Once I was
On top of the world

Winning at a game
That I didn’t know
I was playing
As I was cheered on
By eager fans
Boosting my ego

Skipping through the fallen leaves
And slipping recklessly
Through the dangers
Life handed me
Knowing
That if I tripped
Someone was there
To catch me
Before I hit the pavement

But all at once
I fell from the nest
Feeling lost
When I scraped my knee
And nobody was there
Holding a band-aid
Ready to fix me

I wondered
Why it had been so easy
To fall hard
With no broken bones
Or ugly bruises

But nobody had told me
That when I used to fall
It had only been
From Dad’s shoulders

he's a skeleton's shadow
born from human remains
black stained wrists
of all mistakes he's ever made.
his face is distorted
sinking in red static
masked by a trance
of blurry panic.
hollow demon eyes
his cold stare is deadly
I no longer cry
feeling so empty.
hissing in silence
a serpent's tongue
of my only friend
a lonely one,
will catch his breath
and count to ten
until blankness subsides
and the parade begins.
swallow me whole
he's all that I know
I can't bear to hear
deafening, slow,
"no fear," we chant.
no fear.

A cuckoo sings
to me, to the mountain,
    to me, to the mountain.

Napping at midday
I hear the song of rice planters
and feel ashamed of myself.

Don't worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually.

(read forward, then backward, line by line)

I ran.
Not knowing what else to do
There was so much blood on my hands
It was mine
The kitchen knife
Caught in my chest
Guilt
Consumed by
Fear
I was heightened by
Adrenaline
But running on
Wasn’t enough
While trying to stay calm,
Losing control
It was me that would end up
Dead. Because
He was
In front of me
The whole time
It was too late
Trapped
I found myself
Locked in chains
My fate was
Death.

You can pretend
That the black gloss
On my lashes
Will glue my eyes shut-
Make me blind to truth;
To ‘true knowledge.’
Go ahead.
Tell yourself
That my red-painted lips
Only spout nonsense.
It will only make it sweeter
When my wing-lined eyes
Give you whiplash
as I walk past you
To get my degree;
My award;
My paycheck.
Maybe if you’re ‘nice’
I’ll buy you an ice pack.

I can't sleep
Everytime I remember your words
They snap and recoil
And hurt me awake
Next time when someone
Promises me forever
I'll just smile
Look them in the eyes and ask
How long is forever to you.