poetry

Poetry

Who Knows

I carved my name in an old pine tree
With a rusty knife found way downstream
Buried my truth like a fox with a vole
Told myself I would be fine all alone

Watched good love turn into smoke
Choked on them things I’ve never spoke
Walked off pride I couldn’t afford
Felt my shame burning to my core

Taught by the hurt, raised by the pain
Schooled in the losses that I can’t explain
Buried some friends and then drove off the road
Still hear crows laughing when cold winds blow

Drank from guilt like it was springfed
Dreamin of the things I never said
Tried to always give what I never had
Learned to leave, but never how to ever come back

Thoughts crawl in when the moon hangs low
Like weeds through cracks in a cabin’s floor
I patch the holes but they find their way
So now I sleep in the light of a darker day

Taught by the hurt, raised by the pain
Schooled in the losses I can’t explain
Chokin on the past that won’t let me rest
Vines of regret grow n twist in my chest

These hands ain’t clean but know hard work
Scars don’t fade and soon they lose their hurt
Lessons I paid for, I try to pass on
Only find out who needs them are already gone

Ain’t no fixing all the time I’ve lost
I’m walking like a ghost through Southern frost
I leave these words like tracks in the mud
Hope my trails stay when the rivers flood

Corvid

I’ve got lessons burned in mind
Buried friends, left ghosts behind
Drank from bottles, swallowed pride
Still I hurt when I close my eyes

Gave too much, I held too tight
Watched my own fire kill the light
The crows perched silent on the post
They’ll wait longer than most

Life don’t like knowing I won’t beg
So it left me limping on one leg
Woke up cold out of my dead sleep
Another loss I couldn’t keep

I choke on past that won’t let go
Like smoke that hangs but never shows
Some things don’t burn, they twist and stay
They curl inside and rot away

Thoughts crawl in when the moon hangs low
Pullin’ roots from the things I know
The cracks I filled all start to show
Some people break and never know

I carry truths that tore me down
Spoke ’em quiet, wore ’em loud
The crows don’t mind the mess I’ve made
They circle where my heart once stayed

Truth won’t hide and it don’t bend
Shows its teeth where dreams should end
Lessons bloom where heartaches bled
But they ain’t worth all I’ve shed

I choke on past that won’t unwind
Each breath tastes like a fault of mine
Some things don’t burn, they lay in flames
They live in me, n die without names

I let it go — but it holds me still
Paid my dues — and I always will
Let the crows say what words never will

Hallowed Bone

Breath like fire, hands like ice,
Shaking bones roll the dice.
Swallowed smoke and faded lights,
Trading dreams for sleepless nights.

Drowning out the worried calls,
Shattered glass and stumbling halls.
Every sip, a deal with hell,
Every high, a broken spell.

Too far gone, can’t turn back,
Every road fading to black.
Heart beats slow, hands go numb,
Still reaching for another one.

Mother’s voice on the telephone,
Praying for a soul she used to know.
Guilting through my brain,
Hauling like a freight train.

Too far gone, can’t turn back,
Every road fading to black.
Heart beats slow, hands go numb,
Still reaching for another one.

Empty bottles, hollow bones,
Another night lost on my own.

What I Don’t Say

I crack a joke when my hands shake,
Smile like the sun on a frozen lake.
Hold it in like the mountain stone,
Steady and strong but all alone.

Good days feel like borrowed time,
Like wildflowers reach to the sky
Driftin along, can’t rush the stream,
Water moves where it’s meant to be.

What I don’t say rides the wind,
Fades like smoke in the late nights end.
No one asks, so I stay strong,
Like a lonesome tree standing too long.

I walk the room yet feel alone,
A white pine where maples grown.
Ain’t much left I let ’em see,
Like a river that runs but dont run free.

Some men climb and chase the sky,
Some let the years just pass ’em by.
I just watch the sunset sink so low,
Like them words I swallow but never show.

The wind moves on, don’t change its course,
The stream still carves where the banks run coarse.
I just sit where the tall grass bends and sways,
Letting time do that thing… saying what I won’t say

Nine Halls of Man

Walked past envy’s mirrored hall
Where no one’s real, and pride stands tall
Hearts for sale and grace on lease
You buy your mask, you sign your peace
Said hello to Lust in lace
She spoke in code, erased her face
Just skin and screen and empty heat
Where touch don’t mean a thing this week

This ain’t the Hell with smoke and flame
It’s worse, ’cause here we know our names
We walk it blind, and call it life
But every choice just twists the knife
Through every hall, I heard one sound
A voice I lost, still calling out
It echoed through regret and years
And filled the halls with crawling fears

Met the gluttons at the feed
Stuffin’ lies where truth should be
Binging rage in real-time threads
While kindness starves and hope plays dead
Saw the greedy kiss the crown
Buy and sell what can’t be found
They own the skies, they fake the stars
Their shadows stretch through prison bars

This ain’t the Hell with smoke and flame
It’s sanitized and hides the pain
It wears a smile, speaks in spin
And locks you in the cage you’re in
I walked through all nine halls of man
Each floor was paved with what we planned
But I still heard that voice I knew
The part of me that I once drew

And if redemption is a door
Then maybe I’ve been here before
And maybe fire’s not the end
But where the soul begins again

One light left in sorrow’s maze
Might just guide me through this phase

Feed Me Fire

Fire feeds the modern plague
Likes and hate, and price tags paid
Welcome to the circus town
Where up is down and kings still drown

Addicted to the noise and screen
This blue light kills the in-between
I can’t hear my own mind scream
With every post, I lose a dream

Heaven blocked my number out
While I scroll doubt after doubt

Feed me fire, burn me clean
I don’t need this world I’ve seen
Give me wrath, not dopamine
Hell at least don’t hide its scheme
Greed’s in suits, and Lust’s online
Wrath’s gone viral every time
All these rings feel just like home
But I’ve never felt so alone

Pride just bought another vote
And Envy’s wearing influencer coats
The gluttons feed on endless fame
While sloth just shrugs and plays the game

The Devil doesn’t even care
He’s chillin’ on a folding chair

Feed me fire, strip me down
Let my ashes leave this town
Hell is here and paved in code
Where the hearts are sold and owed

There’s a light, deep inside
Buried ’neath the wreck and pride
If I dig through all the lies
Maybe something real survives

Feed me fire, burn me raw
Melt this mask and break the law
I’d rather bleed than live this fake
One soul left — it’s mine to take

One match can end the show
And light the path I need to go

Where Shadows Post and Ghosts Reply

In the land of endless feed
Even grief becomes a need
We dress our wounds in clever lines
And praise the pain in pixel signs
Circle one: the loss of face
Who are we in data’s place?
Each like a drip to soothe the ache
But leaves us hollow when we wake

Where shadows post and ghosts reply
Where every truth’s a softest lie
We scream for love we won’t admit
And scroll right past the heart of it

I found Lust behind a glare
Selling skin like vacant stares
Gluttony in breakfast bites
And Sloth with endless sleepless nights
Pride got rich on dopamine
Envy wore my own old jeans
Wrath was me, just more refined
A passive kill, a hollow spine

Where shadows post and ghosts reply
Where silence is our lullaby
No fire here, no brimstone glare
Just empty space and wired air

But there’s still a road of stone
Built by hands that die alone
And if I walk, not click away
Maybe I can leave someday

Delete the feed, remember why

Dynamite

She’s a fire in the hole
Burns you clean, steals your soul
Kiss like gasoline
Lights the dark in me

Red dress, black heart
Tears the world apart
Every word’s a spark
Every touch leaves a mark

Fire in the hole, watch her blow
Everybody runs but I won’t go
She’s the blast I need
She’s the pain I bleed
She’s the dynamite and I’ll light that fuse

360 Degrees

Hell don’t always look like you think it do
Sometimes it’s a bottle, sometimes it’s you
Same damn road with a different name
Every time I swear I’ve changed

Circles I keep coming back to
Prayers I whisper but never pull through
Devil knows my middle name
And I keep dancing with the flames

Round and round, I’m back again
Promises broke like a busted dam
Heaven’s quiet, hell’s on loud
And I’m lost somewhere in the crowd

Smelling Smoke Everywhere

I moved three states to lose that flame
Changed my name, but it stayed the same
Packed the truck, left the past
But the fire just rode in back

You can run from towns, you can run from pain
But you can’t outrun what lives in your brain
Every motel light, every cheap hotel
Smelled like smoke from the hell I sell

It’s the fire that followed me home
Burns in the quiet when I’m alone
Not in the house, but in my chest
Won’t let me sleep, won’t let me rest
I thought distance was a cure
But hell just travels more sure
Every mile just feeds the coal
Of the fire that followed me home

I Tried to Pray

Hallowed bone and hollowed heart
Tried to pray but fell apart
Bottle’s empty, soul is too
Still reaching for another one

Knees on floor in a cheap motel
Trading heaven for a private hell
Every promise that I broke
Turns to ash with every smoke

Hallowed bone, I’m down to this
Chasing ghosts I can’t dismiss
If there’s mercy left to find
Lord, don’t leave this wreck behind

Bite the Blade

They thought I’d die quiet, thought I’d fold
Didn’t know this heart’s been forged in cold
Every cut just made me mean
Every loss just made me keen

I still got a knife, and I still got teeth
I still got a reason left underneath
You can kick me down, watch me bleed
But I don’t die nice and I don’t die weak

Bruh, I’m Busy

Sorry I’ve been busy, didn’t see your call
Was out here burning every bridge and wall
You were playing house while I was playing war
Now you want me back? I don’t want you no more

Sorry I’ve been busy building something real
While you were busy learning how to steal
Take my name out your mouth, it don’t fit right
I’m done being your excuse every night

Sorry I’ve been busy, living past your lies
Sorry I’ve been busy, opening my eyes
You can keep the drama, keep the blame
I ain’t playing in your circus game

Keep the Good

They took the house, they took the truck
They took the girl, they took my luck
But they can’t take what’s in my veins
The wild that runs through joy and pain

I’ll keep the good, I’ll keep the fight
I’ll keep the fire burning bright
You can have the rest, the hurt, the shame
I’ll keep the wild — that’s how I win

Good Bones

Brick by brick, and verse by verse
Building up from all that hurt
Every crack’s a place for light
Every scar’s a reason to fight

Good bones, even when they break
Good soul, even when I ache
House ain’t pretty, but it stands
Built it with these bloody hands

Let the storms come, let ’em roll
Can’t wash away a steady soul
Good bones don’t need to hide
They hold the weight and stay alive

Loving on the Wrong Thing

I gave my heart to the ones who crushed me slow,
Trusted every word, but they let me go,
Chasing shadows in a world so cold,
Loving on the wrong things, stories left untold.

Loving on all the wrong things,
Falling for the pain it brings,
Every time I open up, I bleed,
Screwed over by the ones I need.
Loving on all the wrong things,
Caught in a web of broken strings,
But still, I keep on holding tight,
Even when love’s not right.

Promises whispered, then they fade away,
Hearts that turn to stone, leave me in the grey,
I’m a fool for love, but I can’t deny,
Why do I keep falling, even when I try?

Maybe one day I’ll learn to see,
The difference between love and misery,
But until then, I’ll wear these scars,
Loving on wrong things leaves its marks.

Loving on the wrong things,
But still, I keep on loving.

Not for Me I Guess

Trusted every word, but they let me go,
Chasing shadows in a world so cold,
I raised their children, bore their dreams,
Yet never claimed a love that gleams.

Heartbreaks lined my weary years,
Friends were few, and kin brought tears,
A fortress built from scars and pain,
Yearning for love, yet bound by chain.

Now old and lone, the nights grow long,
Still hoping for a tender song,
A single chance to feel once more,
True love’s light upon my door.

But fate’s cruel hand has drawn its line,
No partner’s warmth, no hand in mine,
I give my heart to silent skies,
Accepting love’s elusive ties.

Yet in my soul, a flicker stays,
A fragile hope that never sways,
Though jaded, worn, and weathered through,
I dream of love — if just once true.

The Cost of Expectation

I carry the weight of worlds unseen,
A silent burden, heavy and mean.
The mantle of man, forged in quiet pain,
Expectations bind me like unbreakable chains.

I smile when inside I’m breaking apart,
Hiding the cracks in my stoic heart.
Upset or hurt, I’m told to be strong,
But inside, the silence is deafeningly long.

Thankless work, this role I bear,
Invisible battles, nobody aware.
I ask for nothing, just a nod, a glance,
A flicker of thanks for this endless dance.

Voices smothered by society’s guise,
Machismo’s mask, a thin disguise.
Double standards cut like a knife,
Injustice shadows my daily life.

I toil and sweat, I pay my due,
Glass floors beneath, yet none see through.
For Adam’s curse, I’ve never eaten the fruit,
Bitter and calloused, my soul resolute.

Love has betrayed, left scars that sting,
A cruel game, a hollow ring.
I watch it crumble, consume, and fade,
A lie spun by those who made the trade.

No more will I fall for love’s cruel art,
I guard my heart, I shield my part.
Despising the comfort it once stole.

Underneath

I carry something heavy,
but it never hits the ground,
It’s tucked deep down
where nobody hears a sound.

I laugh like I’m fine,
like the world don’t press on me,
But the truth is in the quiet
where nobody else can see.

I walk into a room
wearing that easy grin,
it’s armor more than joy,
a way to keep it all in.

If they saw the cracks,
they’d ask questions I can’t face,
So I patch it up with jokes
that never leave a trace.

I’ve been suffering while smiling,
playing strong for too long,
Holding up the sky alone,
pretending nothing’s wrong.

They say I look steady,
like I’m right where I should be—
But they don’t feel the weight
that’s been living inside me.

Some nights I sit in silence
just to hear my heartbeat slow,
The world keeps piling on me
in ways they’ll never know.

And I swallow every worry
just to keep the peace around,
But the cost of staying quiet
is a weight that pulls me down.

I’ve learned to hide the tremble
when the day cuts me deep,
Learned to carry every burden
while the world is fast asleep.

And I know they mean well when
they say I’m “doing fine,”
But they only see the surface —
they don’t see what’s mine.

I’ve been suffering while smiling,
holding tight to what’s left,
Acting like I’m solid when
I’m worn down and stretched.

They see the calm expression,
not a storm they cannot see—
I’m carrying a weight that
never stops crushing me.

Maybe someday I’ll let it show,
Let someone see the undertow.
But until that day, I’ll stand alone,
’Cause breaking’s something I do on my own.

I’ve carried this so long it
feels like part of who I am,
A shadow stitched inside me
that no one understands.

I’ll smile through the ache,
keep the truth behind my teeth,
’Cause the world don’t slow down
for weight I keep beneath.

I’m suffering while smiling,
playing strong for too long,
Holding up the sky alone,
pretending nothing’s wrong.

They say I look steady,
but they don’t really see—
I’m carrying a weight
that’s been wearing down on me.

So I’ll keep on walking
with this quiet misery,
A smile for the world,
and the rest stays with me.