Bug

I found the secret to everlasting life in a virus.
They don't discriminate between people by skin color or belief; they give and take what they will.

The Purpose? To Convince

Because you know you want to, go on. Go on and tell yourself it would all have been better if you had gone the extra mile. Go on and try to chalk up more white lies then call the blackboard pure when it won't hide the scars anymore. You know you want to. Deep inside - no, maybe not so deep inside - you'll enjoy being exposed. You are going to enjoy having the limelight. You will revel in a gaze even if it was aimed at you in disgust; you would likely auction off yet more of yourself for any amount of time someone spent believing in the illusion with you. Somehow comfort can come in the kind of form; somehow when misery has company, company's comfort. Ice cubes that will melt away only too quickly in a hot desert sun - you complain your glass is half empty when you've already taken so much, accepted and begged for and stolen and conned for so much, you don't remember actually owning something anymore. 

Trek Back

In the summer the bamboo groves remain cool
They await the lonely wanderers
Who crawl or limp in
Having long lost their way elsewhere
They await the the odd coincidence
When two solitaires meet in a single deck
Strolling along the same tired old track
Attempting to find without having to search

The scholars and artists sit by
Penning disciplined hypotheses and
Fantastical descriptions of beauty they are not
And will not and cannot see
Because they picture the lights of the day only
Smeared onto their canvas and paper
In only the pre-manufactured commercial pigments
Everybody can find anywhere else.
They will never know what we - yes, we -
Have seen and will see
In our memories, in our dreams
To remember

In the summer there are only hearts
To forgive and forget.

Track

The cement turned to quicksand beneath her nimble feet.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
One step forward. Another. Stop.
Stuck. Can't move; can't move: just one more step.
Breathe in. Out.
Dodge around - no use, keep running... Stop!
Breathe. In-out.
Come on. Voices ringing, echoing in dark, spiraling voids.
Just another basement floor push-up, right?