Brave Boy
No shame in what has been before
the world, it turns the same.
Foster the learning that lay in store –
looking back from where you came.
A night of the soul will test you, boy.
The world, it works that way,
The cold hard nights will steal your joy
unless your demons are slain.
Soaked and strong, then face the sun
and stand before your life.
Walk tall amongst the boys that run
and finally, sheathe your knife.
The world is yours – to those that brave –
the fierce, dark nights ahead.
The truest treasures lay in the cave,
though its deeps are filled with dread.
But you, young man, have faced the worst,
you fear the pit no more –
the treasure waits for intrepid souls
unafraid to leave the shore.
Without
Without your love, I love you back
Without your heart, mine beats
Without a single smile from you
I’ll hold our memories of peace
Without your trust, I give you mine
Without your hand, I hold
Without your blushing cheeks at night
My love will feel as bold
Without your touch, I feel your soul
Without your glance, I look
I’ll search for you within each crowd
pray you reopen our book
Without your lips, I kiss the sky
Without your breath, I breathe
I’ll whisper your name into the night
and love your sky from beneath
Without your mind, you are on mine
Without your glare, there’s pain
This earth I’ll walk to fill the void
And find new clouds of shame
Without your dawn, I rise again
Without your tears, I cry
Without a song, I sing for you
Without your sun, I try
I’ll find you in another life
Our hearts still one, betrothed
This wasn’t our only chance, my love
Don’t be haunted by my ghost
Without forgiveness, to you I’m drawn
Still hopes and dreams I’ll bring.
Without your hand to plant it on,
I’ll hold in mine your ring.
#iloveyou
Rebuild or destroy
Rebuild or destroy
both give us gifts
one hope is inspires
one sends adrift
ive loved them both
in my own way
ive held the bottle
ive gone astray
to build is harder
cause it takes two
but it takes the old
and makes the new
one ebbs with fire
one gusts with dream
one steals your breath
one brings esteem
one brings you rage
the other hope
but time runs out
through choice and scope
cant sit in doubt
while others sway
cant steal tomorrows
to lose today
ive changed and chose
committed true
ill build a rose
but not without you
Air and Water
the libra
it weighs
time trust touch and taste
the pisces
it swims
far and wide fluid space
the two
scales full
one balance, one worn
as one
perfection
if shared and not scorned
but he
must try
swimming in emotion so swift
if she
will but
teach him to flow with the drift
and she
must try
balance to come and to share
if he
will but
show her there's nothing to fear
they have
a future
twin flames in one soul
if hearts
can be
open to love and to grow.
#heartsopen #nofear #readytolisten
one in twain
the chances? beyond measure.
two snowball's more like...
in hell, that they'd sail, and
...withstand the strike
and yet here we stand
twin souls in our vans
odds beaten and broken
...still abandoned our plans
your head pounds and circles
my heart – splintered shards
we both had our reasons
...two snowballs well-charred
you've taken hell's fires
i've survived so much ice
none could yet hurt us
...no matter the price
but we broke each other
through distance and cloying
who cares what the score
...that kept us enjoying
evermore together –
our paradise lost,
except we've forgotten
...still ways to exhaust
we command love
we could take it together
forgiveness and trust
... could save our forever.
both coming back,
but not just as before,
both afraid and yet trusting
... eternity restored.
#igetit #iloveyou #asyouwish #ivelearnedhowtolisten
Fire Man
close all the doors
and draw the shades
please bar the floor
i'll make a cage
you walked away
forgot my love
you couldn't stay
i'm not your dove
im just a man
a burning one
i hate my place
so now its done
my fire burns
invisibly
for all to spurn
though none can see
this heat is cool
it has no light
it chars so cruel
throughout the night
please put me out
please cover me
i beg and shout
though none hear me
i leave my home
tread carefully
chaos must roam
hurt only me
my dread and fears
have all come true
i burnt the tears
i've cried for you
i wish you all
that you deserve
i cannot call
you left me first
my friend is pain
i let it bite
we are the same
are flames are white
and we both choose
to waste away
we love to lose
but please just stay
or let the burn
consume us both
although i yearn
to keep our oaths
we said always
and come what may
despite the blaze
you said you'd stay
not violent
but see my flaws
you left silent
and broke our laws
i burn alone
your water gone
goodbye home
i was love's pawn.
#heartache #lostlove #agony #forgiveness
Buttercup, Darling –
"Only if you come to me..."
the last words that I spoke,
they ravage through my blackest sea,
they turned our love to smoke.
Regret it stalks me like a hulk,
if only I'd reversed...
and turned those silly sounds around.
Now, "If only..." I rehearse.
If only I'd have trusted you –
if only I had stopped –
if only I'd have seen right through –
if only I had dropped –
the subject on that fateful night
that turned our dreams to dust.
If only I'd have held you tight...
our love would beat the lust.
If only I had held my words,
if only I'd used my ears,
if only I had never cursed,
our seeds would grow for years.
If only I could let you know –
if only I could say...
that you're my heart, my mind, my dream –
and I'll never go astray.
I'll never break your heart again,
though broken, it is still.
I'll tape, and glue, and beg, and bend,
'til it can hold it's fill –
of love that I'll pour into it,
of trust, I'll always share.
My soul in two with you, I'll split –
to bring our Heaven here.
Until the nights, have longer days,
until the seas run dry,
'til all my soul's long debts are paid,
until the fall of skies –
I'll love you like the moonlight's rays,
I'll never leave your side.
I'll hold you close each long night through,
my trust I'll never hide.
"You are my life," I should have said –
if only I'd wrapped the words.
But regrets are here, and you have fled.
You've flown off with the birds.
#Challenge #Heartache #Regret #Alone
Let the spider bite you, Love.
She said, "Let the spider bite you, Love."
and I didn't have to choose.
Long legs wrapped their way 'round me,
and I prepared to lose.
My soul she takes from me complete,
our seconds turn to years.
I let her bury fangs so deep,
Whispers drown out all my fears.
Her muscles cinch and fasten tight,
trespassing with each touch.
Our pulses racing with all our might,
Our skin meets and hands clutch.
Silk webs suspend on through my mind
Her smile stalks me there.
She marked the territory lines.
Her heart beyond compare.
She nestled in behind my breath –
shook, vibrated, hummed, and planned.
She'd make my house her home unless –
I showed myself, a man.
Her magic eyes, they danced and leapt.
Her sound surrounds and floods.
Her hissing seethes, my spirit wept.
I played her games with blood.
No higher stakes than brands
and bonds, I tie myself to her.
I loose the tension of her strands,
Her anger starts to stir.
A question here, suspicions there,
the small hand starts to turn.
Her eyes go dim, love draining clear –
my heart she drops and spurns.
Dainty poison slips right in,
I stagger, beg, and moan.
Beneath my skin, sin spears like gin,
More than I have, I've loaned.
She runs away to wicked strays,
eight eyes never looking back.
I fall away – my soul astray –
Old course, I've lost your track.
No home for me – a husk bereft,
a man becomes a shell.
I cry and plea, no sympathy,
sweet poison brought me hell.
She said, "Let the spider bite you, Love,"
and I didn't have to choose.
Long legs wrapped their way 'round me,
and I prepared to lose.
#heartache #lostlove #nevermore #neveragain
Your Darkness Feels Like Home
You think your darkness makes you weak,
think the fairy tales were wrong.
You think it renders you apart,
and chars you to the bone.
You think no one can stand your heat,
no one can stay for long.
You think no one could love your heart,
just born to be alone.
But you don't see how hard you've fought,
while broken, you stand tall.
Silence held the years of pain,
you carry the weight for all.
Your suffering – an afterthought,
always brave while feeling small.
You stood alone and faced the rain,
fearless before the squall.
I think your dark makes you unique,
Built steel around your bones.
I think your cracks a work of art –
'cause through your light has shone.
I know I'll stand your burning streak,
let the crackle be my song.
If just one message I can impart –
your darkness feels like home.
Dangerous Minds
What is it? This man’s first day driving a bus? I swear, If I’m late, I’ll –
She’s thick, ain’t she? Man, if I had just five minutes, I’d...
I rub my eyes and sit. I made the wrong choice. Fucking telepathy. “Know all!” they said. Turns out all there is to know is that people hate. A lot. Oh, and they think about running away, stealing, and, my God, they hurt inside… at least in this little slice of paradise. I shake my head and cover my ears, but it doesn’t help. The implant uses bone conduction technology. There’s no drowning it out.
I pull out the instructions.
Thought Genie! Step into the minds of anyone not wearing a mind vest and know all! Chip will dissolve in 24 hours. If the chip does not self-dislodge, T.GENIE NOT AT FAULT! All sales are final.
I huff. Yeah, my fault. I should be flying around right now with the rest of the addy-flight freaks, but there’d been a few things I wanted to know. Did my brother-in-law cheat on my sister? Bastard. Was the lying prick Stephen stealing my ideas from my office desk? Does Mel still love me... I rub my temples and see Du Pont Circle coming up.
“Next stop, Florida Ave.,” the speaker buzzes.
I make a note to stay off the damn bus til the weekend. I stand and brush past a man who breaks eye contact as quickly as he makes it. He smells like ashes and ozone. I shimmy-shuffle past the lady in the front seat with all the bags. And then I hear it.
Wait ‘til she sees what I did. Oh, man! I can wait ’til that dumb cow sees what I did to her. She’ll regret droppin’ me. Oh, man...
The words bother me, but they aren’t that unusual, even after just two hours in the city with the Genie. It’s the tone. I know. I know, but thoughts have a tone. And that particular thought stops me cold. My stomach drops. What is this? I... feel something. The Thought Genie is basically a high-frequency tuner. Reads some kind of chem signals in the brain and interprets the neurons and synaptic patterns. Science shit. Who knows? But there’s no place they talk about feeling the transmitter’s feelings. Fuck.
I yank at the device above my ear, but it’s locked in tight. I shake my head and try to differentiate between my feelings and the man’s, but they’re entangled.
Mary’s all but dead and she doesn’t even know. Walking dead, bitch. What she deserves.
I stumble backward and shake my head. A prim woman in a pressed skirt and tight glasses bats me with her paper like a bad dog. “Sorry. Sorry, ma’am. Miss. I -”
I shoulda made her pay years ago. Well, best served cold, ain’t it, Marrrry?
“I’m - ugh, excuse me.” I make for the bus door and trip. “My stop, driver. Coming.” I muster and feel my fists clench. My insides tighten like a spring. My eyes focus on the black grippy floor. What? Why? I turn. The man is staring at me. Jaw tight, fists clenched, eyes locked. Shit.
I mat my hair over my Thought Genie and scramble to my feet. Just some distance. Just need some distance and he’ll go away. Poof. I jog a few steps and feel the connection begin to link to another mind. Thank God. Anyone else. I jog around the corner and breathe out against the cool morning brick. I feel a vibration in my head, then a pause as it uplinks.
Where did that piece of shit go? Dammit! Damn tech mutants. I’ll kill him. Freak. Eavesdropper! What’d he hear? What’d he hear?
“Help, sir!” I say to a man striding past on his phone. He raises his eyebrow behind thousand dollar sunglasses and sweeps passed. I peel off the wall and peek around the corner. There he is. Walking this way. A conservative mad man in stark relief against a city that accepts him. Wears a cool salmon tie against a crisp blue suit that cuts to his svelt body like a shell. But inside it, he hides. A hermit crab human. A white-collar monster.
I run.
Kill him!
Can’t think. Can’t separate his thoughts from mine.
There he is. What’d he hear? Never gonna tell another secret again.
I race. A store. Glass windows. Keep running. There, Kramer’s Books! I know it. Maybe Josh is working. Oh, God!
Go on, little rabbit. Can’t hide from me.
I bang open the door and look around. Quiet mid-morning. Empty. Old book smell. Two, three... all women. “Josh!” I call. A woman behind the counter shushes me and beckons me over, shaking her head. “Call the cops. There’s a killer - a killer coming!” She stares. I begin to cry loose sloppy tears and run to the back of the store. A way out? Back Entrance?
No way out. He’ll try to come out this way. You still listening, pal? Go ’head. Listen.
I run upstairs. The stairs creak and moan. I stumble past rows of Mechum and Bryson. I turn the corner into the wide-open space with no exit.
Right behind you.
I smell ashes and ozone. I see the huge window and race toward it. Blind sprint. Can’t breathe. No more tiles. I stop and turn. “What’d you do?” I scream.
“You’ll never know,” he says as he shoves me through the glass. I hear the crashing glass above the fray of his myriad thoughts.
Got ’im. Close. Too close. I can get out of this. You’re next, Mary.
Bright light. Grey clouds. Crack. Buzzzzzz.
“It’s alright, ma’am. I’m... Agent Foster. That man’s a criminal. Stole private property. I’ll go outside and phone the cavalry. You just relax now. Stay here.”
The light fades. A blue suit steps over me, careful of the oozing crimson.
Now, where’s that bus stop.
#Prosechallenge #superpowers #Dangerousminds #thriller