Feed Your Soul
i didn’t run dry
you bled me out
like a carcass
left me propped up
no toe tag to speak of
lights on
‘open for business’ sign lit up
and lying
it’s empty
bound and covered
scrawled with lovely
bold lettering
embossed even
pages numbered
it’s empty
Daphne Shadows
when we take to the streets
no one will know our names
but they will chant our cause
and the lights will never go out
the lamps are burning
off our dead weight
the oil long gone
siphoned by the empty promises
doomed to be repeated
when all the lights go out
is it naive to believe
in happily ever after?
everyone believes
in the end
is it naive to believe
we are here for a purpose?
leaving dead skin cells
as my trail
so you can find me
when i’m lost
when i’m stuck
or is it all just void?
no point at all
i think not
when i wake
in the dead of night
searching for the reasons
i cannot find
remind me
hold me
until the gaping abyss
can no longer see me
take the truth
massage it into my skin
so i can remember
what we are fighting for
By Daphne Shadows
depression is a liar
and a truth teller
buries heads in the sand
illuminates all the wrong
playing the villain
monsters slithering
in the shadows
making home in the hollows
paying rent in love letters
we want someone to know
but we don’t
can never tell
because
playing the hero
winning over the dragons
stepping into the flame
drinking it dry
sparing the hostages
the licking and the char
because we know what it means
to suffer inside a plastic box
nothing to soothe the ill
because we hurt
beneath bricks and mortar
dust and broken bones
we exist within
suffocation
and oxygen masks
writing these silly plot twists
with knives in our spines
emails to our graves
everyone else is a star
brilliant in crimsion hues
our screens are ebony
the colors all filtered out
we can see you
but we can’t feel your warmth
because we hurt enough
we don’t open mouths
because to add more
is to help the vile
add to the mass graves
of tears and open sutures
because we can’t hand you
this filth
your hands are so pretty
and we’re already so dirty
by Daphne Shadows
moving forward is the only good option
but
the drop down menu is stuck
and the library burned down
the next bus only goes back
the memory is clogged in my throat
someone stole all the maps
they left a post-it note behind
keep going
it says
did they know i’d be here?
why didn’t they wait?
i left my feet at home
i didn’t know i’d need them
i have the feeling
i was supposed to meet someone here
am i late?
did i miss them?
or did they get here before me,
read the note
keep going
it says
what if they thought it was from me?
i could leave some breadcrumbs.
i felt you coming
fingers sliding up my spine
miles away
i was told to fear you
taught hatred
revulsion
for sharp intentions
and sturdy makings
how they’d be so disappointed
in me now
i’ve gone the way
they look away from
hushed skeletons
dancing in the wardrobe
of their fancy guilt
i stole away in broad daylight
laughing into the on pour
sloughing off all my silver
dainty little shoes in the gutter
they shied away from the truth
but i knew
i knew you
inky fingers laced crimson
choked down their words
their own making
as they curtsied in public
buried their bodies in silence
i had none
waiting in the sunlight
watching in the darkness
one and the same
it wasn’t a race
not the war they made it
and freedom wasn’t very expensive
after all
all i had to do was
drop my mask
peel off my bullet proof vest
step into the unknown
Eyes that shine blood red
In the dark
Watching
Waiting
For the underbelly to be exposed
Fangs to know
Claws to reason
Run, they said
But the creatures
Lurking in the hollows of our nightmares
They are so very hard to break
And my hands are already so dirty
Necromance me
out of the darkness, they came
like lightning bolts of flame
we ran and ran, but lost our grip
beware, beware, that gradual slip
take one wrong turn, my dear
that’s all it takes, out there, in here
its not a choice, not conscious, at least
choose today, to ruin or feast
where there’s a little magic
there’s a little more
and if you can find a single reason
you can find it behind a door
like a butterfly’s wing –
you can’t touch it
but if you keep looking
you’ll find a key to fit
it isn’t made of gold or glowing
but if you listen ever so closely
it will speak into your fear
in wails and whispers, mostly
but beware, listen carefully
and start at step one
or one day you’ll wake up
questioning what you’ve done
in a place you don’t know
with more questions than one
like, where is all your skin
and why are you holding a gun?
