The dog in the cage
The puppy in the cage
Scared and scarred
Whimpering and bleeding
Wanting to run free
Exhausted
Collapsed on the wire
Shallow breathing
Eyes closing
Tail wagging as he sees a light
Tail stilling
Breathing ceasing
Lonely heart finally tranquil
Innocent, broken soul finally at rest
Because all dogs go to heaven

I love myself
and those who love me
but I'm scared it won't last
and I'll find myself in that dark, horrible place again
I'm scared that everything
will disappear and I'll be left alone
>I'M SCARED THAT I WILL BE THE END OF IT<
yet even in the midst of the chaos
i find myself wondering, pondering
the choices, the sacrifices, and the pain
that made up my existence
the knowledge that i once was nothing
but two cells
and before that
mere atoms
                                                yet even then I
                                                       feel I would've known
that i could be loved
that i was loved
that i am loved
             that i will be loved

So I ask
          What is love?
Is it an emotion or more than that?
    Is it a force?
        Is it something we should praise?
            Is it something we should fear?
                Is it why we ARE?
                   Or is it the bane of our suffering?
Knowing that only with love will we be happy, we also know that really only without love can we be miserable.
And really only without the hope of love can we be terrified of        
                                                LIVING?

For it is love that holds us together
                                                        ­    and the lack of it
                                                              ­                         that rips us apart
                                                  It is love
                                                 That fuels
                                      Instinct, Passion, Desire
                                 And their brothers and sisters
                              Work, Selflessness, and Happiness
For even if it is only for ourselves,
                                      we all have love
we all feel its strings
we all long for it's call
------------------------------------------------------------­---------------------------------
                           We are terrified if it eludes us
                                             for we know
                                               that to live
                                             without love
                                                is to live
                                                without
    ­                                            meaning

i wonder how many people are crying right now...

I thought I was drowning in your love
but it turns out
I was drowning in our fears
our fears of not being accepted
we tried to accept each other
we were clinging to each other like the other was our lifeboat
but neither of us were kicking to keep us afloat

She stood on a bridge. She stood on a roof. She stood on a star.
It didn’t really matter, because it was really all the same…
She stood at the end.

She looked at the sky, then she looked straight ahead. She looked all around, then she looked down.
She didn’t really care, because she was still very scared.
She saw waves, she saw cars, and she saw space.

She smelled the sickening stench of the demon on her shoulder.
She closed her eyes and inhaled again.
She smelled the sea, she smelled the city, and she smelled the angels’ breaths.

She listened to the wind, and to the sounds below.
She thought she heard the angels calling her
Among the waves, the cars, and the silence…

She had gathered her courage
She held it in her hand
She opened her eyes, and looked down

She felt the wind pushing her, the angels calling her, and the demons taunting her
Then she stepped down
Away from the bridge, the roof, and the star…

The girl looked out the window and watched the world go by.
The train kept laboring as she watched the world go by.
~~chug chug chug chug chug chug~~
She lifted her hand to the window.
She felt the cool surface and spread her hand on it.
She closed her eyes and remembered…

Once upon a time…
Not long ago,
She had been innocent, without a care in the world.
Little did that little one know
What would unfold

She came back with a gasp as a tear slid down her cheek.
She felt the vibration as the train toiled on.
~~chug chug chug chug chug chug~~
She wiped her cheek with her fingertips and looked at her lap.
She grasped the hem of her dress to keep from shaking
As her gaze wandered to her shoes and she remembered.

Once upon a time…
Not long ago,
She had been in a shop, the best shoe store in town
Hand in hand with her mother and father
Skipping along, innocently

When the memory ended
She quickly looked up and watched a man reading the paper
~~chug chug flip chug chug sip~~
She watched with youthful curiosity and forgot her worries.
Though she knew, when the spell wore off, they would come back.
“Back” she thought as she remembered.

Once upon a time…
Not that long ago
She had been walking, walking through the snow
With her mother and father in boxes above her head
Lumbering along, numb to the world

This time she laid her head on the window watching the world go by.
She opened her teary eyes and looked at the sky
~~chug (sigh) flip chug (sky) sip~~
She looked at the ceiling of the train car and tried counting sheep
Anything to sleep
Anything to forget