Homecoming

1. The Death of Old Dreams

I used to have everything planned out.

I knew what I wanted to do in life; there was no doubt.

Life seemed better that way, walking with a path set before my feet.

But those dreams are dead. Now, almost nothing feels concrete.

I’m flying without a parachute and it feels like I’m falling.

My demons keep pulling me down; they’re constantly calling.

I feel like I’ve lost this battle, but I know I’ll win the war.

Because now, I’m taking the fight to it more than ever before.

2. Sweet Hollow Road

Now I’m back, driving down this street,

wondering if this is truly my defeat.

Does this change everything?

Will people look at me even more like a bird with a broken wing?

They’ll think that I’m weak and fragile, that I’ll easily break or that I’m already broken.

I have these thoughts of all these words that will never be spoken.

I come back to reality as I’m surrounded by the familiar sights.

The houses whose lights have lit this road on countless nights,

and the countless trees that stretch for miles in every direction.

Then, I see it: the house that, for the past eleven years, has been my protection.

It’s good to be home; I’m much closer to the ones that I love. But at the same time,

I forgot how lonely it can be. I’m left with little to do but sit here and write in rhyme.

I tell myself that I’ll get better, that I’ll find a better place.

I’ve been so frustrated. This is taking too long, it’s time to pick up the pace.

But I don’t know what to do. There’s no 12-step program for what’s wrong with me.

3. Tales of Another Broken Man

I feel so ashamed, I must apologize. I feel like I’ve failed once again.

I’ve still got all these problems in my brain.

Nobody’s perfect but I want to be stronger.

I don’t want be this way any longer.

Some people tell me I should I accept myself this way.

But I can’t do that, I’d just continue to decay.

So I keep fighting as long as I can.

Tales of another broken man.

4. To Whom It May Concern

“I’m worried about you. Your writing is so depressing.”

“It’s so dark and gloomy, I find it quite distressing.”

My writing helps me. It lets me express myself or it lets me escape reality for a minute.

For me, it’s better to write and let it out than to be mute.

Please don’t worry about me so much. I’ll be okay.

I’ve been feeling lost but, soon, I’ll find my way.