You may hate me for it,
But know
I'm doing this
For you.

Tend to even
The smallest dream
With tender loving care.
It matters not
If they might prove
Roadmaps to a better life,
Or mere
Reality-defying fantasies —
What's born out of love,
Is always worth
The effort.

Reject the incentive —
Leave the carrot,
Chase the stick.

Reunited with a self
A million turns of fate
From where I stand —
I am amazed
That I got to
Where I am.

Sepia Trees frame
The path to Winter,
Still shivering
From summer joys.
Pleasant thoughts
To brave the cold —
Warm enough to last
Until Spring
Arrives once more.

Too tired to care about
The when, why, and where,
I sit back —
Reduce myself
To be a mere spectator,
Waiting for the end.

Even in brightest daylight,
The long night of the soul
Endures.

You can hide
From all evil
But that born
Out of the hate
Inside.

Adrenaline shock —
Watching an inevitable end
Drawn out in slow-motion,
Knowing you'll be gone
Before the pain.

Torn black nails
Dug deep into
Shredded skin,
Squeezing the
Precious fragile soul —
Lusting to feel it shatter.

One small incision —
All it takes
To bleed away
Your life.

Remember —
What could have been,
Never was.

Memorable
Like loathed lessons,
Learned solely
To pass a test —
Temporal necessities,
Not to be recalled again.

Do not let its beauty
Soothe you —
Love is treacherous.

You don't scare me —
It's just your fear
Barking.

Like the Autumn Sun,
Tired of smiling —
I no longer
Have the strength.

Breath caught
Between a sigh
And a whisper.
"Kiss me again."

Beware those
Claiming otherwise —
There is always something
Left to lose,
And you'll never know
Once it is gone.

When it dawns,
She transforms.
Shoulders slump,
White knuckles ease,
And serenity becomes her.
A smile betrays
She knows —
No longer
Does she need
To give a fuck.

As we age,
Appreciation shifts
From life's color
To its shading.