Stay Strong

Written on 3/14/11

Sitting in a large room,

I look about, with a little smile.

I'm safe and my friends are here.

That only lasts for a short while..

With just a little uttered word,

My world turns upside down.

A sudden volley of memories,

Surrounds me and I drown.

Ah, don't you just love it,

when blocked memories appear?

Recently, they've been popping up,

Some things suddenly get more clear.

I gasp out short breaths,

My hands clench into fists.

I blink several times

Everything seems to go amiss.

I sit as still as I can be,

I do not, will not cry.

No, not here, not now.

Gotta stay strong, gotta try.

Who cares about the memories?

It's all in the past, am I right?

Everybody deserves another chance.

Shouldn't the future be bright?

I must stay strong,

I should stay strong.

I need to stay strong.

I have to stay strong.

Don't cry, never cry.

Don't do it, no.

Not here, not now.

That's all I know.

I keep telling myself,

That I should stay strong.

When it comes to these things,

Usually I'm not wrong.

Just hang in there,

Forget about it,

Think happy thoughts.

Calm down, just sit.

Need to forgive others.

The past is the past,

Everything's better now.

Bad things never last.

I'm not alone, never alone.

I have plenty of friends,

I've got family too.

They're nearby to the very end.

Not only do I have these things,

Jesus Christ’s also on my side.

So long as I have faith in Him,

I can swim against any tide.

Slowly, things start to improve.

I can breathe again, I can breathe.

Things aren't as bad as they seem.

Nothing's going to make me seethe.

Here I am once more, in the room

I am safe. nothing will harm me.

My emotions are in check again.

It's just all in my head, you see.

The Swarm

Inspired by a dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You see, I was sitting at my desk.
Then I heard a tap, tap, tap
on the window, I looked and saw,
A large black bird looking right at me.

This room I was in, it was a mix of rooms.
My room, with the bed and main desk.
A classroom, with the tables.
That's how it turned out to be.

I sunk in my seat, hoping the bird would go.
But no, it found its way inside the place.
It screeched, squawked, and cackled.
Waddled between people's legs.

Soon there were more.
More birds, black birds.
I was frightened.
We're surrounded.

A voice soon spoke to me
and I jumped to my feet.
I ran to the windows
and swung them open.

I shouted, "Go! Go! Go!
Be free! Please! Go already!"
Little by little, they left.
Those black, black birds.

The voice was right,
the birds left.
One by one, they flew.
We were safe.

A man appeared with a net
He also had several crates.
I worried about the birds.
There were still a few left.

The man caught two.
He asked about the others,
With a devious grin, he claimed,
"There's twenty more, you see."

I felt something nudge my knee.
I was at my desk and found a bird.
I told the man, I knew no more.
I knew not what he spoke of.

I hid the bird.
We waited and
waited. Then he left.
I held the bird.

With the black bird, I ran.
I ran outside to search,
to search for its friends.
Several were flying up high.

I found others, trapped by the man.
They seemed so helpless to me.
I felt despair, released my bird,
and ran to the trapped birds.

I kicked, gnawed, and fumbled
with the lock.
Useless efforts and wasted time.
Those poor birds.

The black birds stared at me.
With those big, doleful eyes.
I was deeply saddened.
It was all my fault.

I shouldn't have called the man.
They just got lost, is all.
I should have released them,
a whole lot sooner than planned.

Soon, I found myself in a cage.
Equally trapped, within my own mind.
I yelled and screamed and shook
the chain linked fence that kept me in.

After a long while, I felt tired.
I closed my eyes and woke up
to the smell of eggs wafting
right towards my direction.