Why They Don't Let Poets Pick Your Battles

There is no strength in surrender, only the weakness of the coward

Who assumes the task is failed because it's hard,

Too week to hold up optimism until the fight is done,

Too weak of mind to tell winning sides from right ones.

There is strength in surrender: the strength of mind it takes to know

When and how to wrestle, pin your ego;
The courage to square things with your bosses,

Bite the bullet, cut your losses.

There is no strength in surrender—no will, no determination

In the face of threats or litigation,

To stand aside and watch as evil wins

Because good didn't want any more problems.

Why I Write, Part x+277: Learning to Write Again

I piled a drought on a skid on a slump.

What were neurons creative, are now just a lump.

In dropping a habit, I made one anew:

Writing's something I think about, then fail to do.

Writing feels like I'm dragging my brain up a hill,

and when I'm inspired, I'm lacking in will.

But I made a new habit half a decade ago.

I can still make one now, though the going be slow,

and since I can do it, that's what I will do.

(Though I've said this before, on occasion—or two.)

Only Read This On the Way Out

I never leave people. They always leave me.

If I meet one, and like 'um, that's how it will be.

Everyone with a chance and a reason has left.

If it wasn't for blood, I would end up bereft.

People don't get to know me; they get ready to leave.

If it bothered me much, I'd have no time to grieve.

For a while I blamed it all on my tattoo,

But the ink isn't cursed. It's just what people do.

Stop Pretending

We both know that this is ending.

I need you to stop pretending

That when I hurt, you're hurting too;

You really tried to see this through;

That you felt what you claimed to feel;

That what we had was ever real.

'Cause when you say I'm in your thoughts,

It's harder to pretend I'm not.

See You Later

“Happy ever after” is a fairy tale, and lie.

Words like “hello,” “I love you,” thank you,”

Those can never halt “goodbye.”

Staffing one's life perfectly will always be the goal,

But there is always someone leaving,

and it always leaves a hole.

Still, that hole's more like a pinprick,

and not much like a crater,

When the words that say “goodbye” to you

Mean more like “see you later.”