Father Figure.

Broken down, like cardboard boxes.
You break me down, it's poison; toxic.
No matter what I do I can't get over
you just give me the cold shoulder.

It's freezing. I'm Arctic cold.
You broke my heart of gold.
Shattered it like shards of glass,
had me crawling through crab grass.

The pieces; my pieces are all scattered.
You paint me with the same brush,
as the rest, like I don't matter.

I'm slipping away now,
like a cartoon banana peel.
Your words cut me with their logic,
though you're yet to ask me how I feel.

Granite countertops, and ceramic tiles,
fill our household, devoid of smiles.

They laughed and said 
I'm from a broken home, 
little did they know, I am all alone.

A father? I've only known daddies.
The ignorance hurts me quite badly.

You reached out, a single arm,
like it was a token of your chiseled charm.
This paint is dangerous, 
the asbestos in these walls cause me harm.

Daddy issues now, at nearly thirty,
make me feel defiled; dirty.

If I always had you, I would not rebel,
as though I have no clue.

Broken inside, bent exterior,
these gray walls can't hide my pain. 
Yet, you ebb and flow into my life
like the tide, after heavy rain.

I miss you, dad-you broke me down,
left me so confused.
I had no idea how I would
ever feel like anything but a fool.

I needed you; like the flowers need the sun,
but you shut me out, and broke me down
like I was not your son. 

So it's over now, there will be no refrain;
don't come crawling back again.
I can walk away, without a word,
I refuse to be your flightless bird.

Silencio.

Find me where the cacophony of sounds
meets the deafening silence.
Devoid of noise pollution,
where our bodies do the talking.

Search for me in the unbeaten drum,
I hide in guitar strings that have yet to be plucked.
Most evident in the pregnant expectation
of an audience awaiting an orchestra's first notes.

Where aria meets melody, 
and where the beat tickles the rhythm;
you will notice me dancing between the lines,
like a whirling dervish, intoxicated.

I am in the sighs, and the frustration,
every exhalation between lovers in a spat.
There is much of me in their reconciling,
in the fire that rekindles their romance.

Listen closely and you will hear me, 
in the few moments of silence 
before the birds arise.

That is when I am most serene,
when I feel as tranquil as the sun 
that is about to fill the sky.

At the bottom of the ocean,
where it is eerily quiet,
I can be heard singing with 
the whales who break the intimidating silence.

When you are sad or lonely,
hush your mind and listen to your heart,
I will always live inside you, 
for that is where I end and where I start.

Save Your Misery.

Save your misery, to darken someone else's room.
I have had my fill, it's hard to carry on.
Your rainclouds won't go away, they stain the world with gloom.
Please just leave me alone, my sympathy is all gone.

I have had my fill, it's hard to carry on.
You prey on my happiness, and chase away my dreams.
Please just leave me alone, my sympathy is all gone.
Find somebody new to abuse, as I drain the poison from my bloodstream.

You prey on my happiness, and chase away my dreams.
Your rainclouds won't go away, they stain the world with gloom.
Find somebody new to abuse, as I drain the poison from my bloodstream.
Save your misery, to darken someone else's room.

#BLACKLIVESMATTER

I feel my soul crying 
immediately behind my face,
the tears refuse to be released, 
they only press against 
the inside of my cheeks.

With heavy breath like 
there is a stone weighing 
down on my chest.
How am I to feel when they have 
waged war against innocence.

Retreating into myself for I am 
unsure of how I can help.
As futile as prayer or tossing 
coins into a wishing well.

Take my hand, the least I can 
do is comfort you.

Breaking down, I fall apart 
from hearing the news.

What can I do to assist 
my brothers and sisters,
when privilege reigns in this 
poorly built system of resistance.

No weapon formed against us 
was ever supposed to prosper.

Who am I to trust when 
I can't even have 
faith in the gospel.

Perhaps I am naive to continue 
carrying my dreams,
although they might as well 
be held in coffins.
Leaving me burdened as they 
strip me of my conscience.

The current state of affairs 
has left me feeling hopeless.

Has the whole world gone blind 
or have we just become desensitized?

Numb to the injustice 
that has become as natural 
as the clouds that stain 
the cliched, clear blue skies.

We need a revolution, 
or at least a resolution.

There is no humanity when 
hatred has left the world polluted.

How can we continue to feign 
ignorance to these circumstances?

Once, I learned that race was 
just a social construct 
and I almost believed it,
until I opened my eyes 
and saw all the inherent 
corruption that exists.

Fabricated to create 
a rift between us,
separating, segregating, 
sedating and now 
it cannot be reversed.

Perhaps focusing on all 
that we have in common,
instead of drawing lines 
designed by our differences
could bridge the distances
between us.

We shall overcome!  
There is power in numbers.

Shameful to think brutality 
is what it took to awaken 
the sleeping from their slumber.

Who can say what 
we might accomplish,
if we aspired to undo 
the centuries of brainwashing
until all of the hate is abolished.

When we bond together
ignoring their profiling
of races; we can heal
and free ourselves from 
oppression and its cages.