No healthy competition
In a system built on monetary gain.
No charity in giving back
What's not theirs in the first place.
No freedom under laws
Tracking, tracing every move —
Controlling by leveraging
The differences between us.

There is we,
And the other us —
The choices made
Outside this fantasy,
That place less real
And out of touch,
Where all this love
Can never be.

Truman ain't  got nothin’ on us,
Fourth wall crowds,
Like, comment, cheer, and interact —
A maze of fifth walls,
Skewed mirrors of eternity,
Has us squirreling for recognition
Like mindless rats out for cheese.

Fear comes
From those
Who wish
To lead.

Gothic fever dreams,
Madness dressed in shades of darkness —
If not rest, what do the wicked get
Once the lights have dimmed?

Shatter,
I can't think of a word
That defines tragedy better.
Breakage with an outward motion —
Broken shards, no longer
Part of their whole,
Scattered and alone.

Freedom, so deceiving,
Ground races up to greet me.
Defiant 'till my last breath,
I yell
“We will never—”

It's the little things that shatter —
Tiny ripples moving oceans,
Drowning islands,
Breaking mountains,
Raising hell
When granted
Their momentum.

Conditioned to be
Hesitant, submissive —
Is the world we see
As it's meant to be,
Or was it willed to become
This factory of souls?

Living the saga,
Breathing the drama —
Entertain, or get the hell
Off my stage.

Your life’s not mine,
We're not the same —
For goodness’ sake,
Please let it stay that way.

Naked contempt
Beneath a veneer of
Cosmetic respect —
Trust your haters.
They will never change.

A desperate dance —
The last decent stragglers,
Staggering from hopeless cause
To fruitless effort,
Seeking hope in the abandoned
Ghettos of morality
Where none but the self-centric few,
Playing their typecast roles,
Can still afford the rent.

Swallowed pride and
Outright caution —
Bittersweet the crown.

Humanity studied
From a single perspective,
Prepackaged morality
Aimed to distill life
In three dimensions —
The lost devour
What power preaches.
Theology, the insatiable
Quest for a maker,
A disease.

Between
What it takes to survive
And what it takes to succeed
Lie the ruins of happiness.

I watch the demons
On both sides of the windowsill
Holding the mirror of my mind —
On one side burn the fires
Through all that I control,
And the other side,
Though darker,
Is life.

Overcoming
Years and distance —
Real is real,
And real persists.
Worlds may break,
Dreams may shatter,
Blood may thin,
But true love
The heart remembers.

I'll give it my best
Token effort,
Keeping up appearances —
Too drained
To even want to
Succeed.

I really like this picture of me,
At the edge of heartbreak —
You and me, destined for misery.
A perfect moment, heading for
Our darkest day, and yet,
Despite all that came after,
I still love this picture of me.