Flowing Thoughts 

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Standing in the icy rapids 

Faster than the mighty river 

It's hard to fight against the current 

The cold water makes me shiver 

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My flowing thoughts may overtake me 

Pulling my body swiftly down 

The water rushes to my lungs 

My consciousness begins to drown 

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A single pill builds a dam 

That slows the rivers flow

It gives me time to hold my ground

Holding on to what I know 

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Hard not relying on that dam 

But it won’t always be there 

I beg for the water to slow down on its own But the river never seems to care 

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Icarus 

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Who am I, if not Icarus? 

Wax wings bring bursts of

passion Drawn to the sun 

Like moths to a flame 

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What pulls me, if not fate? 

Towards a glorious end 

“Icarus, come down!” they cry 

But my eyes know only summits 

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Who are they, if not shackles? 

They who try to keep me grounded My wings are a harsh reminder 

Of the cruel touch of normalcy 

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What is life, if not cruel? 

Choices the sky makes for you

Affects a decision you cannot make

To a fate hidden under free

will 

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So who am I, if not Icarus?

Wax wings melt, a singe on skin

Enamored with the future I

burn up in the present 

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Opposites 

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I call it winter 

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You call it spring 

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I sit in silence 

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You tend to sing 

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I stand still 

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You dance carefree 

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It's no wonder 

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We never could agree

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Deadlines 

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Deadlines decay dreams 

Descending down dark drives

Dreary days delay 

Drowning doves who fail to dive 

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Time constrains ideas 

A Snake constricting beating hearts

Writer’s block blocks lead 

Guessing blindly, throwing darts 

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Grades detain untamed passion

Ideas of A’s, like siren sounds

Deafens rationality 

Thoughts of red pens bark like hounds 

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Answers silence questions 

Raised hands choke under deep fog

Checkmarks target guesses 

Lifeboats sink into the bog 

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Scars 

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Old friends, now forgotten 

Words split my upper lip 

Whispering between spruce trees

Memories etched into my skin 

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They leave, they leave 

Conversations gone sour 

Anger turns infectious 

Knuckles sliced over a pointless game of cards 

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Passing by on pavement 

Side glances, overflowing pride 

Hoping for a movie scene look-back

But stubborn pride averts eyes 

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Bruises seemed nice then, 

A careless declaration 

The pitter patter of blood 

A symphony of adolescence 

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Illusion (haiku) 

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Moonlight reveals you 

An optical illusion 

Shadows of young fools

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Blood, Sweat, and Tears

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They say all it takes, 

Is blood, sweat, and tears

To build a future 

And achieve greatness 

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Crimson graffiti art 

Overwhelming adrenaline

Pavement shredding skin

Helmet hits the dirt 

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I followed, mindlessly 

Running a marathon 

Faucets in my pores 

Leaving me behind 

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Saltwater seas cover eyes

Behind Hospital curtains

Little hands reach out 

Too young to understand 

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They talk a lot about 

blood, sweat, and tears

There’s no talk of rain 

That washes all my work away

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99 Cracked Pavement  

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Skating past a ragged home

Cracked pavement trips me up

A house I used to run from

Reduced to buttercups 

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Where I came from, long ago

Is not glamorous or pristine

Black mold choked my hallways

Fumes I wish I’d never seen 

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Walking home from football games

Down roads, dimly lit 

Scary figures follow me 

Heart sinks in a pit 

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Rolling chairs spinning fast

Smooth concrete races 

“Helping” dad fix the car 

Rust between the spaces 

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I did not come from grace

But I came from heart 

Two Hard Working parents

Gave me a good start

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Embers 

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Badly played acoustic guitars 

Strummed off-beat to sing-a-longs 

Bonfire glowing against night skies

Dancing, laughing, singing songs 

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Cheering counsellors, shouting kids

A game of tag spread across the night

Campfire prison for kids who lost 

I guess we gave up, or lost the fight 

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Sitting there, on creaky stumps 

Waiting for our dare to leave 

Talking for eternity 

Laughing so hard we can’t breathe 

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I may have lost the game that night

On my hand, a blue pen mark 

But all in all, I was happier 

Your light overtook my dark 

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Lighter Fluid (song) 

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You’re a girl with a match for a heart

And I have gasoline pumping through my veins

All it takes is a single spark 

And we’ll both go down in flames

 

So I’ll light the match, I’ll light the fire

Scorch my heart on my own desire

Torch my clothes, ash my eyes 

Telling myself all these stupid lies

 

‘Cause I can’t control my tone, my heart

So shock my ribs, give me a jumpstart

I’m walking towards the open flames

The things you say have me going insane 

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Somber Granite 

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You call my name 

Yet you look right through me 

I guess I took “be transparent”

A little too far 

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I wonder if you’ve forgotten me

Hovering over a cracked headstone

Echoes of forgotten happiness

Whispering through willow trees 

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Why don’t you visit me anymore?

Vines flourish over somber granite

There are no vibrant colours here

Only charcoal dresses and wilting flowers 

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So many others like me, 

Waiting for family and friends 

It breaks my decaying heart, 

Remembering the forgotten 

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Stranger

 

It's beautiful, is it not? 

Fresh faces, shimmering lights 

The air is cool, pavement’s kind 

But it is not mine to love 

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Breathing air, not meant for me

Shadows that don’t belong here

Staring down streets that aren’t mine

And maybe they never will be