a step-by-step guide to life

Fall hard.

Get up.

Wash off.

Try again.

Fall harder.

Cry too much.

Get up.

Get hurt.

Push back.

the spare room

I always found comfort in sadness
It seemed only then things were true
But after trying to fight it
I finally decided
There's room for happiness too.

art just isn't what it used to be

Hearing the songs

By attractive young males

Of the less lyrically inclined

It's remarkably discouraging

The lengths some will go

All for the sake of a rhyme.

they're at the wrong house, right?

A fire truck and ambulance on our street

Two stretchers being wheeled away

On our lawn and the neighbors', paramedics marched off

Smoke billowed out hot and grey

A grim-faced policeman talks to my dad

Who's having trouble saying a word

He puts a hand on his shoulder, and asks him again

But they're too far away to be heard

A knot of people have gathered now

Curious as to what happened today

So am I, as I run up the street

I sure hope the neighbors are ok.

naivety

A child once wanted to be wise of the world

Know its secrets, its comings and goings

But the truth, she found,

In newspaper pages—

None of it was really worth knowing.

the trouble with anxiety

first, we met.

then i gave it a secret

then i gave it a thought

then i gave it a place to stay

then i gave it a voice

then i gave it a name

then i gave it a drug

then i gave it a mind

then i didn't give it anything else

because it took the rest.

 

i am so very weak

You think I have no heart?

Oh, I assure you, I do.

It's just far too heavy to carry around with me all the time.

autumn

Autumn came as winter left

I know, 'tis strange to be sure—

Two seasons passed

But then you found

That summer had left with her

Now Autumn's gone and winter's come

To drown all with her icy kiss

Of all the things

You'd ever dreamt 

You never thought it would end like this

When Autumn was here and summer began

She mended your world torn apart

But now, she's gone

Under earth and a stone

And I'm afraid she left with your heart

Now Autumn's come and Autumn's gone

You can't mend what inside she tore

You'll hear her voice

In the trees above

Whispering you've lost her forevermore.

the thing about time travel

today is awful
and you can't do anything
you're tired
and sick of life
and there's no hope for today
so you say you'll change tomorrow
and that will be the new beginning
tomorrow, everything will change
but then, as soon as tomorrow comes
you find
it's just another today.

911, what is your emergency?

No one really knows what to do
When there are seven paramedics going up and down your stairs
You just sort of stand there
And try to look ok
As they carry him out to a stretcher
That he should've been able to walk to
That he shouldn't have needed at all
You just stand there
And awkwardly try to stay out of the way
Try to melt into the floor
Try and slip into a shadow
And stay there
 

 

a six word story

One heart

For sale

Horrible condition

  

just for the record

I guess what it all comes down to

is that I'd rather save a life 

than keep a friend

    

  

watching the clock

Sometimes

you feel dead

and empty

and that is the worst type of feeling

because it's not feeling

and you can't do anything about it

because you don't want to.

  

wonder of wonder

Do you ever wonder
about pointless things
Like why music sticks in our heads
why rain is so quieting
why we give names to things
why we all know how to kiss
why we feel empathy for inanimate objects
why we choose certain people and say 'i like this one'
why hands fit together
why we cry for things that aren't worth crying about
and most importantly,
why normal people don't understand the magic of wondering

the secret life of music

Mind. A vast, complicated, disorienting, tangled, empty mess held together with hopes and dreams and glue and strings.
But mostly music.
Music is air. Music is water.
It's blood and rain and color and movement.
I dream in the key of A and think in the key of E. I laugh in D and cry in G. I shout in F and whisper in B. I'm bored in C, but I muse in E again.

A is a rather purplish shade of red. She's a little annoying some of the time, but mostly keeps to herself. She's smart, and has more influence than she or the other keys think. She doesn't really care what the other keys think of her. She and B are friends for as long as any key can remember, everyone wonders when they're finally going to get together.

E is gold. He's also a dreamer, but can be logical and linear as well. He's friends with G. He likes to travel, and likes to wonder about things, whether or not they're important. the other keys like him, well enough, but he's hard to get close to.

D is orange. He likes exciting things. He's a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. He laughs a lot and has a nice smile that's contagious. People like being around him. He's carefree and optimistic, and likes messing with F. He doesn't mean any real harm by it, though

G is blue. Navy blue. Everyone likes G. He's easy to get along with. He's practical, logical, and down-to-earth. But he's also fun to be around, and has a sarcastic side. He used to go out with A, but now they're just friends.

F is bright yellow. She knows what she wants and is hard to please. The other keys admire her, but don't really like being around her. She gets things done. She does exactly the work she needs to, no more, no less. She's very confident and doesn't particularly care about the other keys liking her. She doesn't like D very much, and can't stand C.

B is light blue. Sky blue. He's a little awkward and hard to talk to, but he has a heart of gold. He loves dreaming, and often gets lost in his mind. He's always stumbling over words. He's smarter than the other keys think he is. He's had a crush on A for a long time, but has no idea how to tell her.

C is red. He's a bit of a slacker. He likes easy things. He's nice and friendly, and most like him. He doesn't really plan on a future, just takes life as it comes. He's a bit of a flirt, and often asks A out. B is terrified she'll say yes to C before B can ask her. He's got more of a moral compass than he lets on, though, and has a sentimental side he desperately tries to hide.

i don't understand

You always dance to the music

I can't hear

You sing the songs

I can never learn

You live in technicolor

where I see in greyscale

You love the life

I can hardly survive

gravity's game

We are surrounded

By faces without names

While helplessly grounded

By gravity's game.

those whispers in your head

It's weird to think

that someone has

cried over you

prayed for you

loved you when you didn't know it.

Someone has

talked about you

laughed hours later

over a joke you said.

Someone has 

composed unsent letters to you

wished you were there

thought about you when you didn't want them to.

And do you know

what's even weirder

to think?

Someone's doing all those right now.

this ain't fantasy

No prince will come and rescue you. 

You have to rescue yourself.

You won't fall in love in a moment.

But your heart will be broken in one.

Once you decide to love, you won't stay passionately in love.

It's going to take some work.

No one will hear you cry at three in the morning and hold you and tell you it'll get better.

You have to get up, get a box of kleenex, and lie alone in the dark, waiting for your eyes to dry out.

No one will sacrifice everything to see you become the best you can be.

You've got to make yourself do it.

No one will take a bullet for you.

You're going to have to duck.

You won't succeed the first time.

You'll have to try dozens of times more.

You won't get better in a day.

It's going to take some time.

But it has to start now.

So stop believing the idealistic lies the movies tell you and pick yourself up off the floor.

And you tell yourself to try again.

And you tell yourself that it'll get better.

And you tell yourself that you are beautiful and wonderful and quite frankly, the best thing to happen to this world.

Because, eventually, maybe you'll believe yourself.

But you have to start now.

There's not enough time to be sad.

Trust me.

Because I believe in you.

to all those teenage girls

There are plenty of things in life worth screaming about.

This is not one of them.

Thank you.