Clarity

In this hollow feeling we find

Wondering and lost

Instances of clarity 

Let us ask - has it been worth the cost?

Linger here a moment

Bring it all to a staggering halt

Adjust all of the lenses 

Swear once more - we're all equally at fault

Kill all of the doubts

In cold blood, watch them bleed

No courage left to face them 

Still insisting - this is what we need

Undone as we are

New and old mingling in our mind

Letting the scars overlap 

In the end - what do we find?

Growth stunted, for the sunlight is tainted -

How we wish it weren't this way

The bitterness sunk in deep  

And corrupted every golden ray

Now it's turned this blood red color

Dashes of yellow all but gone

Still each night we stand shivering

Holding out hope until the dawn

In the tainted light of day

Verily mourning what we've lost

Etching these scars deeper 

Realize - it's never been worth the cost

Noting Nonary

If I get lost amidst the details

Fade into the atmosphere 

If all that’s left is background noise

You can always find me here

Lying between the sheets

Caressing reverie 

Tangled in fabrication

Weaving the world around me

Such a strange set of armor

With gaping holes and pinching seams 

And nine years of corrosion 

Caused by stagnant dreams

If I get stuck in all the synonyms 

And the endless march of time

If all that’s left is twisted words

We can find clarity in rhyme 

Riffling through these sheets of paper

Lies and truths snuck in between  

The years are marked in paper cuts

And spilled ink I can’t scrub clean

Such a strange bed to lie in

Full of every comfort and every tear

And nine years of cultivation 

For I've always found me here

Breakers

Dally here in calm waters

Etch these memories in deep

All the gentle waves and moments 

Real or not, they’re yours to keep

Yet in time this may falter

Or perhaps it never was

Unearthing twisting shadows 

Still trying not to see the cause

Clutching to any semblance 

Really, the smallest drop of remorse  

Empty hands finding nothing

Waves hitting with such force

Echoes keep you here

Daring you to not let go

Take it all in the name of

How things were, how they might grow

In time, what will be -

Slowly giving up more and more

Until you’re beaten down or until you

Pull away and make a break for shore

Voices

Just give one more explanation

Until they understand 

Still trying to survive

Taking yet another final stand 

Take a few more for good measure 

Heat them up until you burn

Eat their words so they feel better

Vomit them out and never learn

Out in the real world for a change

If only you could find

Clues to where reality begins

Ending what’s only in your mind

Still searching for the seam 

Intent to tear it apart 

Never could grasp the edges 

Made up of mind and heart

Yank it all down around you

Hitting at the voices in your head

Echoes lashing out 

Aching to be said

Darling, it's time to drown them out, or watch as they spread 

Forevermore

Today you'll be my inspiration 

Offering myself in return 

How strange a transaction 

Accepting all the highs with every burn

Vast swaths of things we have yet to learn 

Each moment could be a treasure

All lost in time's sea

No ways left to measure

Days piling to eternity 

Take one more for you and me

Once more, forevermore

Hold tight and learn anew -

Of all the things that I adore

Love, they mean naught compared to

Days piling high with me and you