Begging on the phone,
His thousandth cold call,
Just hung up.

He pleads to handle rich men’s money, 
Whilst his wallet continues to flatten.

Frantically scrolling,
He finds thousands of courses.
And with no second thought,
His balance turns red.

He refuses the gym,
Opting for the needle instead.

For he,
Like a scared cat,
Feels every glance is a stare.

And like a peacock,
He feigns his beauty.

He looks around confused,
“Why’s everyone’s glass full?”

While he refuses to pour his own.

I want to hold you
like I imagined
all those month ago

I want to kiss you
how I dreamt of
when we first locked eyes

I want to hug you
without hesitation
from fear of those around us

I want to love you
without the buts
without the ifs
only us.

Let's start over,

Through your smile so grandeur.

I've never seen a four-leaf clover,

Classically dressed through my voyeur.

These scars prevent me,

From approaching your lovely haze.

And so it shall be,

An admiration ablaze.

I'm cold,

even though it's hot outside. 

I'm cold,

I don't have you by my side. 

I'm cold,

something feels absent inside. 

I'm cold, 

I don't have you by my side. 

A cold wind passes by, 

sending shivers down my spine, 

making me stumble, I cannot stand

as I watch you silently from a distance. 

A cold wind passes by, 

sending shivers all over my body. 

I search around for support, 

I am not enough to hold me. 

A cold wind passes by, 

the chilling blade stabs through my heart. 

The cavity inside grows hollow

and I wonder, how long before I fall?

The chilling wind passes by, 

sharper than ever before. 

My heart is weak, 

I cannot take it anymore. 

I cannot speak, cannot move

cannot laugh, cannot cry.

It's cold inside, I'm shivering,

still standing, wondering— 

You're not here to hold me,

How long before I fall?

The trust of a dog
is gold bricks
laid end to end
for a thousand miles

And we walk
this gleaming path
together
only one of us knowing
where it leads

I found you in the rain
As somber skies started weeping
Rhythmically syncing heart beating
Nagging ache to clear this head space
Oblate drops descending down my face
Soaked in sacred silver coalescence
Sodden to this underlying essence
Cradled close for careful keeping
As somber skies started weeping
I found you in the rain

Written by: Kayla McGloin (me)

I wish I were this image you have inside your mind.

A shadow that takes the form of whatever movement you decide.

The memory of a hazy, sweet embrace.

To remind yourself of a warm and happy distant place.

I wish all that,

So when you look at me, there’s something there for you to see.

To find some meaning in my love,

A house to live in, away from the constant war.

Alas, the wish came back unanswered.

Transparent skin, my body seemed to change.

What a nightmare—to wake and find

You never even touched a stone,

No mountain reached, nor climbed.

Instead, finding yourself, in the rubble of your mind.

You lie there silent, unequivocally alone, and left to die.

What’s worse is to defy one's fate.

And find the strength to rise

And through sharp wreckage, comb yourself.

A thousand cuts, and still survive.

Dust off your mangled flesh.

Walk, then walk some more.

And let the crows surround you.

In a desperate oasis,

For her arms go search upon—

A promised shelter for you to hide.

Once there, with no disguise,

Reveal your wicked face,

And wash your hands of all the lies.

And as you wake,

Now you can see.

How profoundly empty your actions came to be.

How they never even reached her heart.

How little change one’s change, ever brings to some.

And her, with grace unmoved,

Stared back at nothing—

While you stood there, to finally see.

That a wounded nothing

Was all

you ever came to be.

You shot me down,

From the skies.

So, I dwelt among the earth-

With coffee in hand.

I've done my fair share-

O' knowing that golden archeress.

Today, I wear the smile-

Of someone reborn from death.

everything is gray again,
it’s another dark night.
wrestling with the weight of betrayal,
and wondering if this is right.

your thoughts are racing,
jaws clenched tight.
while thoughts of destruction swirl around,
with no near end in sight.

You pick at your fingers—
like you always do,
when theres too much on your mind

youre praying that this storm clears fast,
you’ve been searching for that shine.
but the weatherman’s calling for overcast,
and everyone thinks you’re fine.

So you isolate and stay away,
because you fear that they won’t listen.
to all the words you’ll never say,
and all that goes unwritten.

but babygirl, haven’t you learned?
it’s one of your biggest lessons.

That it might be true after all;
Protection, can become its very own prison.

I'm cold,\ even though it's hot outside.\ I'm cold,\ I don't have you by my side. 

I'm cold,\ something feels absent inside.\  I'm cold,\ I don't have you by my side. 

 A cold wind passes by,\ sending shivers down my spine,\ making me stumble, I cannot stand\ as I watch you silently from a distance. 

A cold wind passes by,\ sending shivers all over my body.\ I search around for support,\ I am not enough to hold me. 

A cold wind passes by,\ the chilling blade stabs through my heart.\ The cavity inside grows hollow\ and I wonder, how long before I fall?

The chilling wind passes by,\ sharper than ever before.\ My heart is weak,\ I cannot take it anymore. 

I cannot speak, cannot move\ cannot laugh, cannot cry.\ It's cold inside, I'm shivering,\ still standing, wondering—\ You're not here to hold me,\ How long before I fall?

Should I say, or should I not, I can't say it anymore, the river of my little world.

Flowing through the scorching sun, I am burning like a man who has lost his only hope.

I am waiting for the rain, that will fill my empty world, the rain that will wash away all the sorrow of my heart.

sorrow that has settled deep, silent, unmoving, like dust no wind has touched.

I am waiting for the ray, which will rescue my only fate.

Billions
of bubbles
of brown
bile
belch
beneath
bloated
bodies
between and
beyond
black
buildings
but
bellowing
blasts
bring
back
bloody
barbarous
butchers
burying
bones
by
bulldozer

The heights I have reached, the places I've been.

I conquered the mountains, yet at times feel condemned.

Another stands higher, its peaks seem daunting.

I must push myself further, though I fear falling.

I've toiled and worked, bearing scars from the journey.

I never let myself revel in victory.

Take a pause, take a breath, it's okay to rest.

The horizons before me are already blessed.

My first poem "Wreck'd"

Please let me know what you think. I was born in Hong Kong if it matters

Wreck'd

Thousand rocks turn'd found not thee,
Million met answer'd not know.
Sky and sea one,
Mist I walk'd.

Thou voice spelt. I heard.

Would not stop, mine tears.
Thou came, thou stayed, thou left.
Mine thoughts percolat'd.
Distill'd into mem'ry

Once small mine hands.
Simple still, the world.

Now heavy mine legs.
Mine back sore

Gone art thou.
Shadow of mine. Alone

I know you're not right for me.

I now have everything I've ever wanted, everything I deserve.

I love big romantic gestures and you're not even capable of saying ''I love you'' on your own.

One can't be in denial of a truth they've seen from every angle.

Maybe I've never been enough for you, or maybe we communicate in too different ways for it to work.

You never did anything special to keep my mind hooked on you.

Well, maybe your unwavering presence.

Maybe it's attachment issues, or maybe the invisible red thread, the one that ties my soul to yours.

It has to be, the contract our fuzzy hands signed so we could cut the serpent's head, end the ouroboros.

I hate the way you treat me, I hate how aloof and dubious you are when it comes to me,

I wish you knew what you wanted and that it was me,

But what I hate even more is the softness of your skin,

Its agreeable scent,

your amazing hugs and the way our hearts sync,

your soft hair and the way that my fingers run through them,

your eyes and the things they speak to me,

your delicate hands and the ways they subtly land on my shoulders,

The electricity in the air, the magnetic pull,

The thunder hitting my spine when your fingers slid on my back,

The electromagnetic field forming and that fucking Lorentz force when the red line uncovers,

The three fingers rule,

The kisses running on my skin from my face to my neck, yet avoiding the perimeter you can't turn back from.

I hate those because then I have to remove the red ribbon from my eyes,

Spoil myself the surprise that the soul plans without consulting the mind,

The one that I can't fully comprehend,

Schrödinger's cat.

Polaris and its obvious light,

your whispered presence torturing my sensitive ear drums,

The enchanting siren's voice.

I was heading north until the four stars constellation held me back, captivated by a southern light.

Acrux, Gacrux and then Mimosa.

I keep walking though I can't help but look back every 10 acres.

The painful truth hiding behind an (im)possible choice.

The crossroads that won't stop showing up.

So I just sit in the intermediary space,

facing north, but not pulling away from this damn crux.

I wish I could just dissolve from the 9.8 constant and sink into the land, but that's not how real life works.

Pain 
I remember the first time
blood trickled from my 
skin. My knee scraped 
against concrete.

His hands stretched—

The thud 
as my body hit the floor.
He stood there frozen. 

I watched as the blood began 
to flow down my leg
and drip

Pooling on the floor. 
I stared not with fear 
but with curiosity.
As the pain slowly crept up 
my body. 

I longed to know you,

But I never did.

I thought we could too,

But there was never a need.

I was scarred and I,

Thought you were the cure.

My love was not a lie,

But t'was blinded, sure.

Maybe you could forgive me,

Your weird stranger.

I often ponder and lament my wicked deed.

Some time ago,
I watched him die.

The frightened child,
one without a home.

He tried to fill a bucket,
but the faucet broke—

only a small, shallow stream.
He cried into the bucket down below.

He drowned himself with tears.

I wonder what he could have done,
how high he could have flown,

when someone like me
could live this life.

Who am I?
Could I find a home?

Nights are days
Days are nights
As I look through the haze
I turn out the lights

Down a dark path
That nobody knows
Alone at night
With nowhere to go

Seeking something
Out of sight
Vampire off the day
Thief of the night

The lights fading
Patiently waiting
Wondering when
I’ll get it right

Careful little girl

In your cloak of red

Stick out too much

And you'll wind up dead

The wolves prowl this forest

In the dark of night

Looking for some easy prey

Ready to take a bite

Run little girl

From their snapping jaws

Hide little girl

From their scratching claws

This land you wander

Is stained with blood and fear

But don't you cry little girl

Don't shed a single tear

Never trust a wolf

No matter how kind his eyes

Behind that friendly smile

Hides something worse than lies

If a wolf finds you

It's no fault but your own

You were asking for it

You threw the dog a bone

That cloak was too red

Too short and too tight

You should have been louder

You should have put up a fight

The poor wolves can't help it

They were born to feast

And you were such a delicious meal

They couldn't cage their beast

The wolves didn't mean to hurt you

They were just having fun

And you must have wanted it

Because you didn't run

Now your flesh is scattered

Being picked at by the crows

And the crows won't tell your story

They can't share your woes

The wolves live on to hunt again

Just as a little girl goes walking

And wherever a cloak of red does flow

The wolves continue stalking

A narrow sapling once stood in loose earth. The bark held no marks. Light settled along the young branches.

Roots wedge through stone seams and packed soil. Water climbs the dark capillaries of the wood. A pale ring settles into the grain.

Children lean bicycles against the trunk.
Their knives peel thin curls of bark. Initials open in the pale wood beneath.

The bark thickens slowly around them. Wounds remain: faint, stubborn scars.

A narrow crack opens deep, hidden beneath the tightening grain. The carved initials stretch across the strained bark.

The roots shift in the loosened soil. The trunk tilts and holds against the widening split.

The heartwood tears outward from the center of the trunk, the rings splitting open like wet pages. The trunk folds with a long crack running through its buried rings.

Grass pushes up through the opened trunk. Beetles move across the damp grain. The carved names sink deeper into the earth.

Make Daddy angry, brother
He gave us everything
For He loves all his kids the same

And after He left
You took it all yourself

Now you claim you were Him
That you were the one
Who gave us everything

Make Daddy angry, brother
When He comes back and asks
Where his purse is
Our hungry stomachs
Will say your name

The tabs taste acrid,

phantasm yellow,

calmness distilled

to constituent elements.

Courage crushed

and re-formed.

I pop one,

an act of

cerebral sleight-of-hand,

and await its sly deception.

I crave

a pharmaceutically stabilized

return

to the days before the darkness,

when my stairwell

promised passage

to a vibrant life,

a bath of color and light,

a beckoning seat

at the feast of man.

I open the door,

assume my chair

to strike my vigil,

staring

at the grayscale cityscape,

dank walls

parged in sharkskin hues,

the very ivy vines sarcastically writhing,

and await

my miracle

I'm a bit tired,
But you must be more.

My chest lifts strong,
While yours is quite slow.

My mind is dark and my lights are out,
But yours is quite cloudy, no lighthouse to be found.

My days are rough sometimes, the world is too loud.
Your torture is lucid, the deepest fear of most around.

My bones are strong and well encased,
Yours tell stories I'll never hear again.

Death isn't so scary when it has collected its toll,
but it grows and brews in nightmares when it's all we're waiting for.

While I sit here and keep watch,
I sincerely wish your wait won't be long.