RYB

Inner demon diaries,
From faint and fractured voices.
Drawn from scars that I received
With each one of my choices.

Draw the card of desperation,
From the deck dealing despair,
As it catches all those watching
Inattentive. Unaware.
Dear diary, drowning again,
In the hopelessness of dreams.
Scrambling to find that purpose,
Knowing it’s not what it seems.
The demon’s touch is so haunting,
Taunting me throughout my days,
Explaining all my dark travels
With my pen, as each path strays.
Shadows creep in from the corners
Of predestined battlefields,
Ripping at the weakness showing
Through the wounds that have not healed!

Draw the card of pure frustration,
From the deck dealing despair,
Read the words the prophets offer,
Heedfully. Yet, unprepared.
Dear diary, the tables turn,
As the dream’s becoming clear.
Hinting that there is no purpose
That will be discovered here.
The demon’s touch is hypnotic,
Quixotic in its desires,
That will lead to all my travels
Through these roaring, raging fires.
Shadows take hold at each moment
That the battles take their tolls.
Slipping as the weakness showing
Cuts new scars, leaving new holes!

Inner demon diaries,
From faint and fractured voices.
Drawn from scars that I received
With each one of my choices.
These pages hold the answer,
To the dark that was released
When the poet’s heart was wrenched
From my scarred chest, by the beast!

Draw the card of sublimation,
From the deck with my last turn.
By my wounds I’m deemed unworthy,
Expendable. Lesson learned.
Dear diary, these trespasses
Shatter more than just my dreams.
They are the force pulling wildly
Through this purpose, at my seams.
The demon’s touch is unyielding,
Wielding so much fire and rage.
That I now know in my travels,
They will always set the stage…
Shadows pulse beneath my frail skin,
This weak frame their living tomb.
Time granting the access needed
By ignoring all my wounds!

Inner demon diaries,
From faint and fractured voices.
Drawn from scars that I received
With each one of my choices.
These pages hold the answer,
To the dark that was released
When the poet’s heart was wrenched
From my scarred chest, by the beast!

(11/13/11)

The mouth of this dark monster
Closes tightly around my throat.
As the ink fades from the page
Erasing every word I wrote…

Flames dance on through the night
As the blade closes in,
Marring the fresh canvas
It has made of my skin.
Luring the beast closer
Without a second thought.
Now bending to the night
And all that it has wrought.
Volumes of verses lost
Before they were scripted.
Buried beneath the pain
To which they’re addicted.
Holding in the moment,
Just as the levee breaks,
Scrambling to hold on…
Do whatever it takes.

The mouth of this dark monster
Closes tightly around my throat.
As the ink fades from the page
Erasing every word I wrote…

The flames divide the night
As the blade closes in,
Revisiting this canvas
Time and time again.
Bidding the beast nearer
Daring its dark attack.
Running against the night
To find any way back.
Traces of words remain
Where they once were scripted,
Subtle hints to hit back
As new pain’s inflicted.
Folding in the moment,
When it matters the most,
Thinking I could hold on…
Now giving up the ghost.

The mouth of this dark monster
Closes tightly around my throat.
As the ink fades from the page
Erasing every word I wrote.
And as the desperate try
To somehow escape such a fate
The hopeful watch their dreams die,
Having never left the gate.

Flames dance on through the night
As the blade closes in,
Feeding off this canvas
It has made of my skin…

(11/5/11)

The wounded stand together now,
For all the wicked world to see.
Waiting there in the reflections
Of what tomorrow cannot be…

Swallow the sweet nepenthe
Let it take all that it wills.
Hope the pain follows the past
As this godly nectar kills,
Each trespass burned so deeply,
Every word spoken in rage,
Each scar that the world has carved
From my skin down to the page.
Looking around they gather
All the fallen and their fight.
Losing all sense of purpose
Here in the cold grip of night.

Swallow the sweet nepenthe
To numb the chaos and pain.
Hope it calms this broken mind
Banishing this sad refrain.
Left behind from subtle torment,
Countless instances of loss,
Buried fires that still burn,
Fading traces of the cross.
Looking around they gather
All the fallen passed the brink.
Lost to the roads that brought us,
To those who bid us all to drink…

The wounded stand together now,
For all the wicked world to see.
Waiting there in the reflections
Of what tomorrow cannot be.
Crushed by the weight of this cruel world,
By the hands which they’re mistreated
And now they all gather and wait
To finally be defeated!

Swallow the sweet nepenthe,
Go on and follow it down.
Vanishing that part of me
That once fought hard to be found.
Crafted from the faint fallout
Left behind by broken ties,
From unforeseen betrayals,
From these disconnects and lies.
Looking around they gather
Moving in to close the ranks.
Bracing for the floodwaters
Now rushing o’er the banks…

The wounded stand together now,
For all the wicked world to see.
Waiting there in the reflections
Of what tomorrow cannot be.
Crushed by the weight of this cruel world,
By the hands which they’re mistreated
Knowing none of them shall be left
Once the waters have receded!

Swallow the sweet nepenthe
Let it take all that it wills.
Hope the pain follows the past,
As the water o’er us stills…

(10/13/11)

Voices from the past call out,
As sirens sing songs of alarm.
Protectors raise their fists in rage
Only serving to do us harm…

Time to make amends,
And restitution.
You violated
The constitution.
We shan’t abide these
Brutal solutions
Which leave us bruised and
Our lives in ruins.
We need to trust that
These institutions,
Are not just some kind
Of grand illusions.
Meant to incite fear
And breed confusion.
Chipping away at
Our constitutions.

Voices from the past call out,
As sirens sing songs of alarm.
Protectors raise their fists in rage
Only serving to do us harm…
Reflections of chaos move in,
Making the situation worse.
While we the people suffer blows
Against guarantees of the first!

See the tides turning,
Time to settle scores.
No longer silent
As we’ve been before.
For we’ve seen the ends
These means have in store.
We know this threat lies,
Behind those closed doors.
Up on that hill where
These corporate whores
Buy out our voices
And exploit the poor.
Hear us declaring
We shall take no more.
Our constitutions
Now readied for war!

Voices from the past call out,
As sirens sing songs of alarm.
Protectors raise their fists in rage
Only serving to do us harm…
Reflections of chaos move in,
Making the situation worse.
While we the people suffer blows
Against guarantees of the first!

Time to right these wrongs,
To set records straight.
You thought we’d shatter
But it’s far too late.
Our will’s resolved now
We know what’s at stake.
We may have bent, yes,
But we did not break.
Now we are the ones
Who will write our fates.
Not just accept those
That you all dictate.
No longer the sheep
You can subjugate,
Our constitutions,
Have altered our gait!

Voices from the past call out,
As sirens sing songs of alarm.
Protectors raise their fists in rage
Only serving to do us harm…
Reflections of chaos move in,
Making the situation worse.
While we the people suffer blows
Against guarantees of the first!

…Hear us declaring
We shall take no more.
Our constitutions
Steadied for this war!

(10/01/11)

Cauterize the poet’s heart,
Stop him from bleeding out.
The solace of the page replaced
With panicked fears and doubt.
His pen dipped deep in the well,
Inked there from on his sleeve.
Bled from years of scars retraced
From which he has no reprieve!

One brought the fire…
One brought the pain…
And in the flames,
They lost it all.
As hope expires…
And dreams remain…
They play the game,
Until one falls…

Sate the shadow’s dark hunger,
For wounds the poet bares.
Before his breach cuts far too deep
To ever be repaired.
His eyes hollowed like his soul,
Still drinking in his prey.
Knowing the cost is way too steep,
Still he cannot stay away!

One brought the fire…
One brought the pain…
And in the flames,
They lost it all.
As hope expires…
And dreams remain…
They play the game,
Until one falls…

Cauterize the poet’s heart,
Before the wicked feast.
The pages offer no solace
When written by the beast.
His poisoned quill in the well
Soaking up each drop spilled.
Until all that’s left is malice
From which the poet’s pen’s refilled!

One brought the fire…
One brought the pain…
And in the flames,
They lost it all.
As hope expires…
And dreams remain…
They play the game,
Until one falls…

Sate the shadow’s dark hunger,
For words from the poet.
Each of them having a weakness
Not wanting to show it.
New rules find him unprepared,
Surprising his prey too.
As the fall breaks down into this
Where only one will come through!

One brought the fire…
One brought the pain…
And in the flames,
They lost it all.
As hope expires…
And dreams remain…
They play the game,
Until one falls…

Cauterize the poet’s heart,
Stop him from bleeding out…

(9/27/11)

Let’s have three cheers for hypocrisy,
The religion of our democracy.
This altar we built arrogantly
At which we worship so aggressively,
Is now the symbol of our unity
Of our fragile, frightened community!

Hip, hip, hypocrisy!
Let us praise this mess.
This aristocracy,
Just looking to oppress!

Let’s have three cheers for hypocrisy,
The religion of our democracy.
This altar of our cruel piety,
Is actually breaking our society,
And as the tables turn so tritely
The masses all burn quietly!

Hip, hip, hypocrisy!
Let us stop this mess.
This aristocracy,
It must be suppressed!

Let’s have three cheers for hypocrisy,
The religion of our democracy.
Built on consumerist policies
Rife with racial inequalities
And elitist inconsistencies,
Enslaving through these hierarchies!

Hip, hip, hypocrisy!
Let this point be stressed…
This aristocracy,
Is seeking to oppress!

Let’s have three cheers for hypocrisy,
The religion of our democracy…

(9/25/11)

The rain falls down
In steady sheets…
Here where my past
And present meets.
Upon a verse
From yesteryear
A new chapter
Becomes clear!

Floodwaters move in quickly,
An unexpected tide.
Washing chaos underfoot
Interrupting my stride.
The shadow stands before me,
Like he has in the past.
Taunting me with his darkness
Stretched there across my path.
One more dance with my darkside
Before the journey’s end.
One more chance to sink under,
These dark waters again…

The rain falls down
In steady sheets…
Places to go,
And fates to meet…

Floodwaters move in quickly,
An unexpected tide.
Chaos’ waves overwhelm
Igniting rage inside.
The shadow feels victory
In the times I’m undone.
Taunting me with this visage
Of what I could become.
One more dance with my darkside
As the rain still comes down.
One more chance to sink under
Here where the lost are found…

The rain falls down
In steady sheets…
Fates are chosen,
There in the streets…

Floodwaters move in quickly,
An unexpected tide.
Chaos’ twist turns deadly
Leaving no place to hide.
The shadow moves in boldly
The moment nearly his.
Still I know if I succumb
I become all he is.
One more dance with my darkside
As I reach for this pen,
One more chance to sink under…
To be whole once again.

The rain falls down
In steady sheets…
Here where my past
And present meets.
Upon a verse
From yesteryear
A new chapter
Becomes clear!

Floodwaters move in quickly,
An unexpected tide…

(9/17/11)

This is the revisitation of a piece I wrote once upon a time in high school. It’s a all a cycle, people. The days of rain we’ve had recently in CO inspired this rewrite down memory lane.