Eg. 'stairway to heaven'

i climb each stair
one by one
i am not scared
i will not run

this stairway it
never ends
the passage lit,
it never bends

and at the top
i will see
life does not stop
life still will be

i can't go back
can't go down
i run this track
to which i'm bound

i do not stop
i don't rest
must reach the top
to stop is death

each step i take
some strength goes
till my legs break
and my breath slows

until that end
i will climb
we all die, friend
but there's still time

Genocide

Off in the distance
an alarming sight was seen
curious, strange,
what could it mean?

a People, nervous,
think this can't be good
they would have surrendered
if they believed they could

the invaders invaded
no one was spared
when they begged for mercy
none of them cared

a People despairing
but some still have hope
some try to resist
it's just how they cope

one by one
the brave will fall
enduring, fighting
warriors all

a People dying
ceasing to exist
while to their destroyers,
they're just a check on the list

I Can't Look at Photographs Anymore and it's Your Fault

Don't tell me you're frozen
Move for me, but please don't leave
I don't take photographs for granted
I just think you're not as photogenic as you think

You're smiling for the camera
I wish you were smiling here, still
You look so fake I just can't stand it
You're more real in person than you are on film

It's made me hate the pictures
taped up and framed on all my walls
Why do I have them in the first place?
They're just reminders and excuses for all my falls

So don't tell me you're frozen
Jump out of the picture, talk to me
I don't take photographs for granted
I had just hoped in vain that you'd never leave me.

Broken Alive by the Common Beast

I try to fight but I am weak
I try to yell but I can't speak
it's a safe-house that I seek
when it's hunger is at it's peak

From the pits of Hell it comes
'I want you Broken' I hear it hums
It's chest lacks the beating sound of drums
While my heart too, it nearly numbs

And my fingers start to shake
if only more time I could make
I beg 'Don't destroy me for God's sake!'
but it's my soul it wants to take

it's victims broken, they confide,
they are immobile, they didn't hide
and they're still hanging on for the ride
I could not save them, though I tried

No where on Earth is there a place
where I would never see it's face
it can now too easily keep pace
I think I'm through running this race

And after all my pain and strife
it comes and stabs me with a knife
I cannot go back to my life
Yet the regrets I have they are not rife

This rabid Beast that I speak of
it's disguise is like a dove
but don't believe it's from above
this savage monster we call Love

The Pearl Thief

How I want to speak loud, to be honest and proud
but my voice has less substance than that of a cloud
Believe me I'd tell you, if I only had your ear
I'd end the curse that befell you, if only you could hear

My pleads, my cries, whatever I do,
are all lost in the winds, they never reach you
Your will is strong, my words are weak
I'm mute when I try and say "I know what you seek"

You glide and swirl, all over the world
looking for your most sacred pearl
Listen to me: end your unavailing quest
I know where your pearl is, I admit it's I that knows best

I want to repent, after all the time you've spent
searching for your pearl, such harm I never meant.
A man's most valuable treasure, that's the pearl that I claim
it's your heart that you measure, though Pearl Thief is my name

Lost and empty, you're a cloud roaming the world
still searching for your most precious pearl
Always you look, if only you knew
it was I that took your pearly heart from you

The Skeletons in My Closet Are Braver Than Me

if my closet could speak
oh the things it would say
all my secrets revealed,
all my misdeeds explained

would my closet be granted
a mouth to make human sounds
the words could condemn,
my sentence would be profound

if my closet had audience
it's door opened to all
my failures, an exhibit,
skeletons hang from its walls

if it gained judges' ears
the verdict would not be delayed
if skeletons' jargon were made clear,
my fate would seal, I'm afraid.

if my skeletons escaped
havoc would toy with my mind
my sub-conscious raped,
never peace would I find

but my closet is shut
hid where no one can find
and I just don't have the gut
to let you trespass in my mind

ironic, isn't it, that i'm part of the school newspaper.

erin, good job cuz, you inspired me.

i hate the news.
murder, suicide, rape, theft.
it's always bad news that makes the front page, it makes me wonder:
what good in the world is left?

on TV it's the worst.
they try and reel you in with fear.
they swear they are unbiased, but it makes me wonder:
what is it we don't hear?

news lacks emotion
the obituary writers sound dead.
monotonous, even happy voices report grim facts,
it makes me wonder:
to where has our humanity fled?

Life-Death-Life

as you're opening your eyes

you think you're already dead
it comes as a surprise
you simply went to bed

you think you're already dead

your memories have mislead you

you simply went to bed

the dream just seemed so true

your memories have mislead you

you swear you remember death

the dream just seemed so true

yet here you are with breath

you swear you remember death

your memories never lied

yet here you are with breath
even after you died

your memories never lied
the bridge you crossed was real
even after you died
something has caused you to feel

the bridge you crossed was real
the light began to dim
something has caused you to feel
you look up and see Him

the light began to dim
as you're opening your eyes
you look up and see Him
it comes as a surprise

Thinking About Giving Up

can't stop thinking about everything that is gone
cant start thinking about everything that goes wrong
focus eludes me, my brain is half dead
i cant explain the world so maybe i'll just go to bed

you can feel my
pulse its slowing
yet my anxiety
it's growing

tell you what maybe i'll just call it quits

the earth keeps spinning when i'm out of ideas
the earth started shaking when i first checked in
focus eludes me, my brain is half dead
i can't control the world so maybe i'll just go to bed

i can see your
eyelids, closing
yet your energy
it's glowing

only you keep me from calling it quits

Contradiction and Hipocracy Make My World Go Round, Now How Do I Stop It From Turning?

I wish the world would end during my lifetime
just so we would know what went wrong
just so I would get to see it.
I wish snow wasn't so cold,
I wish every time it rained, it poured.

I wish we were all re-born tomorrow without a memory of any previous life
just to see what we would still know
just to see who we would still be.
I wish I knew the meaning of everything,
I wish everything had meaning.

I wish music composed itself sometimes
just so anything with ears could listen.
just so I wouldn't feel so envious
I wish denim were indestructible.
I wish all material goods lasted forever.

I wish technology wasn't worth the damage it did
just so people stopped using it all together
just so I wouldn't feel like an idiot typing on a keyboard.
I wish we got dairy without exploiting cows.
I wish everyone gave as much as they took.

I wish everyone craved knowledge like they craved foods
just so starving yourself would be that much harder
just so I could eat as much lasagna as I wanted.
I wish metabolism wasn't a word.
I wish there were no such things as disorders.

I wish challenges were everyday things
just so strength was measured more accurately
just so age was even more respected.
I wish immortality was rare.
I wish I could believe in an afterlife.

I wish organization was easy as pie
just to make government unnecessary
just to make my room a safer place to walk through.
I wish I could levitate.
I wish I had telepathy.

I wish I could read everyone's minds
just to know who people really are
just to know what people really believe in.
I wish religions didn't demand as much.
I wish humanity demanded more.

I wish progress was measured in miles
just so highways had more impact
just so I would run a marathon.
I wish vacuums were common natural occurrences.
I wish the easy button was never thought up.

I wish the world could fix itself
just so people could lead better lives
just so I'd have time to kill.
I wish the impossible weren't so frightening.
I wish I thought the world was fine the way it was.

But the world's future isn't looking quite that grim
snow still means frozen water
the rain merely sprinkles from time to time

and I feel I can do nothing to change any of this.
I wish a genie were here to make my wishes come true,
without a single contradiction.

there's nothing new under the sun

Credit for the poem's style goes to Mr. Rad who taught us, and Sophie for taking me to his class.


the world will turn
the sun will rise
the people learn
it's no surprise

the sun will rise
today is here
it's no surprise
the end is near

today is here
the earth is new
the end is near
the start is too

the earth is new
the end is real
the start is too
the people feel

the end is real
the world will turn
the people feel
the people learn

My Zoo

When my world threatens to crack and chaos can emerge
my heart, it takes over, my soul, I feel it urge
that I abandon control, stop listening to my mind
as if this opportunity for peace is the only one I'll find

Order can't help me
neither can you
the paranormal and unhealthy
unlock the cages of my zoo

Judgment has no floor, from my head it has been exiled
though I love to make it mad, radicalism sure drives them wild
escape is not an option because wherever I'd escape to
all new ideas would die and there'd be padlocks in my zoo

Repression can't help you
neither can I
as the zoo animals would tell you,
'Live like you cannot die'

The River and Us

I can hear the river running
though it's barely keeping pace
with the pounding of my heart, so fast.

Why I am here, it's stunning
I just had to see your face
considering how You vanished, not the past.

How come the river never splits?
It starts, it ends, by the rain it's replenished
the river never calls it quits
it flows, it winds, by the ocean it's finished

I can hear the river roaring
though it's just louder than us
We're still screaming at each other, laughing

Why am I here, it's pouring
I think I've had enough
Always through the rapids, we're rafting

How come the river is always calm?
through storm, through drought, through broken dam
the river pushes against my palm
it rushes, it tugs, it shows how weak I am.

Ignoring ignorance won't cure it.

it
spreads through the water,
through air,
along the surface of the earth
vaccines don't work.
it's our own damn fault.

and
the worst diseases
never kill
they live longest by spreading
through water, or air.
along the surface of the earth.

if
you think you're immune
you're not
it's victims are chosen at random
not by race, or age.
along the surface of the earth

but
there are multiple cures,
thankfully
however no one has figured out why
they only work on some.
but that's their own damn fault.

Imprisoned

you look out your window
in your own little prison
you keep yourself hidden
never let yourself out

I want so bad to save you,
to see the real you
not just you through the bars
of that prison of yours

inside your head
you danced till you bled
even though that dedication
is missing, instead
there's no woman I know
where's the woman I know

who wouldn't stand for anything
who'd stand up for everything

your heart is still gold but your head's full of led
stop killing yourself and come back to bed

I just want to save you,
to see the real you
Don't keep yourself hidden
Please let yourself out

Hating trying to wrap my head around something thats not even real

Can't write about
what I don't know
Can't think around
this blanket of snow

Unknown to me
the world is there
We're divided by
snow everywhere

Shovel the blanket
it's heavy, but know:
It covers boundless knowledge
of the world incognito

Can't write about
what I don't know
Can't think when I'm under
this blanket of snow

My Reality

sat in the bath and thought for a while
walked in a foreigner's shoes for a mile
worked it out in my head over time
finally my mind came up with this rhyme

talked and laughed and cried in my room
waiting for sunshine and flowers to bloom
tell you all that has happened to me soon
watching the stars and gazing at the moon

worked out the equation for time and space
wishing with deep heart to escape this place
while places I haven't been continue to entice
to go everywhere and still have a home would be nice

thinking of those who are gone and dead
trying to let nothing go to my head
by and by everything turns out okay
what will be will be, come what may

all these life choices for me to decide
part of living is learning not to hide
yearning to tell someone about my life
the bittersweet moments, the calming strife

ponder and wonder while listening to you
noticing how the world is so new
always been curious as to where we will go
yet it would spoil the fun if I were to know

speaking of my life, my love, and my laughter,
talking about the beginning, the middle, the after
writing down everything that I think and feel
to me this is what makes even fantasies real

The Pretty Girl's Man

I want you to feel
taste, smell, hear and see
A love that is real
a love that'll forever be

I want you to meet
a girl that won't break your heart
One that makes you complete
one that you'll love from the start

I want you to know
the mythical 'love at first sight'
and when you see her you'll go,
"I love her with all my might"

I want you to smile
when you see her each day
And be joyful all the while
with her, your skies never gray

I want you to make
this pretty girl into your wife
So that you'll get to take
the vows you'll live all your life

Although you might think me strange
in that I don't want to be her
Though I love you even in rage
I feel catastrophe would occur

I want you to have
a life absent of woes
and when I ever hear you laugh,
my sadness, it goes

I want her to treat you
with good care and good mind
And pretty girl when I meet you
I'll try to be kind

I want you to see
pretty girl, who you'll meet
It's quite man that he be
let him sweep you off your feet.

A way out

I can't believe
what he did to my heart
It will never heal
It's been torn apart
I want him to feel
what he put me through
I have the right to be human
But it's too late to start anew
I was out of my mind
for all my life but today
now I see clearly
this is the only way

Gone with Maggie

You're paying your respects, all dressed up,
you're dressed up in black, all dressed up in black.
Walking away thinking oh what's the point,
what is the point if it's always taken away?
You're alone now, thinking it wasn't her time,
it was far too soon, she was far too young.
A friend pats your back, saying 'all will be well,
she would have wanted you to smile, to be happy for yourself.
Live your life good, for her if no one else,
make her proud of you.' They say 'make her proud'
You shrug off the words, anger overruling grief,
thinking how could she leave? How could she leave me?
Reminding yourself, several times over in your head,
it wasn't her fault, she didn't choose her fate.
You're angry at God now, wish you could spit at the sky,
He took her life, He stole yours as well.
You brush water from your eyes, though it's a sunny day,
you wonder how can it shine, why is it bright when she is dead?
Praying to God, oh God why have you done this!?
How have I sinned? How can I make up for it?
I'll become a priest if I just get her back,
make world peace happen, if it comes to that.
You walked all the way home, all dressed up,
you're still dressed in black, all dressed in black.
You start to change out of these uncomfortable clothes,
but grief makes you hesitate, grief makes you think straight.
Everything in your closet is too colorful and happy,
Your happiness is gone, your color too, gone with Maggie.
She was all the color and happiness you had,
she filled your life, now it's a desolate land.
You look in the mirror, dauntlessness taking shape,
a solemn look on your face, one that will forever remain.
Your eyes stare back at you as you asseverate,
"I swear I'll wear black till I see her again."

Sweet Gestures, (My not-so-sweet love poem)

We have arms for hugging
hands for holding
legs for intertwining
and toes for warming up

Sweet gestures, sweet gestures,
What do they mean?
We all make sweet gestures
to show how we're keen.

We have noses for Eskimo kisses,
and tongues for the french kind
lips for the quick pecks
and teeth for playful bites.

We say it, we mean it,
Do we really know the truth?
We think it, we believe it,
It's definition eludes.

We use hips for showing off
Our eyes for appreciating
our hair for twirling
and each other's necks when they need to catch their breath.

And those
sweet gestures, sweet gestures,
they're the bait for the fish.
We all make sweet gestures,
To capture is our wish.

We say it, do we mean it?
We think it, maybe we believe it.
But alas, in the end,
we screw it all up anyway.