the next day on the news

we will hear about the bus crash in california

we will not know of the mother who hugged her baby to her chest

the old couple that kissed for the last time

the young man that kept his eyes wide open

the small girl that flew into the window

we will see the numbers

and our day will carry on just a bit more dampered....

Spotted across the hall

merely a glance now

hate the silence I made

I'd kill to take away the haze

This stranger in the street,

was yesterday my friend

now shrouded by the haze I made

silence doesn't help...

This stranger in the street

Was yesterday my friend.

Wait, no.

Not yesterday.

When was the last time I called her a friend?

Was it when she first betrayed me?

Or did we truly make up since then,

Only to collapse again?

Was it when she hijacked my body,

My mind?

Was it when she invited herself in,

Took over my actions,

And convinced everyone she was still me?

I’m not sure.

I don’t know when I start...

“We need to talk to you”

“We’re worried about you”

“We’ve noticed some things”

“Don’t hurt yourself”

“We love you”

“We’d never get over it”

“We’re scared”

I’m shaking

And as I take it in

I force myself to look mad, numb or sad

But that’s a lie

What I really want to do

Is ...

In each farewell, I pledge to keep the pain at bay,

But with each turn, another friend slips away.

I caution others: I'm not always easy to love,

Yet they promise to stay, but I know they won’t.

True ache lies in mourning someone still alive,

Each best friend, past or present, holds a special place.

Be it a lesson learned or a cherished memory,

I don't regret a single moment; they've impacted me...

Yesterday was simple

Even if it did not seem to be

Though last night I shuddered in my bed

Alone from sunset ‘til the moon did sleep

You didn’t want to chase me longer

And though I didn’t want to run

I didn’t realize hunting for Us

Would have been my greatest fun

I see the strangest, normal things

And think of you and I

And though you’re here, you are not near

I hurt you, yet I cry

I see you in...

Same me changed she moving through this life

Familiar me changed she we led separate lives

Growing and changing and exploring inside the box

Same me fortunate she in an alley by the school

Not me but fortunate she succeeded as expected

Hurting and crying and pain rattled my soul

Same me ukulele as she strummed on an ornate harp

Lonely me not so much she decked in her diamonds and finery

Abando...

We had our inside jokes and secret handshake.

Late nights communicating via Walkie-Talkie

about what life will be like when we grow up.

We had no idea what was waiting up ahead.

Although, maybe she did because

this stranger in the street,

was yesterday my friend.

We pass each other without saying a word

Without a second glance back

Because we hurt

and we broke what can not be mended.

Things wer...

When the time comes

I must turn my back

From the infection of the wayward chum

The broken trust of integrity

And fiendish acts of antagonists

Truth that liberates

Where the rot has settled in

From a knowing only intuition brings

My friend is friend no more

When the time comes

I’m assured

This is no place for me...

My pace increases

My gaze flits to the ground

I see him turn the corner

He’s coming towards me now

His eyes look straight ahead, right through me

His charming grin, I wish, was aimed at me

And though I try reluctantly to avoid his gaze

I hope, I pray, it finds me all the same

My heart pounds with worry

It aches with anxious pain

His eyes darken once they see me

His happy smile fades

I feel the ...