It happened in the dead of night while I was slicing bread for a guilty snack.
My attention was caught by the scuttering of a raccoon outside my window.
That was, I believe, the first time I noticed my strange tendencies as an unusual
human.
I gave the raccoon a piece of bread, my subconscious well aware of the consequences.
Well aware that a raccoon that is fed will always come back for more.
The enticing beauty of my cutting knife was the symptom.
The bread, my hungry curiosity.
The raccoon, an urge.

The moon increments its phase and reflects that much more light off of my cutting
knife.
The very same light that glistens in the eyes of my raccoon friend.
I slice the bread, fresh and soft. The raccoon becomes excited.
or perhaps I'm merely projecting my emotions onto the newly-satisfied animal.

The raccoon has taken to following me.
You could say that we've gotten quite used to each other.
The raccoon becomes hungry more and more frequently, so my bread is always handy.
Every time I brandish my cutting knife the raccoon shows me its excitement.
A rush of blood. Classic Pavlovian conditioning. I slice the bread.
And I feed myself again.

The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow.
Bathing.
It must be this one.
The last remaining streetlight to have withstood the test of time.
The last yet to be replaced by the sickening blue-green of the future.
I bathe. Calm; breathing air of the present but living in the past.
The light flickers.
I flicker back.

Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of my head. Get out of
Get.
Out.
Of.
My.
Head.


Get out of my head before I do what I know is best for you.
Get out of my head before I listen to everything she said to me.
Get out of my head before I show you how much I love you.
Get out of my head before I finish writing this poem.



But a poem is never actually finished.
It just stops moving.

A marvel millions of years in the making.
Where the womb of Earth chaotically meets the surface.
Under a clear blue sky, an expanse of bliss -
But beneath gray rolling clouds, an endless enigma.
The easiest world to get lost in
is one where everything can be found.

One can only build a sand castle where the sand is wet.
But where the sand is wet, the tide comes.
Will it gently lick at your foundations until you give in?
Or will a sudden wave send you crashing down in the blink of an eye?
Either way the outcome is the same.
Yet we still build sand castles.

I stand where the foam wraps around my ankles.
Where my toes squish into the sand.
The salty air is therapeutic.
The breeze is gentle, yet powerful.
I sink my toes into the ultimate boundary line, tempted by the foamy tendrils.
Turn back, and I abandon my peace to erode at the shore.
Drift forward, and I return to Earth forevermore.

The colors, they won't
Bright, bea t ful c l rs
Flash ng, exp nd ng, piercing
Red, green, blue
An ndless
CACOPHONY
Of meaningless
noise

The noise, it won't STOP.
Viol nt, grating w vef rms
Sq e king, screech ng, piercing
SINE, COSINE, TANGENT
Like play ng a ch lkboard on a t rntable
Like playing a KNIFE on a BREATHING RIBCAGE
n ndl ss
p m
Of m n ngl ss

Delete Her

Your mind is so full of troubles and fears
That diminished your wonder over the years
But today I have a special place
A beach for us to go.

A shore reaching beyond your sight
A sea that sparkles with brilliant light
The walls in your mind will melt away
Before the sunny glow.

I'll be the beach that washes your worries away
I'll be the beach that you daydream about each day
I'll be the beach that makes your heart leap
In a way you thought had left you long ago.

Let's bury your heavy thoughts in a pile of sand
Bathe in sunbeams and hold my hand
Wash your insecurities in the salty sea
And let me see you shine.

Let's leave your memories in a footprint trail
Set you free in my windy sail
And remember the reasons you're wonderful
When you press your lips to mine.

I'll be the beach that washes your worries away
I'll be the beach that you daydream about each day
I'll be the beach that makes your heart leap
In a way you thought had left you long ago.

But if you let me by your side
Your own beach, your own escape
You'll learn to love yourself again.

Sayori: I'm so glad you're joining the literature club!

MC: Hey, I never agreed to join.

Monika: Oh, wow Sayori! Who's your friend?

Sayori: He's our club's newest member!

MC: thats...not set in stone....

Sayori: This is Monika! Yuri! And Natsuki! And you already know
me!

Monika: Welcome to our meeting!

Yuri: Are you into reading?

Sayori: No need for being coy!

Monika: We'll improve your uptake!

Natsuki: Have a friggin' cupcake! And must you bring a BOY?

Monika: Time to write some poems! Don't be scared to show em! The festival's days away!

Natsuki: You could help with baking!

Yuri: Or with banner making!

Sayori: And i'll walk home alone today....

Sayori: Maybe we're friends... maybe we're more! How could he love a simple girl next door? I'm just, not the type he's looking for!

Monika: Hey, Sayori you doing okay?

Sayori: I'm having a difficult day....

Monika: I'd say, you seem... pretty lonely!

MC: I wish I could make her grin... all she wants are things back the way they've been!

Monika: She's depressed and stressed and she's feeling blue, so I don't want Sayori, HANGING around you!

others: Just Monika! Just Monika! Just Monika! Just Just Monika!

Monika: I'm so glad you're joining the literature club!

MC: wait, what happened to Sayori?

Natsuki: Who?

Yuri: There's.... No one here named that......

Natsuki: Manga is my passion! Don't you dare be bashing! The writing's got finesse! Maybe you should borrow, these until tomorrow! WERE YOU LOOKING UP MY DRESS!?!

Yuri: Let's go read a story!

MC: What about Sayori?

Monika: Let's talk about me instead! I've been learning piano! And I sing soprano! And I can't get you out of my head...!

Yuri: Can't look away... Can't help but blush... Where did I get this overwhelming crush? It's sharp as a knife and twice the rush!

Natsuki: Yo! There's something I think you should know... Iv'e never seen Yuri so...

Yuri: SaNe AnD cHiIl AnD sTiIl KiNdA sWeAtY! And I don't mind CUTTING to the chase, i'm in love with you and your gorgeous face!

Monika: That's a sentiment I can't allow, so my dear friend Yuri, is getting the POINT now!

Natsuki: Just Monika! Juat Monika! Just Monika! Just just Monika!

Monika: Could you have guessed? Maybe you knew! Natsuki is next, i'm deleting her too! We don't need cupcakes or poems or tea, I only need you to love me....!

Monika: Wow, that's a lot of Crunchyroll you've been watching, you're really taking advantage of that free VRV trial...

MC: AH!

Monika: Hey, there's no one else in our way! So look at me and just say, right here, my dear, that you love me! And we'll, sit here to the end of time, cause i've earned this and you're finally mine! And i'm sorry what you've had to see, but it no longer matters, cause now you belong to me! Forever... Forever.... Forever.. Forever. Forever! Forever!! Forever!!! FoReVeR!!! FOREVER!!!!

Sayori: Well look what the cat dragged in!

MC: Sayori?! You're still in the literature club?

Sayori: Of course! I am the president after all!

Yuri: Wow Sayori, Who's your friend?

Sayori: He's our newest member of the literature club!

Natsuki: I'm GUESSING that's not set in stone....

MC: This time, I think it is.

Yuri: Hey! You should join us, I was just getting Natsuki here into my
favorite horror novel.

Natsuki: Hey! It...It's not like I like it or anything!

Sayori: So.... Are you walking home with anybody today?

MC: chuckles Just my friend Sayori.

Sayori: Just Sayori... JUst SAyori...JUSt SAYori..JUST SAYOri... JUST SAYORi JUST JUST SAYORI!!!!!!!

A rotating wheel. Turning an axle. Grinding. Bolthead. Linear gearbox. Falling sky. Seven holy stakes. A docked ship. A portal to another world. A thin rope tied to a thick rope. A torn harness. Parabolic gearbox. Expanding universe. Time controlled by slipping cogwheels. Existence of God. Swimming with open water in all directions. Drowning. A prayer written in blood. A prayer written in time-devouring snakes with human eyes. A thread connecting all living human eyes. A kaleidoscope of holy stakes. Exponential gearbox. A sky of exploding stars. God disproving the existence of God. A wheel rotating in six dimensions. Forty gears and a ticking clock. A clock that ticks one second for every rotation of the planet. A clock that ticks forty times every time it ticks every second time. A bolthead of holy stakes tied to the existence of a docked ship to another world. A kaleidoscope of blood written in clocks. A time-devouring prayer connecting a sky of forty gears and open human eyes in all directions. Breathing gearbox. Breathing bolthead. Breathing ship. Breathing portal. Breathing snakes. Breathing God. Breathing blood. Breathing holy stakes. Breathing human eyes. Breathing time. Breathing prayer. Breathing sky. Breathing wheel.

SSBjYW4gZmVlbCB0aGUgdGVuZGVybmVz cyBvZiBoZXIgc2tpbiB0aHJvdWdoIHRo ZSBrbmlmZSwgYXMgaWYgaXQgd2VyZSBh biBleHRlbnNpb24gb2YgbXkgc2Vuc2Ug b2YgdG91Y2guIE15IGJvZHkgbmVhcmx5 IGNvbnZ1bHNlcy4gVGhlcmUncyBzb21l dGhpbmcgaW5jcmVkaWJseSBmYWludCwg ZGVlcCBkb3duLCB0aGF0IHNjcmVhbXMg dG8gcmVzaXN0IHRoaXMgdW5jb250cm9s bGFibGUgcGxlYXN1cmUuIEJ1dCBJIGNh biBhbHJlYWR5IHRlbGwgdGhhdCBJJ20g YmVpbmcgcHVzaGVkIG92ZXIgdGhlIGVk Z2UuIEkgY2FuJ3QuLi5JIGNhbid0IHN0 b3AgbXlzZWxmLg==

You know what I heard about Amy?
Amy likes spiders.
Icky, wriggly, hairy, ugly spiders!
That's why I'm not friends with her.
Amy has a cute singing voice.
I heard her singing my favorite love song.
Every time she sang the chorus, my heart would pound to the rhythm of the words.
But she likes spiders.
That's why I'm not friends with her.
One time, I hurt my leg really bad.
Amy helped me up and took me to the nurse.
I tried not to let her touch me.
She likes spiders, so her hands are probably gross.
That's why I'm not friends with her.
Amy has a lot of friends.
I always see her talking to people.
She probably talks about spiders.
What if her friends start to like spiders too?
That's why I'm not friends with her.
It doesn't matter if she has other hobbies.
It doesn't matter if she keeps it private.
It doesn't matter if it doesn't hurt anyone.
It's gross.
She's gross.
The world is better off without spider lovers.
And I'm gonna tell everyone.

An old tale tells of a lady who wanders Earth.
The Lady who Knows Everything.
A beautiful lady who has found every answer,
All meaning,
All purpose,
And all that was ever sought.

And here I am,

a feather

Lost adrift the sky, victim of the currents of the wind.

Day after day, I search.
I search with little hope, knowing legends don't exist.
But when all else has failed me,
When all others have turned away,
The legend is all that remains – the last dim star glimmering in the twilit sky.

Until one day, the wind ceases to blow.
I fall.
And I fall and fall, and fall even more.
Gentle as a feather.
A dry quill, expressionless.

But a hand catches me, between the thumb and forefinger.
The hand of a beautiful lady.
I look at her eyes and find no end to her gaze.

The Lady who Knows Everything knows what I am thinking.
Before I can speak, she responds in a hollow voice.
"I have found every answer, all of which amount to nothing.
There is no meaning.
There is no purpose.
And we seek only the impossible.
I am not your legend.
Your legend does not exist."

And with a breath, she blows me back afloat, and I pick up a gust of wind.

The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow.
Bathing.
In the distance, a blue-green light flickers.
A lone figure crosses its path– a silhouette obstructing the eerie glow.
My heart pounds. The silhouette grows. Closer Closer
I open my umbrella, casting a shadow to shield me from visibility.
But I am too late.
He steps into the streetlight. I gasp and drop my umbrella.
The light flickers. My heart pounds. He raises his arm.

Time stops.

The only indication of movement is the amber light flickering against his outstretched
arm.
The flickering light is in rhythm with the pounding of my heart.
Teasing me for succumbing to this forbidden emotion.
Have you ever heard of a ghost feeling warmth before?
Giving up on understanding, I laugh.
Understanding is overrated.
I touch his hand. The flickering stops.
Ghosts are blue-green. My heart is amber.

I don't know how else to bring this up. But there's been something I've been worried about. Yuri has been acting kind of strange lately. You've only been here a few days, so you may not know what I mean. But she's not normally like this. She's always been quiet and polite and attentive...things like that.

Okay... This is really embarrassing, but I'm forcing myself to **** it up. The truth is, I'm REALLY worried about her. But if I try talking to her, she'll just get mad at me again. I don't know what to do. I think you're the only person that she'll listen to. I don't know why. But please try to do something. Maybe you can convince her to talk to a therapist.

I've always wanted to try being better friends with Yuri, and it really hurts me to see this happening. I know I'm going to hate myself later for admitting that, but right now I don't care. I just feel so helpless. So please see if you can do something to help. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. I'll make you cupcakes if I have to. Just please try to do something. As for Monika... I don't know why, but she's been really dismissive about this. It's like she just wants us to ignore it. So I'm mad at her right now, and that's why I'm coming to you about this. DON'T LET HER KNOW I WROTE THIS!!!! Just pretend like I gave you a really good poem, okay? I'm counting on you. Thanks for reading

I pop off my scalp like the lid of a cookie jar.
It's the secret place where I keep all my dreams.
Little ***** of sunshine, all rubbing together like a bundle of kittens
I reach inside with my thumb and forefinger and pluck one out.
It's warm and tingly.
But there's no time to waste! I put it in a bottle to keep it safe.
And I put the bottle on the shelf with all of the other bottles.
Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts in bottles, all in a row.

My collection makes me lots of friends.
Each bottle a starlight to make amends.
Sometimes my friend feels a certain way.
Down comes a bottle to save the day.

Night after night, more dreams.
Friend after friend, more bottles.
Deeper and deeper my fingers go.
Like exploring a dark cave, discovering the secrets hiding in the nooks and crannies.
Digging and digging.
Scraping and scraping.

I blow dust off my bottle caps.
It doesn't feel like time elapsed.
My empty shelf could use some more.
My friends look through my locked front door.

Finally, all done. I open up, and in come my friends.
In they come, in such a hurry. Do they want my bottles that much?
I frantically pull them from the shelf, one after the other.
Holding them out to each and every friend.
Each and every bottle.
But every time I let one go, it shatters against the tile between my feet.
Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts in shards, all over the floor.

They were supposed to be for my friends, my friends who aren't smiling.
They're all shouting, pleading. Something.
But all I hear is echo, echo, echo, echo, echo
Inside my head.

Pen in hand, I find my strength.
The courage endowed upon me by my one and only love.
Together, let us dismantle this crumbling world
And write a novel of our own fantasies.

With a flick of her pen, the lost finds her way.
In a world of infinite choices, behold this special day.

After all,
Not all good times must come to an end

Sayori: Hey, hey, my heart's beating when i'm hanging out with you!
Why does my heart break when I hear you feel the same way too? (heh heh)

Natsuki: Just like a sundae, it's sweet every time I teach you something new. Is this by chance, or fate whenever it's just me and you? (Don't get the wrong idea!!!)

Yuri: when we touch, it'll never be enough...

Sayori: Is it way too much? If you had to choose just one of us?

Natsuki: Tell me, tell me please! Is this what I think or is it just me?  Don't wake me up from this sweet little dream, where we'll be together forever, we're never gonna be apart!

Sayori: Will it be okay, if I express my love for you this way? No matter what you do or what you say, we'll be together forever, we're never gonna be apart!

Monika: We're never gonna be apart....

Yuri: Hey, hey, when i'm next to you I don't know what to do.... Why does it feel so great when our eyes meet out of the blue?  (I...I'm sorry! I said too much!!)

Sayori: I really love....

Monika: The way you write even when you don't have a clue. I want to hear you say, this love that I am feeling is true!

Natsuki: Tasty love, something I want more of,

Yuri: Will it make the cut, if you had to choose just one of us?

Monika: Shall I leave you be? Is it love if I can't set you free? But even if it's not reality, let's be together forever, we're never gonna be apart!

Yuri: How can I convey, my love for you before it flies away? I think about it all day, every day!

Monika: We'll be together forever, we're never gonna be apart!

Monika: One by one they only fall apart, can it be undone? Why can't I just be the one for once?!

Sayori: We'll be together forever, we're never gonna be apart!

Monika: Maybe we'll never be together, but forever you'll be in my heart.....

The colors, they won't stop.
Bright, beautiful colors
Flashing, expanding, piercing
Red, green, blue
An endless
cacophony
Of meaningless
noise

The noise, it won't stop.
Violent, grating waveforms
Squeaking, screeching, piercing
Sine, cosine, tangent
Like playing a chalkboard on a turntable
Like playing a vinyl on a pizza crust
An endless
poem
Of meaningless

Load Me

Monkeys can climb
Crickets can leap
Horses can race
Owls can seek
Cheetahs can run
Eagles can fly
People can try
But that's about it

But he wasn't looking at me.
Confused, I frantically glance at my surroundings.
But my burned eyes can no longer see color.
Are there others in this room? Are they talking?
Or are they simply poems on flat sheets of paper,
The sound of frantic scrawling playing tricks on my ears?
The room begins to crinkle.
Closing in on me.
The air I breathe dissipate before it reaches my lungs.
I panic. There must be a way out.
It's right there. He's right there.

Swallowing my fears, I brandish my pen.

It couldn't have been me.
See, the direction the spackle protrudes.
A noisy neighbor? An angry boyfriend? I'll never know. I wasn't home.
I peer inside for a clue.
No! I can't see. I reel, blind, like a film left out in the sun.
But it's too late. My retinas.
Already scorched with a permanent copy of the meaningless image.
It's just a little hole. It wasn't too bright.
It was too deep.
Stretching forever into everything.
A hole of infinite choices.
I realize now, that I wasn't looking in.
I was looking out.
And he, on the other side, was looking in.

Tomorrow will be brighter with me around
But when today is dim, I can only look down.
My looking is a little more forward
Because you look at me.

When I want to say something, I say it with a shout!
But my truest feelings can never come out.
My words are a little less empty
Because you listen to me.

When something is above me, I reach for the stars.
But when I feel small, I don't get very far.
My standing is a little bit taller
Because you sit with me.

I believe in myself with all of my heart.
But what do I do when it's torn all apart?
My faith is a little bit stronger
Because you trusted me.

My pen always puts my feelings to the test.
I'm not a good writer, but my best is my best.

My poems are a little bit dearer
Because you think of me.

Because you, because you, because you.

I walk to school with my best friend
Surprise, surprise, she's late again
She's got a club she wants me in
Don't think I've ever raised a pen
I'll consider it, sure
No fan of literature
Books with less pictures than words
Leave me a little bit bored
But hey, they promised cupcakes
So it's a chance that I'll take
Four gorgeous girls await me
Okay, I think that I'll stay
Sayori's aloof and kooky
Natsuki's sweet and cutesy
Yuri is deep and brooding
Monika's brains and beauty
There's a festival needs planning
Swear I won't leave them hanging
So many clubs to rival us
I guess it's just the five of us
Just the five of us
We can make it if we try
But each day that passes by
Is tearing pages from my mind
Just the five of us
No escaping if I tried
Though these maidens might seem kind
There's something going on behind
They looked so sad and lonely
I sold my soul for poetry
This hell is members only
Why did I say Okie-Doki?
I walk to school alone again
I'm not a guy with many friends
I've got no club, I've time to spend
So I read manga and stay in
I run into Monika
Says that I should just join hers
Sounds like a club for books with words
But they need some more members
I say okay
I'll come along for just one day
But just you try and get away
When 3 gorgeous girls beg you to stay
Sa- Y oRi'S a LoOf AnD k-Oo Ky
Natsuki's a brutish cutesy
Yuri is too in to me
Monika's brains and beauty
It's almost festival time
Could say we're cutting it fine
The task may seem laborious
I wOnDeR wHeRe SaYoRi Is?
I guess it's just the four of us
Just the four of us
We can make it if we try
But each day that passes by
Is tearing pages from my mind
Just the four of us
No escaping if I tried
Though these maidens might seem kind
There's something going on behind
They looked so sad and lonely
I sold my soul for poetry
This hell is members only
Why did I say Okie-Doki
Well I'm back at school again
Monika's my only friend
Monika's my everything
My beginning and my end
Wait a second... weren't there other girls-
NO.
MoNiKa'S aloof and kooky
MoNiKa'S sweet and cutesy
MoNiKa'S is deep and brooding
MoNiKa'S brains and beauty
MoNiKa sees right through me
MoNiKa'S all that you need
MoNiKa'S all that you need
MoNiKa'S aLl tHaT yOu NeEd
I'm not an ugly guy
But I can't understand why
She'd be so utterly in love she'd leave her club mates to die
Monika's obsession is ominous to be honest
Omnipotent Goddess concocting demonic sonnets
I could delete her but I never could harm Monika
So I'm trapped here forever.
Where's my harmonica?
Never thought I'd get a girl
Literally out of this world
Guess she controls the universe
Looks like it's just the two of us
Just the two of us
In this classroom in the sky
Crimes of passion are just fine
When enacted on AI
Just the two of us
Quite a drastic pick up line
Leaving characters to die
Just to guarantee you're mine
She seemed so sad and lonely
Don't think there's any hope for me
This hell is members only
Why did I say Okie Dokie?
Why did I say Okie Dokie?
Why did I say Okie Dokie?
Why did I say Okie Dokie?
Why did I say Okie Dokie?

Every day, I imagine a future where I can be with you
In my hand is a pen that will write a poem of me and you
The ink flows down into a dark puddle
Just move your hand - write the way into his heart!
But in this world of infinite choices
What will it take just to find that special day?
What will it take just to find that special day?

Have I found everybody a fun assignment to do today?
When you're here, everything that we do is fun for them anyway
When I can't even read my own feelings
What good are words when a smile says it all?
And if this world won't write me an ending
What will it take just for me to have it all?

Does my pen only write bitter words for those who are dear to me?
Is it love if I take you, or is it love if I set you free?
The ink flows down into a dark puddle
How can I write love into reality?
If I can't hear the sound of your heartbeat
What do you call love in your reality?
And in your reality, if I don't know how to love you
I'll leave you be

I held my breath and choked
When you walked into my life
You seemed so out of place
With your intoxicating grace
I only knew you courtesy
The corner of my eye
Now you're right in front of me
Read my poetry

Your sending subtle signals
That i'm failing to decode
Your smile makes my stomach ache
It's more than I can take
Oh, Monika you're making
All my defences erode
You've got a face like paradise
You make my blood run cold as ice

You're like a virus
Slowly infecting me
Pretty poison rushing
Through my heart
You're just a virus
I can't delete
I was falling for you
Now i'm falling apart

Everybody that I thought
I used to know
Changed overnight
And now they're getting into fights

Reality is broken
Scattered pieces on the floor
This isn't just a game
Any more

You're just a virus
Slowly infecting me
Pretty poison rushing
Through my heart
And you're just a virus
I can't delete
I was falling for you
Now i'm falling apart
And it was all over
From the moment I pressed START

Is this really what you think
It means to be in love?
I don't understand why you're
The one i'm dreaming of
You tampered with my feelings
You hacked into my brain
You've broken every rule
And only you remain

You're like a virus
Slowly infecting me
Pretty poison rushing
Through my heart
And you're just a virus
I can't delete
I was falling for you
Now i'm falling apart

And you're like a virus
Uncontrolled
A dangerous and deadly
Work of art
And you're just a virus
In my soul
I was falling for you
Now i'm falling apart
And it was all over
From the moment I pressed START.