Year, 2020
open your eyes, stop dreaming
they’re all lies, stop screaming
the past have passed
the future is now present
a curse wrapped as a gift
a gift given to every peasant
cars are still humbled
images which the future defies
the gravity crumpled the memories
and the fantasies fly with its good byes

“where we’re going, we don’t need roads”
because it’s all dust, debris all over the crust
it’s all a bust, for men do it all for lust
it’s all on us, why every gold is married with rust
how can a society be so advance
go backwards as it forwards?
well, what do I know?
this ain’t no place for a hero.

hopped on a train
created by blood with every grain
crowded by strangers of with varying pain
with blank faces, and tears lost in the rain
slaves of our own creations
we are masters of no nations
defined by a single quotation
that leads to our own extinction
what’s real, and what’s not
doesn’t even mean a lot

a man created his equal
his equal, unparalleled
leaving his creator’s blood
in every component, a flood
this draws a line
between you and I
but as we talk
look eye to eye
there’s nothing left for me to do
when you are much better
with everything that I’m supposed to do

now, we’re all children of men
as you show the cards on your deck
hardly yours before
but in our memories it is,
for it is what you have you stored
our stories will soon be Jurassic
as yours park its writings on our attic
soon you will be real
and I will be the myth

I love how you show me the best
As you bring the beast out of me
as you put the rage in between what I could be
but age seems to be in favour of your beauty
I’m all alone until you came
You made me feel something real
while we’re in this reel
I love you
and
I hate you
for we are not the same

do you hear the symphony?
from machines hitting its high gear
the rhythm of humanity
lost in the very serenity
of a black water that was once clear
now that a mirror is made
between the two of us
we cannot run anymore
from the blade of an unknown trust

wake up
it’s a new year they say
still wearing the same tee
as the memories stay
what the fuck will be different today?
I’m surrounded by them
who are more human than me
maybe
maybe I’m going crazy
I feel like an alien
in my own reality

right now, it’s just me
in this room of uncertainty
it’s spreading, it’s taking over
I don’t know what this means
seems like it’s seeking for closure
now, the water is coming out
the spots reddening
like somehow, someway
it’s trying to shout
but no one hears
and no one sees
but me.
and only me.

it’s been three days
but the tree stay the same
dotted at almost every single frame
is there a way out of this?
can we stop it?
Shit.
I don’t know.
my mind is filled with dots
just like my skin
my eyes are still wide open
but can someone please, if you please
wake me up from this fucking dream

now it feels like
we’re slowly marrying our bed
whenever I stand up
I feel like I’m dead
a word that was slashed
by the sword of your truth
all of this splashed
because I took a bite from that fruit
shoot
here it goes again
stop this fucking pain

where this leads is beyond our minds
seems like a great topic for a symposium
where this leads is beyond our hearts
once the paranoia explodes
there it begins
the much awaited pandemonium

the wings of the dragons, humbled
bathing with its own blood
and the images of the past
drowns my mind with a flood
of tears married with my fears
and my peers carry the spears
that was once a part of me
now they are apart from me
I’m all alone and lonely

What are you?
Who are you?
your eyes materialized
a hammer that broke the iced wall
that blocks the fall of the stars
that I always try to call
what have you done?
will you ever be gone?
If not
stay

if we can no longer
play tag with time
can we just live
like there is no existence of crime?
the rhyme stays with the time
that says it’s time to do it
before it is all too late
forget the word quit
remove it from your plate
draw the skies with a rainbow
where it doesn’t have any ending
for it to overshadow hue
with beds for one another

few more days left
and it will all be over
so take that step
and start all over
now it is all over
no more words to use
no more scenes for clues
what more to write?

quiet
listen to my actions
look
close your eyes to the tensions
the time is heading to zero
as the lights feel like people
who were once here
who we all used to hear

what’s happening?
is it, could it be,
is this the day you’ve been waiting for?
but why is everything out of beat?
if this is really the day
am I ready for what’s in store?

WAIT.
THE WRITINGS ARE RUNNING.
SOMETHING IS COMING.
IS THIS THE ONE WE ARE WAITING FOR?

the skies are painted with clouds from our
mouth
as the colors present the shroud from the south
and what’s from the north shall see its rebirth
for it is the rise of the living dead
and the fall of the artificial
in their proper beds

now, my eyes are on a mission
as reality bends for the sake of someone’s
fantasy
the war within his thoughts
the war he questions in his heart
is now upon me
in front of me
am I ready for this?

united with the sun
as the lights passes through everyone
a silhouette rose from the thorns of the fishes
with a hand signaling a “war for peace”
and there it all goes.
the MADE, faces their makers.

an hour and a half later
a year of mistakes took over
the reality finally kicks in
that there are fantasies
that lie from within
now it is all a wasteland
a life of unknown
a world that stands
and eventually falls

back at it again
with stars falling from my eyes
now, who will be the hero?
If this place is not made for one?
now, my chances are zero
and the saviours are gone.

a day late
for something not so great
a poetry from someone
who was once one
a poetry from someone
who is now no one.

with a pen and a paper
what’s then, seems later
everything about the past
is now present to the future
a breathing, yet coded creature
turned out to be the catalyst
that starts a new culture

the sickness, the darkness
travelled faster than the light
as the sun fade to nothingness
forbidden to define the word bright
with all the skyscrapers
comes all these non-believers
holding on to a faith of the past
just so the economy will last

and then the lights came back
to spotlight where the attack lasted for days
those who won are still far from their winning
ways
losing the days that was once theirs
sacrifice for victory
lose for winning

there goes the teacup
falling to the shadows of the unknown
pushed by the words that I once have known
oblivious of the fact that the true was a lie
just before he could learn how to fly
the teacup shatters.

the darkness caved in
the pain slithered in
like a snake whose venom
caused a carnage
revealing the parasite from within

Is the year right?
For us to have so much light?
most of our lives can barely turn bright
as the venom flows in red water
no matter what’s on your shoulder
everything feels a lot heavier

the world witnessed
a world that insisted to be born
in between every thorn of a storm
a new chapter will begin
for a man who counts
electric sheep after electric ship
just for him to dream

days have passed
he is still sitting on the same bed
with the same woman
trying to rewind the voices in his head
a past that was present
while he thinks of their future
the last breath of lies and secrets define a
culture
from a scenery viewed as the one
but a cloud of him being the only one

he stood up
grabbed his coat
and went to oblivion
she stayed
seeing her dreams
deprived of any reason
once the dream ended
the vision closed
a mission failed
a world broken, broken again.
she was left, all on her own.

the paths crossed again
love and temptation
blurred lines in ignition
realizations after every misconception
bodies are down
faces filled with a frown
a crying clown
and a silent queen without a crown
he returned
to her delight
now, will he ever leave?
or, will he, continue to believe?

the clock is ticking, still.
is there any time left?
I still can’t remember
was I, awake the whole September?
what I feel
is all a nightmare
in the dark
I saw her
but here presence wasn’t there
as I remain unaware
of the revolution
against the evolution
of plastic silverware

his eyes talked
his mind walked
to the stories his eyes have told
a river of life
setting a date for death
and he kisses the smoke
from the dragon’s breath

the wasteland is looking for scavengers
and his blade is enough for the runners
fueled by redemption
inspired by a realization
that
“reality is not reality itself”
for artificial is where no natural is left

the view of the evening
images of selling
visuals of a beginning
but the ending
is left behind
in the dust
of
mankind
for the world will now be inhabited
by the superior kind.

the breeze that he once showered
the water he once breathes
the truth the he once lied about
is all a lie with a truth inside and out

Is it worth fighting for?
Altered memories, is that really what’s in store?
the shade of every color
the front is entirely different in its core
is the past genuine?
when it is written by ink
by the very ink
filled with lies

the stars lined up in his eyes
constellations of dead beings
hotter when in blue
everything fits like his own shoe
how can something
be so beautiful from afar
would be so close in being
the reason for your very last scar

play the game
before it plays you
say my name
before it speaks you
for a name
is not an identity
even the tongue of his mother
remembers, but decided to forget
how to even bother

travelled across the roads
of highs and lows
with loads on his shoulder
eyes that breaths like a river
swimming in the flood
for what is in store
even if in the end
a treasure is unsure

NO INK.
IN A WINK.
WHAT WAS ONCE ONE.
IS.
NOW.
ALL.
GONE.

with all the voices in my head
the smoke breathing in my lungs
the pain swimming in my heart
how the fuck am I still alive?

Smile?
Frown?
what’s the difference?
if it’s all done by the mask
rather than a straight face
a face whose phase
is out of pace
and pasted
now
I’m wasted

words of a man that grew as an artificial
with realism that was once beneficial
a life form, so to speak
with punctuations forgotten
whenever they speak

almost forgot
been through heaven and hell simultaneously
gave all that I have
and now I’m in
a world that is just a crack of reality
is the time running out for me?

my eyes flowed with every drop of the rain
lost in time, with every rise of the pain
when the chances lose its number
what more is there to remember?
should I still hang on to this thread?
a thread sharper than a knife?
or
is this
or is this my life?

poisoned by pleasure
devoured by pressure
caught on act
and suddenly
forgot how to act
if only I could take it back
if only I could, but, tick tock
doesn’t ring backwards for any clock
and the trick clock lost all of its magic

what more to say
when words will never
ever
find a way
to say
why I feel this way
just.
please.
don’t take her away.

reunited
joy.
stories.
for a moment
when it’s time to go back
I found myself under attack.
56 | E l r a y A l c a n t a r a
when will we quit again?
when there is no more chance
for an again
there are no more reasons to continue
time to say goodbye to what was once you
go
while there is still
a little bit of color of what was once you.

LIGHTS OUT.
EVERYDAY.
EVERYDAY.
LIGHTS OUT.
coins overpopulate my pockets
time is creating keyless lockets
what more to do
what more to say
need to see the patient.
.
.
.
.
to find signs if there’s any left of my patience.

shuffle before you stumble
crumple the paper
before the poems crumble
or forever be lost in the bubble
cards of misdirection
and challenges live
better think it through
before you get stuck
before you become unable to leave
for victory needs proof
before you learn to believe

AND
WHAT
SHOULD
I
WRITE
I
CANNOT
SEE
LIGHT

a paradise of imagination
for a price lesser than the incarnation
brought to you by
a story yet to be unknown
a story that was once unknown
willing to kill
just to feel guilt
just to feel alive
just feel that he isn’t a clone.

the light has returned
the flies are now burned
the giant wins against the dark
the light returned
but what will happen next
to the bulb that only works at night?

His words returned
for another chance
will this be it?
or will this be another hit?
this is the last page of the story
about a man that is almost human
realizing everything
after fighting his demons
and returning to His creator

finally, human –