As Seen On the Internet: A (slightly modified) Compilation

by Jalen Cole

  And I'm sorry I couldn't help you navigate the light.

  To get you through the darkness, and to make things right.

  And my words can say much more than this poem really can.

  So I'm sorry I can't express how sorry I truly am.

  And I can remember a time where we weren't just sad.

  When we and our friends could even be glad

  But as time long past and times far gone.

  The past will stay where the past belongs.

  But know that from you, I learned the error in my ways.

  I learned to change, to make my own brighter days.

  Because you twisted and knotted destinies shape.

  You curled and ripped, and created your fate.

  You made the world what you wanted it to be.

  Or you tried, but that's all that matters to me.

  You won't become another martyr of sin.

  You'll enhance the burning passion within.

  You inspire me to do good for the good I hold.

  You inspire all of us to make everyone behold.

  For inside of us burns the flame of life.

  A flame that burns light into the darkest strife.

  So, Dear Erin, you show me even in death.

  That life can be more than just breath after breath.

  You show me that what I do really matters.

  And that even when my world starts to shatter.

  I can pick up, and start over again.

  All I need to do is believe now and then.

 

  Leid – For the time I thought I felt love in my heart

  The rain fell evenly through the night

  Thunder screaming, lightning burning bright

  I heard a strange sound come from beside

  My phone, buzzing, singing an injured leid

  I answered, but she spoke before me

  Her voice came through determined, but still shaky

  “I have a question for you…

  If I said I love you, would you say it, too?”

  Silence is frightening, stagnant, deepening

  Each second counting down when I know she’s listening

  So I searched my heart and mind alike

  Thought through every kiss, talk, hug, and fight

  I didn’t know how to answer so suddenly

  “All I want is to make sure you’re happy.”

  It wasn’t a lie, but it was all I could offer

  The most neutral thing I could think to say to her

  And I could hear a sigh from the other end

  Then, I knew what I had to mend

  So I started, “I have a question for you…

  If I said I love you, would you say it, too?”

  Silence is frightening, stagnant, deepening

  Seconds flying by in the between

  Her voice didn’t come through, determined or shaky

  I didn’t hear anything, she must’ve hung up, maybe.

  Dearest Erin – For the time my memory deceived me

  It’s been six years since we were together,

  Four since communications fell apart

  Two since I tried talking to you again

  One since you broke my heart

  --

  It’s been so long, my memories aren’t even clear now

  --

  The hard part is, I had faith in you

  I believed you were strong

  But, hey, jumping down a few stories

  That’s a hell of a way to prove me wrong

  --

  No one but me even remembers you

  --

  And now I don’t even know who I’m writing for

  I can’t even afford that luxury anymore

  --

  Which leads me to believe…

  --

  Now all I’ve got is memories of us

  Memories I can no longer trust

  --

  You’re nothing but a complex of my memory

  --

  So I won’t remember, I’ll let you go

  For all the time we shared that we didn’t at all, I’ve got nothing left to show.

  And Now – For the time I dabbled in song writing

  Long ago: the planet we stood on was flat

  And everyone accepted it as ordinary fact

  Then we unraveled the truths disguise

  Then we sent space ships up into the skies

  (And now) We all know of the blue marble’s majesty

  We all know you can sail from sea, to shining sea

  We all know circumnavigation

  Was the foundation

  Of the world

  /

  We are better, 

  than our predecessors. (And now)

  We know better, 

  than our ancestors. (And Now)

  We must choose, 

  Win or Lose…

  The course of our world.

  Untitled – For the time I felt uncharacteristically hopeful

  Fight not for the stories of old

  Fight for the ones yet to be told

  The stories that dare to make us dream

  The stories that make our futures gleam 

  Stories that can boil our blood

  Stories that bring tears to flood

  Stories that make us cheer for more

  Or stories that make us tired and bored...

  The stories of new, the next best thing

  Not the stories of old, the last regime 

  Where the past held lessons to be learned

  The future gets something inside of us to burn

  A yearning, a sense, an idea, a thought

  Something for which we have fought and fought

  a better day, a happier life

  A brighter smile, and an end to all strife

  So don't grab for the dreams of long lost dates

  Aspire for the dreams you've yet to make