We need the people we care about
because facing the dark alone
is tough
there’s a chilling in the bones
pulse-quickening fear
trickles down the spine
the uneasy swallow
bracing against
what will come next
and getting what you don’t want hurts
it’s the parting of the skin
of the comfort craved
not attaining what you want
means learning to be patient
the taming discipline of commitment
the fracture that opens
up the goodness within
that never comes
without the loss
of one’s notions

the strangeness of living
is being in a non-linear relationship
between the need and the want
this waking state
is a locking mechanism
of movement in flesh
to survive the long fight
of keeping the balance
for the long haul
before the final stroke
chops the block
and the corpse of information
formed into beliefs
gives rise to understanding
awakening your new stage

habits make tastes
tastes form choice patterns
patterns form the way
we think
once hacked
it’s exploited to death
literally
tired and wasted
hung over the day after
the narcissism binge
Dear social media, at some point
reality sets in and we can’t fix
the cracks we made
we can’t keep pretending
technology means we don’t need
connection with others

I’m the delicate fragility
of balance
large ecosystems
humming in tune
all reduced down
to building blocks
chains of molecules
people cities countries
a lack of balance can be measured
by the way we act
when we think it doesn’t matter
when we accept that we don’t need others
a machine can manipulate
zeros and ones influencing
the human mind
alpha, beta, delta theta waves
and more
the symphony in concert
a glimpse of the quantum frame
of our interdependence
compartmentalized
so much superficiality
has desensitized our value of others
but I remember
that I care about you

How you think
is how you steer
the helm of your ship
what you feel is
the trail in your wake
your body shaped
to the course of your states
which will dictate
the terms and conditions
of your deal
with life
the quality of your give and take
then you grow up one day
you pause to read your own contract
to see for real how it is
you choose to live
you’ve matured and know
the effects will come to collect
inevitably
doubt parts the form
new consequences give birth
happenings unseen
from our cells to our planet
both we call home
use the struggle to learn to be kinder
relate it back to the suffering
of the other first
because critically thinking
is much harder than judging

the cage of choices compounded
sequenced prisons of consequences
breaking themselves
with superimposition of events
collapsing structures of decisions
reiterating onto themselves
I form my reality with all
the things I didn’t listen to
the feelings I nurtured and fed
what I ignored or didn’t get
to my detriment or to my benefit
sometimes complex shades
of both

and I’m all banged up
and I rode this horse hard
demanded it keep up
with the size of my hopes
when the elements that hold
any situation fall apart
there is a coming undone
of balance
thrown into chaos
of other beings’ dimension
trying to respect the weight
of life’s worth
in every sentient being

the balance
is a fragile thing
the crack in everything
shapes a worldwide net
of possibility
trembling in the mud
the humid atmosphere
of unhappiness
that sinks into the pit
of your breath fogging
the goggles of your vision
the specific myopia of your mistakes
just as I could choose kindness
I could choose hate
but I want to undo
all the barriers of prejudice
and think beyond the bubble of me
I resist every step of the way
but when I spread my wings
boy, aren’t they pretty
yet
that chrysalis was a bitch
but alas I can fly

even if progress flows through nooks
crannies and hair line fissures
meets dead ends backtracking
the trick is keeping the discipline
to stay in deep attention to all things
happening within my reach
re-programming ethical kindness
all around me
being the change
I want to see
happiness is the byproduct
of a clean conscience
inner diagnostics complete

I sigh with relief
and relax facing
the ephemeral beauty
of this delicious fest
of the senses inside and out
sinking in and winding down
spinning around birthing
the spiral of entropy
inhaled and exhaled daily