On a killing spree you’ve made a
skin of me. Settle down relax to see
if it fits ok. I don’t want it anyway,
there’s too many memories dressed up
as scars that even stars can’t heal,
and you’re far more wounded than me.
You need to graft your own wounds,
stop continually stitching them up
with slips of thread that just won’t hold.
Take my mold and add it to yours
and you won’t need to be afraid anymore. And I can be free too,
knowing I freed you.

~kb

Lies line breaths like prison stripes
Barred up behind a story to memorize
Shifting eyes scream louder than a bullhorn
Wring hands red and rags to sinful water
Soul starts to drip disdain into veins
Inject a bit of guilt for good measure
A visceral polygraph deserving of reverence
Vanquished when eyes conclusively meet
The deliberate intent to deceive
Judgement that peace can befall only one
Biding time and ignorance
just to sacrifice both
Threads of trust fray and split
Left with life unraveling and
one knot to save it
Too busy cutting ties to learn

~kb

Thought, idea, word.
Bunny ears and first steps
Linguistic infant
Stumble on low terrain
One foot by one foot dance
Path blind but revealing
Thoughts hold hands with scenery
Eclectic feigned phrases
Turn the page
Tumble down rock and teachings
Start at asystole
Pen shocking to hands
Old writings reread and revived
Thought, idea, word take new shape
Teachers molding their disciples

~kb

Scan silent aisles in coursing thought
New cartographer
and orange arrows with lines
Cracks in memory prove dangerous
Various scenarios push the levy
Chance encounter
energy bars deplete some
Don’t forget the blinders
keep the horse hushed
Finish line home tile and ***** windows
Surviving another day with nature

~kb

I’ve realized
Many poems
Are about love and ****.
But not one poem
About the love for themselves,
Romantic counterfeits.
You can’t love someone
If you don’t love you
So step on off with it.
Write the deep
Dark parts of you
Stop narrating your hypocrite.

~kb

You can turn anything into a positive
Whatever makes life easier
follow that logic
But don’t go turning red flags green
Don’t convince yourself they’re nice
just because you wanna be mean
Don’t get trapped on the Xanax and lean
Because it helps make positivity
a nice little screen
Between you and real life
And the desperately obscene
Positivity makes everything look green
It can change lives and distort others
False ideals create
fallen sisters and brothers
People that thought they
could live like another
Don’t be naive and let
false truths be covered
Be true to yourself and if it’s not you, run
The shadows still exist in the sun

~kb

Everything at my disposal
And that’s exactly what I do
Throw away your help and advice
And then blame my garbage life on you
You don’t know that I can’t see
Any lines on this Snellen chart
So when I squint to hear you speak
I end up in the dark
It’s not that I don’t want your help
I just don’t comprehend what you say
I follow the mental recipes
But it bakes up different every day
My white flag’s been up a while
But I get mad when it’s flown half staff
When you tell me just to smile
And show the world that I can’t
You expect me to fail but hope for the best
You’ve exhausted energy and time
But those are things I don’t have at all
I’ve hit the end just before my prime
I’ve wanted guidance for so many years
How to navigate these paths
Of the black labyrinth inside my head
Leaving bread crumbs to get back
But it’s already been said
I’ve heard the truth:
‘There’s just nothing more
we can do for you.’
So I’ll eat my bread in fear
Instead of dropping it as I travel
I’m forever sentenced to this labyrinth
Mind’s already slammed down the gavel

~kb