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.

Think on what we have become.
Societies? Led communities —
Hierarchies designed to benefit
The privileged few on top.
Rich tapestries of cultures
Dismantled into one.

#vsspoem prompt for July 5th, 2024: Dismantle

Caught behind walls of lies,
Tainted truths so tantalizing —
Riding out the waves that brought us
To the rocky shores of doubt,
Anything not to lose our way,
Or drift any further out.

A karmaless altruist —
Gifting painful truths
I may not always have
Your best interest at heart,
But will always tell you
How it is.

Solemn in the face of adversity —
No dark-flavored emotions.
I am with you.

Running from rain
We follow the sun —
Craving the light
Where water is life.

Give me the cold breeze,
You may take the heat.

Paving roads to recovery
I'm bound to first
Run down and bury
The last functional parts of me.

In my darkest hour —
Breathe shame
And radiate
Self-loathing.

At my lowest, I will preach
But not believe —
This fear ain't all of me.

At heart we're all still
Little kids that talk too much —
Walking the walk
We're taught to walk,
Next in line to set
The bad example.

There is a rhythm to the world,
A pattern to its melody —
A multitude of verses
Circling back to a chorus.
Even in all freedom
We crave the familiar,
Always returning
To its peace of heart.

Cry with me, I feel the same
Parallel truths and values —
Recognized, validated,
Single minded, if only
This one moment in time.

Absence in the shape of loss,
Memories of pain long faded.
Puzzles incomplete, sitting
With countless missing pieces —
Seeking solace in the simple fact
That some were never there,
While knowing
That most of them
Were you.

If you are
What you have,
You are nothing —
If you are
But a purpose,
Even less.