Bad News, Archers.

Spine

Lines within lines within lines within lines

dots in between those lines

skin and flesh and blood and bones

nerves and veins

they run through all of us

from our heads to our fingertips and so on

and further and further until we end

Good

good for you
you’ve changed in to a nicer, cleaner person
good for him
he’s accepted himself for who he is
good for her
she’s on her way up
good for them
they’re improving
good for us
we’ve been rewarded for all of our effort
good God knows we deserve the joy
good Lord knows we need this drink

Elliott Finch was insane. At least that’s the impression he gives you. A slightly burly build with a light-but-edged voice, he’s somewhat smiley all the time, wandering around inside and outside the building. “People are animals.” He told me. “But animals can be…decent. I mean, there have been several accounts of monkeys ripping off someones arm and beating them with it, but there’ve also been occasions where dolphins rescue a person from a shark. I mean an entire group of dolphins…or school or pack or whatever they’re called when they’re together, helping something that they know nothing about other than the fact that it’s alive and in danger. Those two facts are enough to bring an entire…pod! An entire pod of dolphins to the rescue. Then again, all that the monkey has to know that it’s alive and capable. Then it goes berserk, thinking we’re the enemy. It proceeds to beat, scratch, bite and break you because you are a potential threat. People are violent and kind and paranoid and loving and malicious and decent. People can disappoint you…you can disappoint you. But people can surprise you, and you can surprise yourself. People are animals, but that doesn’t mean we’re not good. The world’s a fucked up place, but there has to be something to fuck up to begin with. ” He reached out his hand and took the cigarette out of his mouth. “Oh, sorry. My name’s Elliott. Amelia’s brother.”
I shook his hand.

A Meeting

A lanky, beautiful shadow fills the most gloriously simple suit you will ever see. His eyes are deep and rich and so full of history and if they had an opinion, they would be sorrowful. His lips curled into a corporate smile as he reaches out his hand, his body craning over you as he tries his best to make this as painless as possible. Each breath he takes, his chest sinks more and more. As you desperately try to refuse, define and resist this entire happening, your hand reaches out and takes his.

“Love,” he explains as the words grow out of his mouth.

Hillside

The hills role on and on, slumbering and sloping, raising and rolling, slowly falling and fading away into a flat surface, bending and turning over and around its former self, the grass becoming greener as the earth grew softer, the cliffs falling out underneath the blue sky, clear as it could be, shining itself as perfectly as it could on this piece of the world, allowing the wind to see as it softly guides the blades of grass to the east, never once waning or fading as it leads the way, never once crossing paths with a single shadow or patch of anything else as the grass shone back at the sky, turning the blue a shade of green and as this all carried on, a solitary soul wondered what tomorrow would bring.

It’s hard to listen to the same advice everybody gives when being yourself means being a selfish, moronic, angry, painfully ungrateful asshole.

Exorcise

I ran as fast as I could.
As the wind rushed against me and the friction of rubber and cement burned across the ground I thought about what got me here.
I made mistakes. A lot of them. A whole lot. A horrific, almost endless, terrible, heavy, dreaded truckload of mistakes. There was blood and there was glass and bodies and so much lost. More lost than could ever be gained.
I turned the corner, almost unable to control my own speed. My feet started to find a rational rhythm rather than the frantic motions propelling me forward.
Take it all, I prayed.
Take it all back. Give me another chance. I will give all of this up, I will never even think of it again. I will never ask for a single thing ever again. I will be good. I will be good. I swear. Just send me back and let me do this all over again. Can’t you do that for me? Haven’t I gone through enough?
My eyes started to well, partly because of the cold rush stabbing through my cornea and partly because I was begging as though there was any way of this ending in my favor.
My legs burned, the acid seeping into my bones and spreading up and down. I felt my heart pushing through my chest, hoping to get out. I was going to collapse if I thought about it any longer. So I didn’t.
I stared straight ahead, looking at where the sky met the earth, and ran toward it.
I swear, never again. Never again, I swear.

Give me a bed
I need some rest
Give me a bed
I need some rest
Give me a bed
I need some rest
Give me a bed
I need some rest

Ascendance

A fallen angel
so broken and bent
take off your wings now
your hair is tangled
you’re heaven sent
no longer dead, you’re disavowed
don’t dress your wounds yet
you let them breath
the skin on your hands cut
just like your knees
measure your spirit
estimate your soul
the weather is warm
the blanket is cold
your head is bleeding
stay, stay with me
memories placed on shelves
now falling over slowly
and once, they said
you were so lovely
so clean and pure
but vile words
made them unsure
so you lay down
warm and loved
a lovely town
just up above
you reach, you smile
you bare your teeth
you breath, all while
you’re asking “please”

Lighting

“I’m sorry.” He said to her, staring at her now empty body lying on the floor.
Regret and sorrow filled his eyes, drowning themselves in the blue ocean they’ve always looked like. His lips moved slightly, trying to come up with something else could say. But all he could do anymore was barely whisper “I’m sorry,” under his breath repeatedly.
His body began feeling cold as well, coming to match hers. His fingertips loosing feeling, his skin becoming iced over. Legs gave out and arms rolled themselves forward to her, gripping at her clothes as though he was trying to squeeze the last bit of life out of the color. He pushes her hair back and leans in, kissing her cheek and resting himself on the floor alongside her. His final breath leaves him and the drowning eyes overflow, finally releasing. He takes her hand, hoping it will be that much easier to find her soul. The ceiling became brighter and more obscured yet he never needed to squint. All he does is smile, ending it with a worried look. He’s going back. He’s going back.

And cut.