Pointless

Sometimes I wonder,
What the point of all this is.
Is there even a use in trying,
When the world feels ready to end?

Is this how they felt in Europe,
During the war to end all wars?
Or the sequel?
Or in Gaza or Ukraine?

And all the other places
Where bombs fall like rain?
Though that isn’t happening here,
Even if it feels the same.

In the country where freedom rings,
Less and less,
There’s a balancing act between
Human rights and self-respect.

The nation divided
While the Supreme Court is united.
The Constitution ignored
By the person tasked to enforce.

The Founding Fathers couldn’t have seen,
Couldn’t have imagined,
The broken system
Their ideals would become.

Checks and balances only work
When each party cares,
When everyone fights fair,
When power is left equal.

But provisions were left or added,
Designed to tip the scales.
And who enforces the law,
When the enforcer breaks it?

In the country where freedom rings,
Less and Less,
Sometimes I wonder,
What’s the point of all this?

Eraseable Pen

I’d rather start again,
Than reach the end.

Reread books one and two,
To refresh for book 3,
But, let’s be honest,
I’m never going to finish that trilogy.

I can recite all of season 1,
As if reading from the script.
But I’ll never know
How the show actually ends.

Notebooks with half-filled pages,
Journals with chunks missing,
A fresh slate for trying again,
Both collecting dust on a shelf.

A million stories
Left waiting for me
To finish writing
Stuck on chapter 3.

Maybe I do
Have commitment issues.

Maybe that’s why I write
In erasable pen.

Living for My Mom

Spoken Word Poem resulting from Let the Dice Choose poetry prompt: A Feeling That’s Hard to Describe.

I’ve wanted to teach since I was 4 years old
And I am all set to graduate in 2022
But I no longer see a future classroom,
I can’t even imagine it
Because I don’t think…
Because I don’t believe I’ll get there.

It’s like
A timeline of your life,
Abruptly stopping at 2020.
Not due to any specific event,
But just no more space on the page.

And you know,
You know all you need to do is
Grab another page and keep writing
But… *Shrug*

At my grandmother’s funeral
My cousin made a poor timing joke
involving them and I dying.
I will never forget the look on my mom’s face
As she contemplated that thought
Or the terrified panic in her voice as she rebuked them.

Every time I feel like I am drowning
I see that face and hear her voice
And I could never,
Could never be the cause of that.

So I keep living,
Feeling utterly lost
Like I’m walking into a dark abyss
I don’t know what I’ll find
What will get written
On the next page in my timeline

But I have to keep going,
For her sake, if not mine.

Be My Harmony

(This is the text to a spoken word poem. Spoken word poems are better seen than read, but I am camera shy)

When we first met
I’ve gotta confess
I wasn’t crazy about you
But that you already knew

This isn’t a love at first sight song
It’s more of a slow fall
Think like an unexpected snow fall
That proved the weather man way wrong

Because first impressions aren’t everything
And you got me to sing
Hell, you got me to dance
A feat deserving of a medal

You got me high on laughter
Unable to breathe from pure happiness
A smile on my face nothing can remove
Not even the abuse I’ve been through

For once my past doesn’t matter
The pain I feel no longer leaves me shattered
My smile is real
And it has everything to do with how I feel

I am not in love
Just majorly crushing
With the hope of one day loving
Of being brave enough to ask

Would you be the harmony
To the melody my heart is singing
Take my hand and teach me to dance
Because I just wanna dance with you

Stay out until the sky turns pink
Eat burritos and watch Disney movies
Sing along to every song
Do it all except…except play baseball

You’re the man I’d introduce to my gaming group
That I would let read my unfinished stories
That I let see the real me
No mask, no filter, just me

And as much as I’d like you to make the first move
Although I know it would make things awkward
My heart is singing to loud to keep hiding it
And I wish I was brave enough to ask

If you would be the harmony
To the melody my heart is singing
If you would take my hand and teach me to dance
Because I just wanna dance with you

Beautiful

Spoken Word Poem from the Let the Dice Choose poetry challenge prompt of Beauty.

You.
Yes you.
You are the definition of beauty.

And stop!
Before you give me the
“I hate my body”
“I hate my face”
etc.
EXCUSES

Remember
Beauty is NOT skin deep.
It’s in the way…
You smile at a stranger
The way you excitedly point out every dog while driving
It’s in the way you help others
You and your perfect flaws
You are beautiful
Don’t you see?
Here
Borrow my glasses
Look through my eyes
You are the definition of beautiful

YOU

ARE

BEAUTIFUL

Don’t you dare forget it