a checkmate broken alive

fight for the time

when we face the vessels

capsize a feeling of deterioration

my only time left alive

take the direction

when we take a stance

paralyze this true vision

blindness in ability

a concept detained

scraping the pieces lost from your memory

an aching cutting clean

face regression past instability

thread my sickness like Christmas trees

each light flashes inside your snowstorm

lodged in memory

ingest to face but burn away

determination lost in observation

a checkmate broken alive

blood that doesn’t heal

sweat that doesn’t reflect the damage left in your eyes

memories wish me away

roll down the boulevards

patterns ring with every measure

painting disciples

lost on canvas screens

trace against the rest

march into their wounds

protection cuts me deep

dreams sewn shut

cut off the guard buried from reach

faces we can’t memorize

abilities yet to break into film

every character finds their role

the weight of the arrow

illuminated with every mistake

days absolved

years burned alive

a forecast where we can’t numb time

faces left without an apology

a blueprint broken

all the movements broken from my head

make the last return before we fall from the shore

emotions I can’t hide

thoughts controlled by supermarket checkout lines

every pattern we’ve tried to break

every dawn we can’t face alone

wishing I were somewhere else today

fall to the ground with every detail

picking through emotions like souvenirs

pace the streets watching birds pick our dreams away

shapes that don’t disintegrate with insecurity

when we walk through the crowds words chain me down

every color devaluated

every handshake, every whisper, every doubt

push them all away

definitions relapsed

guilt that does not question why

mistrust shaking through your veins

remember September skies

when we had it all together

a blueprint broken with crippled hands

reward system

when I tear myself through the window

did I catch a piece of your sanity?

pacing up and down this maze

I lock down my heart

To wait for the day

when you can clean the darkest frustration

scrubbing the bruises from my veins

like a batting cage they take their turn

I can see colors burning through the distance

breath in and out

they inhale every secret left inside my mind

a million words are exhaled

but I can’t translate a blind man’s burden

run through this glass covered maze

skin broken to bone

men watch in uniform

they shake the locks with cruelty

shut my eyes with polaroids under every scar

flash every emotion away

their hands shake at they keys

will they unlock the doors?

Pictures I Can’t Keep

spinning down the hill

a careless mistake

when we used to pretend

fingers crumble in silence

medication catching your veins

when numbness blurs every day away

ride away in motorcars

stumble in the darkness

but you’ve tumbled into a wall

when the shadows come alive

I take a look in the mirror

Look for treatment no matter the cost

Worms crawl inside my head but I can’t capture the memories of summer

When you lay in the distance

picking at your skin

too numb too feel

too bitter to taste

too hungry to eat

Look down the mountain side

when I watch all the dreams spin into days

Past mistakes chain me up inside

Figures break on the inside

color the broken days away

Pictures I can’t keep

Pictures I can’t keep

Words I can’t taste

Deep inside your mouth

Frequencies I can’t adore

When I can’t understand the taste inside my mouth