The Wallflower
What does the world look like
6 feet under?
Mud falling like tears on our thin faces,
the sky is an earthquake –
the stomp of the sun people will not let us sleep.
The walls here are made of sticky memories,
better forgotten with their smell of sin.
Don’t lean too hard on their surface
lest you’d like to become a part of the décor.
A pretty wallflower,
perhaps,
a frozen conversation piece
to serve as a warning,
to all the kids that dream of being dead.
Stronger
You start off small,
A little weed, a little smoke-
Innocent enough.
No parents to chastise you,
To put the brakes on your less than legal hobbies.
A cup of bad friends,
A sprinkle of depression-
A recipe for the man of my future.
Give me the pills.
Just one pill.
Two pills.
Four.
Eight.
Twelve.
I’ve lost count.
Friends on high horses,
How could they know,
My mom falling on her own sword,
My sister desperate to join her.
A father made of alcohol and regret,
Beating his only living relative into a drug-filled palace.
I lose hours, I lose days,
I sleep on Tuesday and wake on Friday.
I live in a world built on speed,
Xanax its tyrannical leader,
My mind and body,
Their willing subject.
Demons adapt,
Euphoria fades.
I am thrown overboard,
I am ruled.
I beg of you,
Give me something,
A little
Bit
Stronger.
Advice for a Half-Broken Teenager
I know life hasn’t been the kindest
And some days
It seems easier to give in
Give up
Lay down
And let it all come to an end
But if I’ve learned anything from life
It is that tears have a way
Of cleansing the soul
Uplifting the heart
So do not be ashamed of the salted waterfalls
That has created well-worn paths down your face
For everyone has troubles
And getting through today
Will make you stronger tomorrow
Your life will not forever be
As it is today
So all I can say
To you and all who have gone what you have
Don't give up
For it gets
So
Much
Better
The Darkness Within
Everyone cowers
Before the threatening darkness
And the monsters our minds create
That lurk within it
Everyone cowers
When the lights flicker out
And they are left with nothing
But uncertainty
I am not afraid of the darkness
That inhabits this world
No
I am much more afraid
Of the subtle
Yet brutal
Darkness
That festers within
Because there is no way
To turn on the light
And let the darkness out
When it inhabits
My very soul
Drowning
The world is blurry
And I must squint
To make out the details
All around
Is nothing but a
Giant
Blue
Mass
I draw in a breath
In surprise
In fear
But all I breath in
Is water
It is everywhere
Above
Beneath
Within
The soft currents
Cruelly entomb me
The cold currents
Replaced by warmth
To sooth me
And entice me
To follow it
Down
Down
Down
Until all light fades
And I am left with nothing
But the pressure of the deep blue
The darkness
Such a mercy
For a failing heart