We Are

We are the survivors of a cruel and unusual Hell.  We are the walking, talking bruises collected.  We are the smiling faces in the center of a storm.  We are the crying angels in the midnight hours.  We are the shadows.  We are the light.  We are the mothers holding our little ones.  We are singing lullabies in the midst of terrible lies.  We are the friend asking if you are okay.  We are banded together to get through another day.  We are silently hiding away our pain.  We are the pastels.  We are the stain.  We are the bloodshot eyes staring at you saying "Everything's just fine."  We push away.  We shove.  We stay.  We sway.  Inches from falling, we are the ones barely standing looking for the calling.  We are the sometimes empty smile, questioning your inchless mile.  We are motionless in a swirling world, as people pass; the parading file.  We are the heavy heart in church.  Holding your hand and listen as you spill your sin.  We are the catching laughter on the passing wind, helping you grin again.  We are the survivors. We are the domestic quantity.  We are the humane quality.  We raced through Hell & if you're patient, our story we will tell.

Only the Strong Survive

I died a thousand times
Waking up
With silly love rhymes
That carried me through
In the dawn's pearlescent hue
Broken
Searching for that
Brassy token
That would get me
To another day
Never minding that
I was losing my way
Lost
Litost

Thank God
My feet had a mind
Of their own
In a run-down home
I could never call my own

Gas Light

I feel the whoosh
Of the gas of the person
Closest to me
Lighting the torch
Denouncing
Pouncing
Twisting
Turning
My words
Turned against me
Constantly
In a clever
Genius way
To confuse me
Creating a paranoia
So they can feel their own
Hapless hallelujah
Winning a war
I will never know
In a game
Meant not
Ever to win
It's the quiet sin
That most will never understand
Yet it's there
An empty hand

Back in Black

Make no mistake
It's no mask
I put back on
It's the truer me
I tread upon
A cloak of darkness
That few see
Surrounding me
In shadowy
Vapor wisps
Funeral attire
For the past
That provided no
Faithful sire
Thorny black rose
Tossed in the dirt
For all the senseless hurt
Bury it
But you can't bury me

Words thrown
Like a thinkless stone
Emotional warfare
Cannons blasting
Without care

A cloak of darkness
In the black of night
As I tread quietly
From the fight
A tongue riddled with scar tissue
From the constant biting back of words
In the midst of thieving herds
I wrap the black
To somehow
Win me back

If you cannot see me now
You never will
I provide my own
Ceremonium
Paranormal pandemonium
Where the black covers me
In a shield
To walk
Where few dare to go
And fewer still
Know

Bleeding Out

The poison
Lanced
No longer
Allowed to dance
In its mind trance
I've fallen so many times
A bleeding trail
Soaking in the concrete
No more
A comfortable whore
To the thoughts that
Rape me
They simply
No longer satiate me
I'm bleeding out
Ripping out the tight-fisted demon
I am in search
Of a new sermon
That allows me to breathe

Say My Name

Say it, Mama
No
Not bitch
That's not a fair game
I'll take the blame
Just say my name
I know you remember it
Past your haze
Your mind craze
I'll no longer expect a
Formal apology
Laced with such sarcasm
In your viper tongue cataclysm

Attack my character
Paint me any caricature
I know you don't see me
With your tainted jealousy
It's a wonder I survived
It's a wonder I thrived
But I did, Mama
Now
Say my name

You're right
I'm a beast
And pure success
I will feast
I opened my own cage door
I'm sorry
This time
I'm tired of the roar

No I don't hate you
But that's what you'll tell everyone
As you load your mouthy
Six - shooter gun
They'll more than likely believe you
But you & I know
That's simply not true
As you fall asleep
In a fitful twist
Say my name
Say my name
Say my name
Look
I've removed your stronghold
From my wrist

Steely Blade

Kiss me on the cheek
Sweet
Before you stab me
With the steely blade
Hug me tight
Tell me goodnight
As I fall in the abyss
Forget to wade

Drift away
All the sorrows
Of the day
Dripping red
All the hopes
And dreams
I bled

I didn't feel the knife go in
Past my tender skin
I have nothing left
To feel bereft
No
I'm not alone
Neither am I home
Steely blade of reality
Killing the fantasy