Am I asking too much
to be recognized
do I want too much
to be heard
day after day
all I'm after
is relief that is found
from one kind word.

Darling child,
there is nothing I can give to you
except for the fear that was placed in me
a long time ago
once when I crowed loudly as a youth
then was bludgeoned with words
lessons meant to cage and keep me
and my ribcage still houses that fear
however, you should be glad to know
that my love for you now speaks louder.

Another few seconds pass
before the minutes are flung into the chasm
the next skeleton that rattles
will bear the mark of the hour
and so greedy it is,
as the pair of hands reach for our lives
all consuming, but never full
the swinging tock sound of the pendulum
has now provided me
with a tic of my own
only now can I---
almost taste
the impudence of the clock
the eyes on its face
ever alert,
unblinking
its grin,
unyielding
widens,
more still---
until it seizes the day.

Let's not be coy
I said,
wagging my finger
you are here to talk about me
I said repeatedly
to the mirror
so talk---
I said, playfully
or I will.

The roads are blocked
like my arteries
and when I come to a stop
there is only a dead end.

Looking at this world
the old gods will say
let it expire,
it's far past decay

When flesh rots its form
there is nothing more to find
leaving only the stench to remain
and the bones that remind.

I'm reaching for my happy thoughts
But I'm only grabbing air
looking for that life time
with no one else to share
the more I start to wonder
the more I really care
how I was never here
and I was not all there.