stubborn,
seeking to be modern
and spread, exploit and churn
their folly and their germs.

I urge you to discern
the consequence you’ll earn
unless you can confirm
our legacy long-term.
We will not adjourn
until it’s reaffirmed
that history is stern
and keeps our old pattern.

If you do not concur
and submit to our terms,
then surely you will yearn
for courtesy interns
as funding will downturn
and we will watch you squirm
like spiders in an urn
at the point of no return.

Sincerely, Dr. Kern

Am I weak for crying?
Am I strong for mourning?
Last night is so blurry
Yet I remember it vividly
I filled my head with music
And my heart with pleading
I tried to reassure my mind
“Leave it all in the past, behind”
But it always seemed to flee the spaces
The cage opened by my stubbornness
How many tears were they?
Does it even matter anyway?
Have you ever cried for me?
I know you mostly have
But I’ll decide to just ignore it
And just fill my head with a lie,
“You would never weep for someone as cruel as me”

I never lied to you
Just never said the whole truth
So I would make a mask
And everything would be OK
But once you left I couldn’t anymore
My mask then shattered to the floor
Were you scared that day?
I don’t remember your face
Do you blame yourself?
Or just prosecute the fiend?
Whatever your response may be
Thank you for believing in me

“Aren’t you cold?”
I used to wonder
As you grabbed the snow
The white complimented you
And it kissed your face
As the cold flushed it
You crafted sculptures
And fairytale stories
With you kindness
And gentleness
You stuck those faces
On our school’s walls
And I always took pictures
I wish I had kept them
They would’ve comforted me
But they’re forgotten now
In that freshly fallen snow

In the clearing
where lambs graze
our daughters also
walk at their leisure
toward school
...
there are no fences here
the shepherds allegedly
keep watch in the darkest of hours
but when steps from
an intersecting path
lunge forth as
the unsuspecting wolf
a twisted creature
upon our precious girls
these herdsmen are
certifiably blind and mute
neglectful staffs
striking the air
...
listen closely now
to the gathering winds
their transformation is actually
echoes of our own children's
eternal cries

I’m a single heartbeat
The blinking of an eye
A crash of lightning
A single drop of rain falling
Will you miss me?
Or forget me?