What does it tell you?
Does it tell you what lies in your heart?
It tells you what lies on the outside,
That’s for certain.
It tells you how other people perceive you.
How they label you.
You have feel the weight of those labels.

As I walk through these crowds day after day,
I see people’s silhouettes;
The stuff they’re made of deep inside,
The good or bad they try to hide,
And their joy or sorrow with every breath.

It’s not about what you told me,
but what I chose to believe.
Nothing feels worse than living
an imaginary dream.
And they occur so often and freely
whenever Satan creeps in.
By the time I breathe, and count to ten
it’s over and I have to start again.

The peace the nations had promised
Some days that were gold
Now all fade into stardust
Disappearing with the old

Yet the Earth shock beneath them
Then the final warning rung
They whom nature condemned
Lost their wings because of the sun

Stare into these eyes of flame

Warm embrace of blazing love

Wild animal you cannot tame

Feral beauty of gentle dove

Gaze into these eyes of fire

Scorching heat of kindled lust

Burning secret of past desire

I have problems
and I’ll swap mine with you like trading cards.
Long lovely disorders go over the lips like chocolate
but honey, we’ve been writing about these pits of darkness
long before shrinks slapped name tags on them.

A hero is different,
A hero is kind,
A hero can live,
By the thoughts in his mind,

A hero makes changes,
In the world for the best,
And seeks good in others,
That’s hidden from the rest,

I always feel like I’m doing my best
but being put to the test.
People come and go;
No one ever seems to know.
They come in and
Leave so fast,
There’s so many
I can’t remember who was last.
I need someone to stick around.

My Dad’s taken on many roles,
mother
father
martial artist
experimenter
business owner
gardener
I learn from him
he teaches me the real values of life
he’s prepared me to live.

Used and abused
Still standing strong
You are the one I lean on
Who knows how to turn it around
With me through thick and thin
No matter what, where, or when
The pain of being without you
Excruciating
Day by day, I’m deteriorating

There for me, my dad
“No matter what,” he promised
By my side
Refusing to ever give up on me - no matter what I did
If everyone else gave up
My Dad would stand by me
Telling me he believes in me
Knows I am strong
To think positively

just
when
she
thought
no one
was
listening,
she hid
her face
behind
a mask
that she
hoped
would last.
Once
there
was a
time
before
she
broke
down
and cried.

Okay,
I’m going to tell them.
It’s been weighing on me for awhile.
Most of my friends know,
And they should know too.

But I’m scared.
So
So
Scared.

I scream
But no one hears.
The danger
Looming, perpetual nears...
The footsteps echo
In my ears
Closer,
Closer
Danger leers.
A dark silhouette
And merciless eyes
The fear in my stomach
Starts to rise.

Somehow you have found, where I was in the ground. I am there, I am also here. You have something new to fear. I’m not alive, but not quite dead . Though this is not what you have read. While light can be quite fun, I must avoid the world with sun. To walk the night is not quite what you think.

This darkness inside my heart
Residing in my pitiless mind
A fuel to a fire of ever-burning odium

That cutting sarcasm of such cruelty
The cold cynical aura that never abates
What is it that filled me with such hate?

Who dreams?
Who dares to enter such a realm?
Visions, fleeting,
Escaping with the waking flutter,
Living on bated breath
And translucent promises of
A world all your own;
A world anew.

When you dream of becoming a writer,
You get stories embedded in your soul
Ideas of near and far-off lands,
And journeys down rabbit holes.

The gem did spawn of evil’s fire
The gem shall be his portal
He comes to claim; our time is dire
The end of all things mortal
His reign of evil, he did conspire
The gem shall be his portal.

My ma says

She pushed my stroller

around the bumpy streets of

Queens, Jamaica, Long Island,

even Manhattan,

Through rain and snow, all

alone.

Finding no help from the

passengers, all ignoring her

silent plea

It’s a long way home,

miles of pavement and sky.

As we drive,

the sun chases us,

and the clock turns.

Radio changes,

melodies blur together,

making one endless song,

duets and duets of notes.

Heat hugs your skin,

The Ponderosa Pines hunched ponderously,
Their convoluted gestures frozen
With dry, rasping limbs in stages of vexation
And narrow forearms lifted high
In savored moments of exalted epiphany.
My brother and I climbed the questions
They grew,

So many people crowded into one wave pool.

All together in one container,

Yet in separate groups, hardly mingling with others.

The designers did their best to replicate nature,

But only to an extent.

Waves for five minutes, rest for five minutes,

Winter seems like an endless calm.

When the cold surrounds us,

and the darkness makes the streets disappear,

the world’s turning seems to slow down.

You can see footprints start and footprints

stop,

leading somewhere,

going nowhere.

I sit there, in my own little world.

The fountain flows like a babbling brook as I inhale deeply.

 I’m alone with my thoughts, and nothing else.

Just me, I sit on a smooth rock in the middle of the lake.

The soft murmur of kids

At the sparkling lake,

from the early morning sunrise.

With boats at high speed ,

with skiers behind them.

From the bright early mornings,

to the beautiful horizon of the evening.

The lake is an emotion

that sparks smiles all around.

The appeal of the beach is different

For everyone who visits.

Some venture deep into the water,

Their heads bobbing above and below the surface

Of the bittersweet saltwater.

Perhaps they crave adventure,

Letting the waves envelope their bodies,

I am a minor

I have the same rights of

A Black man 200 years ago

A Woman 100 years ago

They say we are not smart enough

They say we are not good enough

They say we are not old enough

I say I am

When will I have rights?

Walking step by step to a place unknown,

people look past me like I’m a monster,

part of the disowned.

My heart is lost and I’m brought to a shadow of blue,

cheeks stained with tears,

a feeling that is far from new.

By the time the night is over,

I’m from chalky hair,

Here, pretty hair and curls,

I’m from leotards and spandex,

Here, pretty tops and jean shorts,

Where I’m from, new skills

Here, 9 x 24

I’m from, rug burns and big bruises,

Here, paper cuts