There is nothing left on this desolate road, filled with despair and torment.

Black mist above our heads as we traverse aimlessly for safety. The few that have found it are hiding out here.

The city of elevated rooms, rising above the ground. Inside are people, people hurt, people sick, people hungry, people sad. The rooms are hazardous, the winds howls outside and along the metal wall. It’s cramped, nothing left, except impending doom. We have all lost something in these years. This generation was never given treatment and never shown support.

How stupid, how stupid, how stupid we were when our lives and fates kept alluding to this purgatory. How cruel, how cruel, how cruel were we to subject our innocent children to this?

Too much screeching Relations to no cause They just keep crowding They jump with applause

No recognition Though do I deserve it Numbers show determination Though numbers are not fit

I feel empty deep down I could just be starved Maybe not, says I, the clown Crowned as jokester, elderly carved

I feel tired, take me home I suggest to sleep earlier I need to speak, but I’m alone Oh I’m such a worrier

Tired, hungry, ignored Ignored deemed quiet Shyness, I believed, was foretold We believed we were “it”

I will drop out, cut them off Maybe go party But I’m getting a cough I’ll do it, to not be tardy

Mustn’t we know what they bring upon us We slaved for supposed wealth When we yell, they wonder of the fuss When we yell, we yell for help

We are tired of the purgatory Too much work, too little fed For we starve and left for dead No one is expurgatory

We are still so young Yet became aged Some smoke their lungs Some savor their days

Some work to support Some ruthlessly drink We’re shaken to our core As we start to think

Maybe it’s attention we seek Through glorifying screens We all have different means Fallen too deep

We haven’t a clue What to say or think What they want us to do What they truly mean

In confusion we die No coping will suffice Twasn’t one to vent toward We keep it inside

Sanctuary’s are rare We just want inner peace But the demons won’t feast So we’ll sit in despair

They won’t believe For we are youth They’ll never leave As long as we hide our truth

Sitting back, taken back I can learn, learn, learn I’m still not a winner For friends, I have yet I lack

No talks last a second A second when I’m leading I mess up, the demons are feeding I’m nervous of faults, I reckon

“I’m not confident enough for this” I write in the corner Not confident enough for life

I must learn to be laid-backed Yet it is just so hard So hard when I write in the corner

I hide in my room, resting in the bed I’m hungered, I need to be fed I’m thirsty, I need a drink I’m depressed, I need to leave

Wasting away in this dim room A breeze slugs in, imitating this gloom I looked to my side, as the wind blows Through that window that won’t close

Marching to the window My feet dragging, my head low I shove it down, to give it a shot As I look down at the parking lot

I’m four stories up No doubt that’s enough I step out for sanctuary Flooded with temptations, anxiety

Voices in my head urge me “One step, you’ll be free” “This life constrains support” One yells for strength, yells to abort

I slouch under the window I hear the cars roaring in the road I sob, thinking what I had almost done The journey‘s never over, there’s still fun

Jake parked his car in the lot and made his way to the door. The restaurant wasn’t the most popular place in town, but they were still open, everyday of the week. The neon sign atop the entrance door was turned on and lit up just about the whole of the restaurant’s perimeter. There was a bench in front of the restaurant, it was dirty and was often just there for the homeless or anyone having a rough time. Jake walked in and a man welcomed him in.

“Hello! How are you this morning?” The man said.

“Hey, are you the manager?” Jake asked.

“Stevie, nice to meet you. I actually own the place, and manage it so it’s a bit of an odd thing” He said jokingly, shaking Jake’s hand.

“Good to meet you, I’m Jake, you hired me as the chef?”

“Yes, yes, everything’s back here, follow me.” Stevie walked Jake to the the kitchen. It was small, greasy, and floors were tainted with the horrible yellow light from the ceiling. It wasn’t the best, but Jake knew he had to at least give it a shot.

“You’ll be working as the waiter, filling out people’s orders, getting them to the kitchen, regular sort of stuff I’m sure you’re used to given your résumé” Stevie said, gesturing with his hands as he walked in front of the kitchen counter and into the actual dining area.

Jake leaned on the kitchen counter and looked at Stevie as he spoke about the restaurant and finally found a gap in his speech to pop in a few words.

“On the application I put that I wanted the role of…” Before he could even finish, Stevie interrupted. “Listen Jake, here, nobody seems to matter what they’re doing, pay not withstanding. As long as you do your job right, you’re all ready moving up!” Stevie said with enthusiasm while Jake just stood, perplexed at his bosses excitement at such an early time in the gloomy morning.

Stevie told Jake to get the restaurant ready before it opens in about thirty-or-so minutes.

Jake wanted to mention that he wasn’t exactly paid to work as the janitor, but he knew that he was just one step away from slipping into the sorrowful Lake Failure.

 I had been a few days later since that first day. Jake had already tired himself out, the idea that it was only Thursday was gut-wrenching. He had to deal with Stevie’s dreaded enjoyment and his coworker’s disgusting essence. Jake’s coworker, Austin, probably couldn’t have been worst, he figured the worst person here was a “maniac meth-head”, turns out he got a maniac meth-head whose English is barely understandable and a temper shorter than the distance between the restaurant and the nearest package of cocaine. 

“Yo Austin, you mind helping me out here? Floor can’t get any dirtier right now” Jake yelled from the dining area as he dragged the wet mop across the tiles.

“I’ll be right there…” Austin wasn’t one to really follow up on his agreements, Jake figured that out pretty quick.

Jake eventually finished up the dining area and went to the kitchen to look for Austin.

“Austin? Austin, where are you?” Jake yelled as he marched around the kitchen, looking for Austin in every hole and crevice. After being with Austin for less than a week, Jake probably wouldn’t be surprised if he found him in the back smoking a burnt out cigarette he found on the ground.

“Austin?” Jake yelled again, this time a bit more urgent.

“Austin! The hell are you?” Jake kept looking and yelling until he started to give up. He packed his stuff up to leave for the day.

“I’m heading out Austin! Remember to put your stuff away before you head out!” Jake yelled as a last goodbye for the night. Jake was about to leave until he heard a door close behind him, sounding a bit like the back door into the alleyway.

“Austin?” Jake asked into the kitchen.

“This is stupid…” Jake muttered to himself. Before he could get close to the door, a bat struck him in the head.

I go to leave the day shift But a noise interrupts I hear a crying on my trip I went almost numb

The crying was gut-wrenching To me and my heart Though I went to soften their denting I witnessed a high in their cards

I walked away with distain Not encouraging those who are smug In a world of phones, you must refrain Because attention is a hell of a drug

I sit idle, in despair On my fallen, broken chair It’s quiet enough for the mind For the mind to wonder if it’s kind

I’ve waited patient for something For the door to ring For the house to be cleaned To convince myself, I wasn’t mean

The door has rung I nearly broke a lung, Working to get up God I looked dumb

At the door was my Mom She made me feel calm My depression met a four-leaf clover And suddenly, it was gone.

Days begin to slow waste away Waiting for more time More time that’s bound to decay And then there’ll be less to find

I think back to the times I once had Though they felt long ago Those times made me quite glad Now they just sadden, proving I’m alone

Preschool felt like ions looking back People then pushing me to take new steps Now we’re horrid and walking a black cat

Our pockets won’t stop buzzing Of people with names nailed to contracts We wish we could just throw them out But they’ll just keep buzzing

I’m tired, I’m homesick, I’m dying for love I’ve bet I’ve waited far too long There’ll never be a truth-speaking dove Just the clouding ringing of a gong

We could care less About any sort of thing For causing a mess Was not too deadening

We’d jump and play While our parents seldom watch We’d stay happy and gay Still the parents march

Soon, when I’d grown I poked fun and jest I found that I was lone And that was the rest

I reached eighteen When I was left to survive The experiences I was making Were never, never too kind

I sat in my apartment With no dough to spare My family would comment As I sat in despair

I thought of my life And how it all fell Fought no strifes Then went to fight this hell

I sit and worry, wondering what I meant I mustn’t spend my time sitting in despair For a life not spent to it’s extent Is a sorrowful life, lost in unawareness