Calloused

He'd often contemplate
the greater good
and his contributions
His hands were calloused
and his back suffered
but later, he thought
I will be remembered
My sacrifice now
might mean greatness
in the end
And he'd stop there
think no further
That was all he needed
to maintain his faith
The cogs kept turning
the machine produced
His children
would not be hungry
But the end crept in
subtly at the start,
and then all at once
As a marble
headed for the edge
So he lay there
thinking of a life
of pained productivity
and he told himself
it was for the greater good
and he would be remembered
and it was all he needed

Inconsequential

You'll always be smaller,
than the distance
from the Earth to the Sun
And for my life and yours,
that's all that
really matters, anyway

Smellin'

Yesterday, someone strolled in
and when I approached
to offer the mandatory greeting
I was overwhelmed by it
That familiar scent
And for a moment
my legs stopped working
and I hesitated
took a moment to make sure
you weren't there
It's strange too
because thoughts of you
no longer illicit a response
like they used to
There's no more bitterness
I've sifted out the pearls
and disposed of the shell
But certain scents,
place you elsewhere
Where you don't want to be
And there's no resisting

Born to party...

Somehow,
he found himself there again
Perhaps, just thinking maybe
someone new would stand out
Disappointed again
They were all the same
The usual suspects
just wearing new masks
Scantily clad as usual
Saying, ready, willing, able
So many of them too
So many people
and he thought it strange
that he could be
so coldy alone
in such a full house
He tried to shake that
and lingered for a while
Hoping the stale air
would give way to spring
But he found his end
not long later,
said his goodbyes, and
drove home by his lonesome
The windows down
and the music soft, steady,
as he liked it with
the cool air of the night
He let the thoughts
creep back again,
just as before,
and they ate a little more
He considered each time
the mouthfuls grew larger

Nietzche

She liked that look in his eyes
That one which said
he'd seen something dark
An abyss,
and it had seen into him
She wanted to own it
To have that edge
But she wasn't familiar
with earning
So, she told her pa
she didn't like his terms
And she left
Crashed on some couches
Burned some bridges
Her phone stopped working
Started second guessing
The edge was sharper
than she thought
And then one evening
he saw her and asked,
if it felt as beautiful
as it looked
But, she offered nothing
Had seen no abyss
just the inside of her eyelids
Ignorant, as always,
and now embarrassed

Hey!

Hey, you
Yeah, you're the one
I've been looking for you
Such a sweet disposition
and the face to match

Listen if you can
this won't take long
I'll be honest with you
not just 'cause I can't lie

I don't feel the need
to tiptoe 'round the tulips
and I hate wasting breath
I think I'll take a chance

So, here goes
I'd like to date you
Yeah, I'd like that
To take you on a date

It could end there
if you'd prefer that
I just want to take a chance
to leave an impression, perhaps

I swear I'm not weird
it's just that
I don't see the point
in wasting time
and I don't want to pretend
that I'm not interested
Never saw the good in that

So, what do you say?

Crying

Is it true you never cry?
That's what she asked
out of the blue
and I laughed
No, I cry sometimes
I don't do it often,
but I've cried
Not for the same reasons
as you've weeped, though
I thought more of it later
I cried when
someone made a mistake
and killed my Queen
Fifteen years
she was with me
My only friend at times
We went through so much
He tortured her,
like he tortured me,
but we both persisted
She wouldn't leave me scared
I cried when she escaped
only for her to slither out
and right over to me
She had such a delicate face
And I was looking forward
to fifteen more,
but she let me know it was time
when she went
I had to fend for myself
And before that,
when I found Aztec
motionless and cold
No light left in those eyes
I picked up the phone
so frantic and crying
Mom came home right away,
even Dad showed up for a while,
and Aaron too comforted me
But they didn't understand
I wouldn't expect them to
Come to think of it
I don't even know
Perhaps, it's just that
they made me feel loved
because I loved them
and I made them comfortable
and they knew me best
I guess that's the thing