This organic heart

And against all the odds
     this organic heart of mine beats

I was a chance birth
Hey,
  we all were.

The odds of my strands of DNA
Expressing themselves in my particular way
To lead to me, the person standing here right now today
Man, it makes me shudder.

And then, all life has thrown at me so far
The stresses
  the pains
    the heartbreaks
      the actual, physical dangers: like cars or lightning.
Or older brothers.

And I've needed blood in my muscles
  and I've needed blood in my brain
    because I need ENERGY
  to survive.
And, sometimes, to run.

So it has worked hard
On a not very efficient system
With a user who has read the manual
     but refuses to follow any of the instructions

And, against all the odds
     this organic heart of mine beats

It's not beautiful

It's not beautiful he said regretfully
Don't get this guy wrong, he said it respectfully
But it was the tone of a man, who wished very strong
For a piece of insight that would prove his instinct wrong

But there it was, stark, plain, and true.
A piece of art his friend had worked on for six months through.
The friend had toiled, become nigh on a recluse
They'd made their soul a point of abuse
They'd clearly poured out the blood, their sweat, their heart
For what seemed a very unappealing piece of art.

In fact, it scares me he added with bravery
Knowing the friend had worked through slavery
Not getting funds, or money, or anything at all
Save for this monstrosity, stood 8 feet tall

It pained him, but he had to be honest
And slight lie the friend would detect and admonish
And he owed it to this friend of old
Who deserved to know, deserved to be told
This statue was scary, it would surely haunt many dreams
Followed by waking, to cold sweat and screams.

..

..

I know the friend said with a wry smile
Who had, after all, been working on it all the while
And, bizarrely, he seemed pleased with the man.
Scary is how I had it planned.

Art isn't always nice, but it hits home hard
Like the shocking prediction of a tarot card
I've poured out all the things in life I find petrifying
And now - don't you feel alive? Isn't it electrifying?
For months I have toiled, and now it's done
This art changes you, makes you become someone

He was right, though the man wished desperately the reverse
This friend had found art in the utterly perverse
He nodded in agreement, and wished his friend well
Trying to ignore the art formed in hell

It is no bad thing to dance

It is no bad thing, my friend, to dance.
To lose your mind and to enter a trance.
To forget the world. Forget its pains.
And bang your head without refrain.

Raise your arm. Wiggle it around.
Shake a leg. Give the air a pound.
Jump. Jump again. Jump. Jump again.
Get low. Don't like it? Get up then.

You do you. Nothing else will do.
Be yourself, through and through.
And if the person who you are jams to funk?
Then you jam hard and shake that trunk.

Jive to jazz. Get energetic with electro.
Ball up your worry and just let it go.
To Disney. To punk. To hip hop and to rap.
If it's how you want to move then it won't be crap.

Just don't be afraid. Don't be scared.
Don't judge either - leave your mind unimpaired.
And never forget, if you have the chance.
That it is no bad thing, my friend, to dance.

I've slept since then

If it's a while since I've seen a friend

If it's been many moons, then I can't even pretend

That I recognise them, sometimes. But that's just how life goes

Time as has marched onwards and I simply tell them

I've missed you. But I've slept since then

You see, sleep is the barrier. The reworking of our minds

It's the internal engineer, fixing what they find

Chucking out this. Presenting me with that

Giving me ideas and taking them too

I don't believe dreams are something you just sleep through

So even if it's only been a couple days

Since the last time that we parted ways

And a story or name has slipped by cumbersome mind

Then I hope they understand when

I tell them, I've slept since then

I've dreamt of dragons, dreamt of knights

Where I fought the darkness, became the light

I learnt to fly. And then, without reason, forgot

I've visited plants and stars and places entirely blue

I don't believe dreams are something you just sleep through

So, here's the kicker. When it hasn't been a while

Just a few short hours since I saw your smile

Sometimes, it still feels like an age. Like a lifetime

That's when I have to admit and tell them

Quite simply, I've slept since then.

Like, seriously.

I sleep a lot.

Sometimes once a day.

Sometimes three times a day.

...

Yeah. So, sorry if I've done this to you.

One of my friends wrote a very cool poem where the tag line was 'I've slept since then', and it was a reflection of their ability to get over events. They very kindly allowed me to use their tag line for this piece of nonsense.