Do not follow dreams
That are going up
In flames.

Stop caring.
Let reputations burn,
Let expectations crumble —
Real life
Always
Comes first.

I am
Too broken
For power games.
Cut me loose?
Do not expect me back.

Hold tight
Your grief
And sink
A little deeper.

While we move on
Once we have learned,
Most remain
Where they land.

Learn
To let yourself
Like what you like —
Shame is a one-sided fight.

Clear your mind.
Fear not
What can be seen,
But not felt —
Instead,
Resist what stands
Between the shadows
And the light.

Nothing
Ever changes
Everything.

Most will never realize —
Honor is a carrot.

Ignore all threats
And prosper.

"Bad day?" I ask.
"Bad life," she says,
Rendering me speechless.

I know that one day
I will stumble.
It is hard
Walking this fragile line
Between what you wish to hear
And what I never want to say.

Might you seek me
Once I am gone,
Imagine me
The red at dawn —
Checking in, once daily —
And remember
How you made me feel.

Retracing mistakes, following
Crumbs of lost identity
Hoping
To find myself again.

This too
Shall crash.

All that is left
Are words
Long past their meaning,
Begging never to be said.

Sulking amidst corpses —
Myriads of dismissed choices,
All of which once led
To better lives —
We contemplate our poor fate,
And curse the stars,
Trapped in our own minds.

White seems a lie.
Depression shows the world
In black and ashen —
What was lost
And what is
Left to lose.

The best of you,
The worst of me —
We all choose
What we see.

What plan?
I never intended
To make it this far.