Nevermind the bitter,
Appreciate its candor —
Deceit comes honey coated.

Peace, the dream
We never learned —
With songs about heaven,
And books about war —
Resonates unnoticed
Through hollowed hearts,
In disappointed silence.

Free but for the shackles
Of cultural identity,
Indebted by none but our own.

Don't fear getting left behind —
The fun and games begin
Behind the bandwagon.

There's love for all,
But rarely soon enough.

Silent but within —
Burning shadows on linen,
Never to warm again.

V, the mark of absent friends,
Of messages, still unopened,
Final words, left unread —
Lingering ethereal moments.

If we leave, love,
Where would we stay —
Your heart or mine?

Joined,
For a night?
For life?
Games of tag —
Heart and loins
Taking turns
Playing lover.

It's no longer you —
If it ever truly were.
Passion leaks
From hearts too open.

Charity, a wrist-cuffed hand,
Forced to serve recycled chances
To a crowd of growing want,
Until the last can-do is spent —
Cut loose,
Bled of all but shallow
Thanks.

A teacher's hand,
A master's touch —
A lesson learned,
A childhood lost.

Heartache caverns,
Incomplete,
From rhythm
To a single beat —
No hole so big
It can't be patched
With tenderness.

Emotion, a dragnet,
Picking up new parts
Along the way —
Some leaks out
Through the meshes,
But overall, its one constant
Is change.

Equal incentive for all
Benefits none.

Fail better, not faster
If you want to win.
Keep showing up,
Stay graceful,
Improve with every fuck up,
And you might outlast,
At long last,
The losing streak.

Go ahead,
Disrespect your elders.
Trust defiance over those
Who lived and failed
Each of these tests before —
The ones who know precisely
Why, and how,
You're so spectacularly wrong.

Mirror cruel,
Your truths so cold —
Tell me, when did I
Become so old?

Social technology?
It is but the tool we choose.
In the end,
It's not the hate machine —
It's how WE use it.

The mind's eye is blind
To the realities of aging —
Pain reminds us that
Time exists,
And isn't kind.