What Goes Around

Out of the darkness crawled
a monster once feared.
He was casted out, shunned,
and painted as a freak.
The monster never understood
why people hated him.
Before they got a chance
to get to know him, they threw
him away. The monster didn’t
know where to go and,
clearly, he could not stay.
He just wanted to play
with peers his age, but
others avoided him like
the plague. One dreadful
night, the monster was
taken out of sight, far
away from any light.
Many years have passed
without much movement
from the monster until
one day, he heard people
talking outside of his cave.
With the strength he gave,
out of the darkness crawled
a monster now reborn.
The monster visited those
who threw him out
and demanded an apology.
With shock and remorse,
of course, they said sorry
before taking off in a hurry.
The monster took over
the village, not before
a great pillage. He became
the thing they called him:
a monster. He did not feel
bad due to the days he
was sad. The monster
once thrown away found
a new place to play.

Infinite Scroll

Way back when, people
wrote scrolls. Now, all people
do is scroll endlessly. Thumbs
up took on a new meaning.
Refresh. Refresh. Nothing fresh.
Keep scrolling with no control.
Prisoner to statuses and updates.
People are captive to pictures
and words posted. Infinite scrolling
as blood is boiling. Much has
changed. Life is not as simple
as it was. Now, we look for that
buzz from our phones tingling
our bones. It’s hard to find a home
when we’re stuck on our phones.

The Key

There are gatekeepers
that hold the key
to the kingdom –
the key to success.
They hold the key.
There are street sweepers
that hold guns and cuffs.
They hold the key.
There is a grim reaper
among the living.
He holds the key
to the afterlife.
With him, it’s on sight.
There are timekeepers
watching from the other
side. There are spirits
that know when to hide.
They hold the key
to the somber skies.
There are old leaders
driving imported cars.
They hold the key.
There are people
like you and me.
We, too, hold the key
that will, one day,
set our souls free.

Out of Control

The world is out of control.
Sharp minds become dull.
Stress can squeeze the life
out of a soul. If there is not
a light in sight, just breathe.
Keep fighting; don’t freeze.
Know you can’t change
the direction of the breeze.
Sometimes, it’s better to stay
than to walk away and leave.
People are out of control.
There are more questions
than answers. There are
more songs than dancers.
Life is like rolling some dice.
It is hard to roll the same
number twice. Each day
is another opportunity to
encounter something new,
to reach a higher view,
to get better-looking shoes.
The puppet-master has cut
the strings making things
out of control. The guy
upstairs never stopped
shaking the snow globe.
When life is out of control,
the answer finds the soul.

Read the Room

You don’t have to be literate
to read the room. You don’t
have to know how to sweep
to use a broom. You don’t
need feet to own shoes.
Rooms are like books on
a shelf. People are like words
on a page. Sometimes, it takes
awhile for some to open up.
Each person has their own
definition of life. Views
and perspectives differ.
Beauty is in the eye of
the beholder. Lessons
are learned and days
grow shorter as we get
older. You don’t need
a folder to read the room.
Open your eyes and look
around. Take it all in
as you read the room.
From womb to the tomb,
leave no room for regret.
Read the room and learn
how fires burn. Read
each person’s face. Learn
just how the world turns.
Whatever you decide to do,
know that it is better to
read the room than to
leave the room. Look.
We can all be open books.