The Protagonist

His life was frigid and cold to the touch.
What do you say to a man who's seen too much?
His past is the past but his future's a mystery.
The only good thing to come out of it is history.

He did wonderful thankless work for what his world became.
Did things for strangers who didn't even bother to ask his name.
He can stand on his own free will.
Be he sees something stranger still.

Vile secrets come late to be unveiled.
But he succeeds where others have failed.
Always had a deep affection for the sun.
So this little event won't make him undone.

Yeah he was a straight shooter from a sleepy town.
Wasn't really big on the idea of being renown.
He didn't much know how to tell good joke.
But he sure had a certain power to invoke.

He broke his back to satisfy his own plight.
So it's safe to say his journey's over right?
Well, no -- it's not.
Not by a long shot.

Undertow

In love on a day like any other.

Saw a grim report in the paper and the news.

Received a call from your mother.

The rest is a history that I cannot refuse.

I wanted to find you in my own reflection in the sea.

For I kept writing these meager words in the name of you.

Looked once more and all I saw in the water was me.

Hoping the dream of your resurrection would one day come true.

So I kept writing these words to call you from the grave.

For we can once more sing, dance, and thrash in my garage.

I tried my best to be strong, tried my best to be brave.

Thought I saw you once again but t'was only another mirage.

Do you not think it is a simple task to stand?

Shedding painful tears as I left red amaryllis at your stone.

I even threw in the latest album of your favorite band.

Looked in the sea once more to find that I was still alone.

I came to resist what was left of these little things.

Reconciled to accept that this reality is not kind to a widowed lover.

A luxury reserved exclusively for the queens and kings.

Peered into the abyss once more to find something or another.

My distant heart raced from what I saw.

A visage looked back mired with sadness and regret.

Our reunion was brief if it happened at all.

But it was a true experience that I'll never forget.

Clockwork Machines

Still in shackles tragic and lonely, 

I was exposed for a phony.

Still on the run, I'm unfairly branded a thief.

The judge lied to me straight through his teeth.

Laughing away his reality, 

For a single tragic fallibility.

My only defense rests at his home,

No evidence to call my own.

Said I would hang on taxpayer's gold,

When all I ever wanted was a hand to hold.

As I ran away, the rabbles were completely mislead,

Said that I should be try pushing daisies instead.

And even though I can never look back.

I can keep my distance and stay on track.

For the judge will get his just due one day.

And when he does, I will be forever away.

In all honesty life is better than it seems.

Underground beneath clockwork machines.

And even though I can take it a day at a time,

Millions can take many days without trying.

But as long as I remain pure and true,

A warm promise of respite long overdue.

The time it took wasn't very long if nothing else.

For the the grandest opportunity presented itself.

I pray only that this plot doesn't go global,

For at my mercy now was that lying noble.

He was bound and gagged in the salt mines.

A little reminder that he lived in our trying times.

My final verdict for the judge was a fate worse than death.

His tongue was thus removed and the cave shook as I left.

Stand

-
I cannot be bothered to participate.
Years pass me by as I sit and wait.
Am I no longer a figurative source of charm?
Or am I simply just a new alarm?
Solved problems make way for a new stack
So have all my colors faded to black?

So many questions, no more time.
Yet fewer answers, what's my crime?
At the door I left the flag of hatred.
But I can't forget the one who made it.
And yet you keep me alive and well.
You helped me stand wherever I fell.

I'm the only one who can purify my soul.
Will you be there when I do, I don't know.
For at the end of the day, curtains are drawn.
Once again I choose a new road to travel on.
I spend my time perfecting the new me.
To be something everyone wants to see.

With your help I just might make it through.
Else I would not write these words for you.
Somewhere between the lines we meant to cast.
I can no longer lean against the horrors of my past.
And even though a push may come to shove.
There is no evil that we cannot rise above.

Choice

-
Though I might seem oft to preach to the ears of holy men,
Are their shoulders the ones on which we should depend?
Of course not for there are perfectly good souls among us.
Men and woman whose power is pure and whose cause is just.

Enemy of the state posturing in a nation they would divide.
While the people suffer with spread arms and fettered lives.
For the suits would be mistaken to ignore the seeds they've sown.
As the sleeping giant begins to wake and the seeds have grown.

But for now the giants only sleep and dream a national dream.
A dream that will soon involve hazard masks and gasoline.
For we will spill chariots and unhinge the power of the gods.
As they spread propaganda of artificial enemies in the jihads.

War rages all around us, can you even see?
How divided the nation is between you and me?
To cast a stone in one direction or leave it at the door.
For whatever option you choose, there will only be war.

[Author's Note: I believe we, as a people have a choice in the election. Vote or do not vote for yourself and only yourself. Yourself. Not at the behest of people who are so wrapped in the ideology of a black and white democracy. Understand what your decision is and know why you're doing it. If you are unsure at all, do not vote. Also, stop cluttering your friends' news feeds with political shit on Facebook. It's not cool, edgy, funny, or intelligent. I know you dumbasses still do it.]