How To Write A Shitty Poem

It starts with a woman

and then a drink

    A single word

leaks out

  and takes you

for a ride

   Like a leaf in the wind,

soaring through the sky,

   imagining a world where there are no more goodbyes,

  you fly

But,

empty eyes

eventually reflect off your screen

The cursor blinks

   Music plays the soundtrack to your life

They are the saddest love songs alive

   A few lyrics rattle your bones

You reach out for her

   but you are alone

A single note

   from the guitar

pulls you out of the deep end

   Another drink

and your eyes start to leak in public

    A kid stops and stares,

before asking her mom why the handsome man is crying

    She looks at you,

and says to her kid, “He’s dying.”

    “Oh,” says the little girl, before she walks over 

and gives you a flower. “I’m sorry.”

    You smile 

and after awhile

   your wounds mend

In the end

   it was a few shitty poems

 and a flower,

that taught you to live again

    Another drink

and you strike a match

    A painting of your past 

hangs on the wall

  You pick up the gas

and dowse the dream in gasoline,

   before throwing the match 

You sit back with another drink

    and watch your past

Burn 

   And everything you would’ve learned

 Burns 

     You inhale the smoke

   and you are so gone,

for so long

  High on nostalgia 

Drunk on stories

   The world gets blurry

Your friends and family start to worry

   You smile 

Knowing it’s only the beginning of your journey 

    You only feel alive inside the flame 

You only change after you’ve felt the pain

So you

Burn 

   You take the gas can

and burn the boy

   to make room for the man 

Another drink

   and you start to understand

you know nothing 

    You are nothing

Just a hand holding a pen

   The universe within moves it

The collect consciousness spouts nonsense

   and you package and sell the little bit of it

you can capture 

    It is not the answer

just a stranger question

    Another drink

And you have dreams of stardust and her

She’s a fallen star,

   laying naked in a crater,

barely alive

  You freeze time

and give her some of your life

    You shield your eyes,

as she starts to shine

   It’s bright. So bright. 

She kisses you softly and says goodbye

   before taking her place in the night sky 

Another drink

   to forget everything

Empty eyes blink in the reflection on your screen

     You’re the only one who hears their silent scream

No matter how much we try to imagine there isn't,

there are always goodbyes

Another drink

to fall back asleep 

without any dreams this time.

   CH 4/1/26