every drink to numb the pain
drowns His voice
dulls my hearing
callouses my heart
for how can I raise my hands
to receive, to worship,
when they are filled with a pint?

Nancy loved Bobby,
And Bobby loved Stacie,
And Stacie was confused since she loved both simultaneously.
What a strange shape we’ve built.

The angles weren’t adding up,
Bobby’s was way too much,
Since he loved Stacie more than she loved Nancy.
How pitifully confusing.
Lines drawn with guilt.

What is one man to do?
Trapped between two girls,
One who’s confused.
These feelings, so deceiving,
It seems like everyone’s destined to lose.
This obtuse love triangle,
Only spells doom.

Nancy found Bobby making out with Stacie,
And ran off crying in a hurry.
Stacie felt guilty, but Bobby was just too lovely.
The hypotenuse forgot the rules.

Nancy and Stacie both vented their heavy hearts.
They destroyed their friendship, and the words left nasty scars.
All the while, Bobby was standing not too far away.
He found Stacie crying because Nancy had called her a heinous name.

But what’s a girl to do,
When she’s emotionally confused?
On the one hand, she has a guy who’s cute,
On the other, a woman who could heal all her wounds.
These feelings, so fleeting,
It seems like everyone’s destined to lose…
Oh, this obtuse love triangle,
Only spells doom.

In the end, none of them remained friends,
They made a pact to never speak to each other again.
They figured it would be the best thing to do.
Bobby, Nancy, and Stacie,
Feeling so blue and so lonely.
I guess they’re lucky,
That there’s always more fish in the sea.
No use to spend all their love,
On someone who didn’t know what they wanted.

But what were they to do?
In the game of love, they were new.
They thought they knew,
Who their heart belonged to.
Fate demanded to be paid his dues,
It seemed they were destined to lose…
Oh, this obtuse love triangle,
Only spells doom…

The blood on my hands has begun to dry,
Along with my eyes, no more tears to cry.
I did what I did, I don’t regret their demise,
So why do I feel so conflicted inside?
I go into the bathroom and walk to the sink.
I pour myself a cup and take a small drink.
While deep inside, I’m boiling to the brink.
And if I don’t let it out, I’m destined to sink.
I look in the mirror, and all I see,
Are two eyes freezing cold.
I don’t remember who’s staring back at me,
I’m still not used to this mold.
I used to be a coward,
My will to speak overpowered.
While everyone around spoke so loud,
I’d sit at my desk and not make a sound.
But I made a vow to speak louder,
No longer will I be a coward.
I’ll say what I mean and mean what I say,
I’ll be a good man to my dying days.
I’ll find my hill and make my stand,
Holding on tight with my bloodied hands.
I stare into my two cold eyes,
My guise overwhelming my surprise.
I wash the blood off my hands.
I hope this was worth it in the end.
Since it takes a lot to change an identity,
I gaze in the mirror at the new me.

Poem (IT):
** amato anche nel dolore,
quando il cuore tremava
e le notti sembravano eterne.

Ogni ferita era un’eco
che bruciava in silenzio,
ma nel silenzio nasceva
una forza che non conoscevo.

L’amore non cancella il dolore,
lo attraversa,
lo abbraccia,
lo trasforma in memoria viva.

E lì, dove piange l’anima,
** trovato la speranza:
non promessa lontana,
ma luce che resiste,
fiamma che non si spegne.

Così il dolore diventa ponte,
e l’amore respiro,
capace di rialzare
anche chi credeva di essere caduto.

Masi Roberto © 2025

Poem (EN):
I loved even through pain,
when the heart was shaking
and nights felt endless.

Each wound was an echo
burning in silence,
yet in that silence
a strength I never knew was born.

Love does not erase pain—
it crosses it,
embraces it,
turns it into living memory.

And there, where the soul weeps,
I found hope:
not a distant promise,
but a light that endures,
a flame that will not fade.

Thus pain becomes a bridge,
and love a breath,
able to lift again
even those who thought they had fallen.

Masi Roberto © 2025

******* you to hell.
You smolder inside my chest
Crying like an abandoned puppy,
Even my blood wants to get away from you.
You claim everything's yours, yours
To feel for, like a blind man, stumbling,
You are an emotional wreck. You
Brazen bull, I never cease to hear
The screams of agony that you burn.
It's so bad I could even smell the crisp
Of human flesh. It empties me of all hunger.
The air burns wherever I let it, but that
Always beats your burn, that is like the iron
At the center of the Earth. I hate you.
You burn. You burn my love notes,
My apologies, you burn my hatred,
My love, my time. You burn my dreams.
You are their crematorium. And I hate you
For forcing me around you
No matter how much I want you out.
I hate you,
And I hate you even more
For making me forget why,
My rumination seeping out
Replaced by "Fine.
Let's see how you do on your own."

rage coursing through your veins
your voice laced with anger
belligerent and frantic you were
confusion rattled in my brain
as I couldn't figure out your reaction

then you showed me
and panic stabbed me in the heart
your arms were bare except for
the two thin red lines

those cuts took me back to a place
I fled from
flashbacks filled my mind
bubbling up until I was
on the verge of tears

my brain replayed the memories of
warm blood dripping down my arms
painfully unsticking my clothes from my skin
hiding my cold blades

terrror and anger
despair and anxiety
depression and hopelessness

I can't go back there
I just can't
but please let me help you
help you out of the cage
the cage called self harm

Somebody come and pick me up
(the heart of the bird is the weight of the bird)
I've been sinking into the universe
(the size of a needle eye)
And I'm beginning to really, really lie
With my autonomic nerves
And their will to life.

I remember the blend
Of light and dirt
As it painted my vision.
But I didn't care much
That I was no longer
Beginning to see.

She was the one being buried.

I'm depression. As real, as light,
As dark. As feeling, as air, as
Light. I'm as real as the sun
That isn't there. I'm as heavy
As its nowhere-
Ness. I'm the sum of sub-
Tracting parts, I'm the price
Of hell, a worthless dream.

My life
Is found, when life
Finds meaning (when was it lost?)
If you think
That means
It was me
Who gave
Up on God. . .
I gave everything
And nothing he returned to me.

Death to the saviors.
Death to the sayers.
Death to the forsakers.
   Nothing to arrogant nothing.

The greatest ******* pain
Is your child,
When he was just born,
And inside you,
And later, when he
Disappointed you.

You tried so hard,
Gave it a name,
Something you wanted it to be,
Gave it food and water - Your
Food and water,
And for your birthday,
You get a coffin.

Life
*****,
As the saying goes.
And I guess
Death is the Doctor
Who draws your blood
To replace some other blood.
As the saying goes
Around.

But maybe
Our dreams will get us somewhere,
When the end comes, when we sink our bones
Into that pillow the Earth, and in a thousand
The sun will abandon, and make it
No longer daydreaming.


But until then,
Let them **** each other.
So-called "family."