618. I Once Was a Writer

I once was a writer,

Whom nobody read.

Who wasted their hours,

Alone, in their head.

For years, and years,

I bled out my soul,

Hoping to reach men,

And it took its toll.

I lost too much time,

That can not be returned,

On words unrealized,

And bridges burned.

I once was a writer,

Whom nobody read,

Who spoke the truth,

And left nothing unsaid.

Who wrote endlessly,

Unfelt, and unheard,

In the age of the new…

Unrecognized, and absurd.

For times, they change,

And those such as I,

Are a dying breed,

Under futures’ sky.

Yes, I once was a writer,

Whom nobody read,

Who decided one day,

To live, instead.

K. Aldaya, 8/15/23

GIF: From Vampire Diaries TV Series; https://chamberofspoilers.com/2015/04/17/vampire-diaries-season-6/

558. You Can Not Guarantee Tomorrow

You can not guarantee tomorrow,

So why must you steal away our today?

Let us live, and love, and laugh so,…

We don’t waste our lives away,

In fear of the inevitable.

You can not guarantee our safety.

You can not even guarantee your own.

Life and time pass us by swiftly.

So, why spend our time alone,

When today could be our final one?

You can not guarantee life at all.

It only guarantees you’re a liar,

For we all live and someday fall.

Life is hard, and often dire,…

Though a vast journey from start to end.

Do not guarantee us tomorrow,

And do not plan, and scheme, and try to steal,…

From the stories you’ll never know.

Life is like a spinning wheel,

Which moves ever onward steadily.

So, do not guarantee tomorrow.

I am more than content with my today.

Let me live, and love, and laugh so,…

When it’s my time I can say,

“I did not miss tomorrow, because I lived today”.

K. Aldaya, 8/15/21

GIF: From the music video “Summer Wine” by Lana Del Rey; https://weheartit.com/entry/317798351

541. The Unconscious Sea

The wave, it washes o’er,

And pulls me out to sea,

Yet how can I swim away?

When the ocean is me?

I can not stop the flow,

Of thoughts through synapses;

Nor the depths therein which drown…

Moments in lapses…

…Of consciousness.

K. Aldaya, 5/20/21

Picture: By Velizar Ivanov on Unsplash; https://unsplash.com/photos/UoALJojNPcs

439. Lost

I’m lost inside.

Won’t someone find me?

In the echoes of time,

I wander in effigy,

Of who I was long before,…

The hallways shifted;

And I was ne’er able to find,

One crack through which light sifted.

I’m here looking,

For some way to escape fate.

Is anyone searching? Has anyone noticed,…

That the hour has become late?

And I have not been there with you.

My eyes, they make no sound,

Yet if you’d have truly looked at me,

You’d have seen I’m not around.

For whispers resound through the tears and years:

“I am still not found”.

K. Aldaya, 5/2/18

Picture: http://sfwallpaper.com/image-post/7520-lonely-images-14.jpg.html

391. Resolution

He balances on the edge and walks,

The rusted railroad tracks,

And as he teeters-on, he talks…

To himself (as no one’s there).

How had the tracks, which seemed so straight,

Led him to this place?

Where winds tipped his weight,

O’er the edge of no return.

It’s funny how one simple choice,

Leads us down a path;

And how easy it is to follow that choice,

To the brink, without a thought.

One step and then another more.

Our fates, by steps, are set;

And even if we wish for more,

We can’t go back or regret.

He balances on the edge and walks,

The rusted railroad tracks,

And as the wind strengthens, he talks:

“Oh how I wish I’d looked up!”

K. Aldaya, 3/31/17

Picture: Originally from Alamy; https://www.timeshighereducation.com/books/review-the-trolley-problem-mysteries-f-m-kamm-oxford-university-press#survey-answer