Live for conquest,
Harvest sorrow —
A win today
Says naught about tomorrow.

Beware: the rule
May not be
The norm.

We only seem
Hard to love
To the wrong people.

Danger, beware
Unanticipated sweetness.
False praise obscuring motives dark,
Honey masking poisonous venom —
Once you taste the bitter,
You're too late.

Don't blame fate for turning
These lovers into strangers —
White lie upon twisted truth
Burned through trust
To spawn resentment.

Where optimism fails,
Problems cluster.

True love,
To be the sun
In seasons, dark —
Ignorant of summer.
Shadow-wilted faithful heart,
Your roots
Will never take.

A smile, unfelt,
So unconvincing —
Can't you tell
How fake
My happiness is?

Thoughts like
Burned toast,
Or life itself —
Dark around the edges.
In search of the unknowable,
Blindly sailing
The middle-distance.

However generous they seem —
Value not those acts
Which cannot be repaid
But with money.

No mercy for those
Weak, like me —
Grant us
Our due punishment.

Tingling sensations,
Unfamiliar instincts
Kicking in —
A prelude to discovery.

Celebrate each small step.
Praise every little miracle.
Even tiny blessings count —
Inch on.

Destiny, self-promises —
Wait for them
To come to you
And die to see them
Unfulfilled.

Anything worth having
Should also be
Worth losing —
You cannot have
The sweet
Without the bitter.

Credits
Will not
Do fine.

Job, not duty —
Modern-day survival.
Nine-to-five hunting/gathering,
Zombie days
With zero fucks to give.

Heritage worn proud
Like an armor —
Something nothing,
No one
Can ever change.

Do not fool yourself.
Despite the praise,
You are nothing special —
A mere setting sun
Dressed in pretty colors
Until nightfall.