“I opened my eyes to see the ugliness and beauty of humanity”
Braeden Michaels creates a curve in the poetic stratosphere revealing glimpses of the characters who walk amidst the life of newly-widowed Stella Walker. By exposing the flaws, scars, quirks, and the light we see in each other, this profound collection generates a fine line between friendships and acquaintances.
Within these pages, we are introduced to different shades of colorful characters in varying points of their lives. Every poem describes the hidden truths and realities of human attributes. Each perfectly imperfect person we meet is a representation of the people we run across in our individual journeys which then become stepping stones in our own growth.
Cast the alabaster referendum Spike the juice, transfix the vanishing liquid Zoom the screenshots, taste the lip gloss Scratch the two percent surface Know nothing, keep the pulse on the dial
Seek optimism with self entitlement Wrap your vertebrae around your cell phone Dye the color of mass destruction No dissection, analysis, or an ounce of depth Know nothing, keep the finger on emptiness
Follow your ill advised democratic leader Spit into the Declaration of Independence Wash your jittery hands at the masquerade Give Kim Kardashian a peck on the cheek Know nothing, spell the word legislation
Walk the line between capitalism and socialism Speak from one corner of your grand mouth Run for mayor, sleep with the dirty sweetness Dollars have value, integrity depreciates Know nothing, move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Parade around foreign affairs and zig zag policies Trade agendas with corporations, chop down family shops Spread the cancer with your thumb on reality TV Download useless apps, swim into the word “myself” Know nothing, wear the crown as you veto knowledge
Lack a vigorous backbone, ignore loans Salivate over the disappearing social security checks Pitch your ballot for the plagiarized speech Steal from the rich, sit on your lazy throne Know nothing, commit crimes and plead ridiculousness
Separate, divide, and do what you do best “Label” Stare into the trends, curse at the economy Blame the universe, unleash expletives at your choices Embrace the seconds, neglect the forthcoming Know nothing, glaze over conclusions and regurgitate
Wear the pin stripe suit like a hit man Blend in with the smoke of politicians Laugh in your three thousand square foot home Drink the bitter honey on your porch Know nothing, emulate the millions and toss your skull to the curb on presidential parkway
I’ve been chasing a sky of blurry lines I’ve been chasing constellations with my eyes closed I’ve been chasing misplaced trust with heartfelt lies I’ve been chasing danger with silent explosives I’ve been chasing peace with a vicious expression I’ve been chasing filled pages in an empty book
If these decorated walls could shout crumbled words would cut my open arms If these rooms could plead guilty my disease would cry indifference And my inflicted patterns dwell on Silence Boulevard
On my knees with my hands clenched together Reciting scripture and broken prayers Begging “Take my pain away, tired of all the shadows of yesterday”
I’ve been chasing delusions with a vacant jar of pills I’ve been chasing wisdom with limited experiences I’ve been chasing a river of echoes with a pierced eardrum I’ve been chasing a fantasy with numb fingertips I’ve been chasing daylight on a dim path
If these decorated walls could shout crumbled words would cut my open arms If these rooms could plead guilty my disease would cry indifference And my inflicted patterns dwell on Silence Boulevard
On my knees with my hands clenched together Reciting scripture and broken prayers Begging “Take my pain away, tired of all the shadows of yesterday”
I’ve been chasing riddles with a cracked compass I’ve been chasing affection with a crippled identity I’ve been chasing sentiments with a star dripping resentment I’ve been chasing sweetness with a bitter tongue I’ve been chasing suspicion with an arrow in my hand I’ve been chasing time with drops of heartache
If these decorated walls could shout crumbled words would cut my open arms If these rooms could plead guilty my disease would cry indifference And my inflicted patterns dwell on Silence Boulevard
On my knees with my hands clenched together Reciting scripture and broken prayers Begging “Take my pain away, tired of all the shadows of yesterday”
Madly in love with page seventy four of your memoir Madly in love with your high pitched laugh Madly in love with the sparkle in your smile Madly in love with your trillion dollar eyes Madly in love with the philosophy dripping from your mouth Madly in love with your enthusiasm in your veins
And no matter where you are, You are my home as I am yours In the cul-de-sac of Whispering Way
Madly in love with your forgotten carousel Madly in love with the sensitive barricade Madly in love with your glass castles Madly in love with the delicate blisters Madly in love with your vivid imagination Madly in love with the naked wisdom
And no matter where you are, You are my home as I am yours In the cul-de-sac of Whispering Way
Madly in love with your violent sky Madly in love with the crying dreamland Madly in love with your affection dressed in rainbows Madly in love with the light and dark of your universe Madly in love with your candles in your heart Madly in love with the words you speak with sweetness
And no matter where you are, You are my home as I am yours In the cul-de-sac of Whispering Way
Madly in love with your hopes and the faith you hold Madly in love with the world you caress with your fingertips Madly in love with your precious truth and vicious convictions Madly in love with the snow globe you hide Madly in love with your future and past
And no matter where you are, You are my home as I am yours In the cul-de-sac of Whispering Way
Madly in love with the silence and the breathe of fresh air Madly in love with your stellar evolution Madly in love with the bricks we added to our foundation Madly in love with your photographs of us Madly in love with the everlasting radiance Madly in love with your exclusive kindness
And no matter where you are, You are my home as I am yours In the cul-de-sac of Whispering Way
No, I couldn’t stand in your resonance and your mind numbing negligence No, I refused to be your noxious scapegoat and omission in your dangerous eyes No, I wouldn’t be a remainder in your lopsided mistake
“Hush hush, nothing will save you” Yes, I thought I was rescued from my haunting past Yes, I thought this residence was permanently carved
No, I dismissed the fatal request but still felt the jagged nail in my back No, I denied you satisfaction and drifted in an awkward disposition No, I fell in your discrimination and felt blackballed from the very second
“Hush hush, nothing will save you” Yes, I thought I was found until I realized the pieces were scattered Yes, I thought this residence was secure and guarded
No, I destroyed the walls you built with your reckless hands No, I stumbled into your humiliation with anxiety stuck to my skin No, I cried until my rage leaked from my mouth
“Hush hush, nothing will save you” Yes, I thought I discovered love in a colorless dream Yes, I thought I found peace when in reality all I heard were silent screams
Love was just an insignificant occupant making me gag Love was just a bad joke I heard in another language I couldn’t comprehend Love was just a citizen that held me down and raped my soul with a jagged knife Love was just a stench I couldn’t wash out Love was just a word created by Hallmark Love was just four letters thrown together to serve a ridiculous purpose Love was just a shadow so I can feel myself Love was just a bruise on my shin to prove I exist Love was just a song written by a billion dollar jester Love was just a death wish waiting in the wings Love was just a plant I didn’t water Love was just a black eye with covered up lies Love was just a watercolor I can’t see Love was just mascara running down my face Love was just a cloud of obscurity Love was just a gram and a kilo of voids Love was just a room of emptiness Love was just a shattered mirror I look at every day Love was just a pile of poems that made sense one day Love was a just a pile of poems that I threw away the next day Love was just an adolescent that claimed to know it all Love was just an adult with an addiction that didn’t know a damn thing Love was just a bomb that exploded on planes, in buildings, and in schools Love was just a clan, cult, gang, a war of losses Love was just a book that millions don’t read Love was just a doctrine of stolen beliefs Love was just a pile of divorce papers Love was just a trigger pulled by one finger as the other four were staring at him Love was just an overused word Love was just ten minutes of causal sex Love was just an irrational scream Love was just the sun not seeing the moon Love was just a down payment for an item I haven’t touched Love was just a puzzle piece that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere
Deep inside a serious social commentator I chronicle little nothings from something Residing in a seven hundred square foot apartment with spaghetti stains on Saudi Arabia colored carpet Exhausted from walking on egg shells and shrapnel from the one word responses “I planted seeds, give me what I need” She exclaimed with a riddle with her arms raised in the alabaster breeze Shrugging my shoulders in discomfort “You dealt me ripped cards, at Zero Point Boulevard” Squinted eyes, zig zig aggravation, and disgust is a ghastly taste I use to dance in your verses and your loose lipped stanzas Coincidentally there are no replies to my praise Dwell in your manipulation, circus mind and a diary written in mud Frankness stood upright and you ignored it No transitions in your language, just a hint of apricot Senselessness and ramblings squabble on this path Coping is your worst enemy
For I am the gust in this brilliant joy For I am the hope in these disorientated chapters For I am the trembling suspicion in the corner For I am the optimism in your stained pupils
And the fascination pierces in the burgundy sky
For I am the prosperity in this shattered mirror For I am the wisdom you have never heard For I am the glare in the whispering blur For I am the salt in your four seasons
And the enchantment glows in the burgundy sky
For I am the zest in your shaky bridges For I am the rainbow in your weeping azure For I am the shine in your rusty screams For I am the fear in your gripping wishes
And the artistry blooms in the burgundy sky
For I am the peace in your self destruction For I am the grit in your sandcastle For I am the treasure you haven’t touched For I am the daydream in your hallucinations
Love me father for I have sinned Love me for my teary eyed tragedies Love me mother for I have misrepresented Love me for my emerald skin
Drowning in my identity
Love me fireflies for I have wept in the dark Love me for I have crippled my vitality Love me acquaintances for my tainted tongue Love me for my abandoned flames
Soaking in a lost curse
Love me companion for I have misplaced love Love me for I have spoken to my villain Love me obscurity for I have been misguided Love me for I have crawled in my dismay
