Dropped Eyes

We drop our eyes
At responsibility
Quickly
Forgetting
Oaths to protect
And raise
Cherishing self
Instead of her
Surrounding yourself
With pain
And addiction
Degradation
Around each corner
Poor and afraid
Beyond the mask
You wear
My bleeding smile
Rising up
To create
The legacy
That which lives after us
We create ourselves daily
Realities that are both
Paranoid
And real
Destructive planks
The whip
And the lash
Out of evil
Comes no good
Nodding like broken
Candles
Flickering
In the blackness
That is no more
Cowardly
And afraid
Indifferent once again
Unable to create
Art from cynicism.

Imperfections

Held up to the public gaze
My imperfections shouting
Back at me
Why can't you take a risk
Professionally
They're grooming you
Job descriptions handed to you
Before the public posting
Invitations to San Jose
In two fucking weeks
Conference last week
And next
We'll pay for your sub
They say
Tell us what you need
You have to act fast
5 applicants already
Submit your papers now
Everything's a blur
A rush of decisions
With no chance to reflect
Or breathe
She buckles under pressure
Succumbing to the present
The future already behind her
Asking questions
And getting only silence
Or vague generalities
She is a teacher