I Prefer Not To.
with all that we may stand to gain
or lose
upon a single breath
prudence yet eludes
our voice of truth
flaunting our pathologies
solicitudes become us
highwaymen who strum
submissive hearts
creatures born of covetous
convinced by vaporous conviction
candy coated candor
with a cracker jack surprise
desiccated eyes
no longer fit
to hold this thin disguise
rolling to reveal a hollow head
where tears unshed yet hide
let the earthen bounty
be your pillow
as the balsam breeze
tucks you in its whispered lull
tonight
our frailty
is forgiven
heaven dare not fathom
to assail us
whence we lay
its offerings
are present
for the taking
as prismed apparitions
through shifting crypts of time
searching for the shadow
of forgiveness
where folding stars
outstare the eye of jupiter
death is but a fear unsound
thought traps within
the silent walls that bind us
stepping through
eternal mirrors
on journeys shared as one
‘neath these precious suns
of stoic tempest flare
there are only so many metaphors
that serve to justify this pain
so many words
chewed up
and spit back out
onto surfaces
whose purpose
carries all burdens
these feelings are like water
journeying alone
in a fearless freefall
crashing into the earth below
to join the fates
that all have known
still, each fragment
leaves its mark
for others to embark upon
in the hour
of our exodus to exile
the skies belong to one
as one to all
as life itself
bleeds into the eyes
at the horizon
we take our tragic pittance
wrought from anguish
each within the alchemy intrinsic
to their own
to spin the loom
and weave majestic tapestries
of triumph
to share the secrets
intimately held
by furtive moons
the well of inspiration draws from sources which are infinite
to bridge connection to each one demands forethought discriminate
we must maintain fastidious pursuit of new experience
to formulate the truth of our expressive voice in variants
each origin is cyclical in its availability
therefore we must commit to an atypical agility
lest we submit to dormancy, a fate surely abhorrent
we must all embrace the stormy seas and revel in the torrent
even everyday minutiae has a merit worth attending
it is only in this spirit does our muse become unending
this exemplifies the reason why we must remain objective
exercising our innate ability to be reflective
analyzing every aspect of the open world around us
sees us not to jeopardize our very existential impetus
for many things persist within this life which can demoralize
in manners most ubiquitous seen fit to leave us compromised
thus rendering creative function far less than fortuitous
engendering superlative compunction most gratuitous
it is upon such moments when doth art submit to artifice
and hearts succumb to numbness amid constructs born of avarice
therefore we must ensure to heed a purity of influence
and shore up our defenses courting verity with confidence
to hearken only calls which bear the mark of authenticity
embarking on our journey poised with prudent perspicacity
for muse is but a fickle and capricious force by nature
to abuse it only serves to redefine its nomenclature
hence, we must stay mindful and forgo the fruit found on the lowest branch
lest we are left to wallow in the throes of sophist circumstance
and such is not a fate abating idealization
of our suicidal woes, condemning our souls to damnation
beyond
my front door
lies a great
big world
more vast
than is humanly
comprehensible
a veritable cornucopia
of prospect propitious
and liberty endless
brimming
with untold
opportunity
and infinite possibility
for me
to swiftly
and precisely
meet
my ultimate
demise
in my youth I watched TV
but sadly, none had cared to tell
that it was not reality
and thus, my life has gone to hell
corrupting every moral code
with no second thought to decorum
just as every episode
taught habits for the social forum
shouting loud and slamming doors
why should I have thought this was odd
and storming off with goods unmoored
to steal them in the name of ~god~
flagrantly objectifying
women as the status quo
pathologically lying
to every person that you know
constantly berating fellow humans
brought so many laughs
however, when I tried to do it
people would then kick my ass
sneaking through my neighbor’s yard
in nothing but a ghillie suit
did not fetch the same regard
when fleeing cops in hot pursuit
still, I tried to understand why
my friends cried and told their mothers
when I poked their eyes and ran
I thought that they would laugh and love it
how was I to know that vampires
were not something that existed
just imagine my surprise
that Halloween I was arrested
no one told me using fire
to burn the evidence was useless
nor that sating my desires
was anything other than ruthless
pulling pranks to shame my boss
never quite had the same effect
for every time my job was lost
they branded me a derelict
the doctor didn’t find it funny
when I diagnosed his patients
and absconded with their money
just to fund my cat’s vacation
why is it that all I’d learned
would only seem to spur police
leave the general public spurned
and earn the ire of Catholic priests
acting disingenuous
was all the rage on every show
but people just turned murderous
when I would use the same MO
every single trope
that had taught me the ropes
on television
has since failed me like the time
I groped her and wound up in prison
when I tried to tell the judge
“But on TV it seemed just fine!?”
he wasn’t so inclined to budge
and now I must serve all my time
the bane of capitalist systems
causes damage far and wide
kids left without supervision
so their parents can abide
to that which Jesus most opposed
and though I might not be religious
much like him I don’t condone
a surrogate duly suspicious
children led by such examples
based on worlds of artifice
become far more than we can handle
with real life consequence
how can we punish the actions
fostered by our guided hand
just to furnish a distraction
so we can meet life’s demands
everyone should take a hammer
run it through their TV set
rise up in a Marxist clamor
before things get darker yet
it’s not right that we associate
our sentiments with falsehood
they can’t misappropriate our lives
then try to claim “it’s all good!”
last time i told myself that it would be the last
but here i am again looking in the past
my memory so freely flees into the breeze
the instant that the moment passes before me
i can’t explain my inability to see
from the perspective granting objectivity
much like a cognitive bias against the self
in which my own best interests have been shot to hell
what makes it worse is everyone else seems to know
so quick to remind me wherever i may go
when all is said and done they say “i told you so”
as though their words are something to have been bestowed
well i suppose they may have something of a point
i’m still compelled to thusly disconnect their joints
the only thing that’s worse than chronic fucking up
is hearing it regaled by someone acting smug
you’d think that this alone would solve things without fail
but i am human; ever prone to get derailed
and for this very reason i am bound to kill
when comes a cocky bastard telling me to chill
which would explain the growing pile in my back yard
composed of corpses of those lacking such regard
take my advice when someone states they’ve had enough
that’s not the time to try and call them on their bluff
nor is it prudent to act disingenuous
nor to allude to any breaching of one’s trust
i’m not just preaching some type of friendly heads up
if you keep reaching, your demise will prove abrupt
of course, you’re free to take this any way you want
just don’t act so surprised when i do as i am wont
in case you missed it that’s the wonton reverie
of your destruction since you chose to fuck with me
you will see
my pain
the endless hours spent
the triumph
of this misery
in a momentary squander
you may wander
through the pages torn
and wonder
how i speak your truth
the one
stayed by a stinging tongue
layered ‘neath a stolen sun
abeyant
at times
we will laugh together
rain may fall
on distant ground
and the secret
guarded smile
will have vanished
left untold
on the cusp
of thought symphonic
on the path
of parting stream
though we understand
the story
who we are
remains unseen
mystery becomes our warden
through these words
of sought reprieve
with lackadaisical regard
i watch as they dwindle
one by one
and sometimes two
or more
i never formed
a reason to rhyme
until time descended
upon me
like a pornographic impulse
brew me another cup
of disillusionment
while you’re at it
that last one
nearly fit the bill
sometimes
i wonder if i actually will
or would
or could
of course,
there is no question
as to whether or not
i should
though i am
but a coward
in uncomfortable skin
i’ve worn out
since the day
the world informed me
as i swallow
more
to boredom’s pallor
like a Fuller Brush Man
in a town inhabited
by ghosts
where nothing hearkens
but the silence
that consumes me
as a void that lay
between two mirrors
spared of my own completion
i awaken
to words of kindness
from friends
and strangers alike
but there is nothing
strange about this pain
that we share
this bridge
we have all built
through the sorrows
of our time
grants us more
than a fleeting respite
as we gain
the understanding
that none are alone
that every struggle
affects us all
that our face is seen
our voice is heard
our truths, known
it is only in togetherness
do we stand
to court the hand
that bears the gift
of the morrow’s ingress
know, my friends
there are no strangers
among us
let us walk bravely
into vales
of unknown consequence
for love
shall harbor no secret
when its light
has finally shone
to guide us home
so it is, was
and shall ever be
this dream
e’er haunts humanity
Max, or Not 
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