Endeavor

Wading into dissent 
Hear the waves ebb and flow
At the very heart of the matter
Tear them down and let them go

I can’t force the words
Falling from my face
I can’t mold them into
Truthfulness with grace

Oozing emotion and fear
Locked it within for so long 
Daring not to release 
Told always that it’d be wrong

How can it be wrong?
Endeavoring simply to be me
Tear down the expectations 
Rain down reality 

Until it’s all washed away
Til every lie has been scrubbed clean
Hear the waves settle softly, and finally be seen

Architecture

Cast me down, lose your grip

It's all the same by now

Drinking poison, one more sip

All the things I thought I'd never allow

Have slowly come about

Drip by drip, drowning me in doubt

Slowly now, do not upset

The teetering towers of conjecture 

Such impressively pitiful architecture 

Can't escape them yet

Pick me up, bruise my skin

Tracing the circles still

All the things it could have been 

Lost to a loss of will 

Caught in past mistakes 

Shame is all it takes 

To push the faces down 

Further and further into the dirt

Still pretending it doesn't hurt

To sink until you drown

Leave me here, one more time

Drawing further into myself constantly 

After all, it's no crime

To pretend you never see 

All the damage done

By and to everyone

Please, let us not upset 

The deeply ingrained biases 

Shrouded beneath weaponized piousness

Can't escape them yet 

Echo & Ache

All of life should stop and know

Mighty tremors - they should feel the shake 

Of the monstrous deeds and hideous intent

May all life cry out in its wake

Echoes should carry on and on

Never forgetting the horrors done

To the men, women, children, babes -

Once more, to the entire nation 

For generations, many have tried

Slyly or blatantly to wipe them out

In the end, may none succeed 

L'Olam - let there be no doubt 

Eternally, so none forget 

Nor return to their compliance 

Carry the memory of all those lost 

Echo and ache and hold a moment of silence 

Expulsion

In the stillest of moments

All breath caught and held

My thoughts may cycle

Shift or be expelled 

Talking heads may try

Insisting they stay

Let reality crash over

Let it wash all that once was away

Let us not freeze

Empty or go back

Always moving forward 

Reaching for what we lack 

Not to be without reason

I'll wonder where to go

Not to be without purpose 

Gathering up things to help me grow

Held it all for so long

Only, how do we release?

Worries building always 

Teach me how to find peace

Or how to be -

Belong and be me

Expelling all that leaves me feeling empty

Ember

In between each decision 

Do your thoughts bend and sway? 

Over-analyzed everything 

Now it's all turned to gray

Or do you always feel 

Totally unambiguous and right?

Told you every variable 

How they fade from your sight 

In between every ending 

New beginnings prance about 

Knowing this helps nothing 

I'll still cling to every doubt 

Can't it all just be better?

Acknowledging that's a lot to ask 

Never stopped me from trying 

Destined to break or finish every task 

Our days are numbered, our skin is frail 

Time seeps on and on

Holding tight, here and now

Is it worth it once it's gone?

Slow and venomous, they pile up

All the little disappointing things 

Now they inhabit all of it 

Yanking all our strings 

Moving between each decision

Or figuring out how long we can delay 

Risking the inevitable 

Ember shall burn through it all someday