Redemption worthy

We all love a redemption story, and yet we can only stomach so much sin 
You have to be careful with how flawed you are to begin
Otherwise we judge, we view you as simply "bad"
Not worthy of the forgiveness the rest of us have had 

Humans are not a crafted narrative, falling in 3 acts 
We're simply trying to live, and hopefully not collapse
We take 3 steps left for each step back, moving forward once in a while
Even when the focus is on us, we rarely move in style

Find the family that believes, and the friends to follow through
We need support and structure, so you can define yourself anew
It doesn't have to be a clean or well written story
Just a realisation you are no longer who you used to be

Steroid sports

"They should let the athletes go on steroids"
Seems to always come from a particular type of folk
Often personally defensive and paranoid
Yet claims that you can't take a joke

Saying not as an aside or a stray idea
But something they really feel
So earnestly that I tend to fear
They don't think the athletes are real

Steroids harm your health. You know that right?
It's short term gain for long term loss.
You want a flame that already shines so bright
To explode. For them that's a fair cost.

I don't claim to have competed right at the top
But I have been close enough to witness
The barriers that would make a normal person stop
The pain towards trying to reach peak fitness

Try their regime for just a week, maybe just a day
And realise it's a human in those shoes
Yes there is joy and glory that make them that way
But it's still a tough life to chose

So, if after all that, you think it's not enough
It's worth the health of a human for a higher score
I think the issue is that you're just fake tough
Jealous of those that get to achieve more

Memory mirage

The past was real, we just don't live there anymore
It's our foundation from a time before
Forever gone, it seems condemned to be
Only accessible through memory

The memory, that flawed database
Not able to recall the details of a face
Just...the outlines of what I once lived out
Faded by nostalgia and years of doubt

And though my neurons seek to rewire
Capture new worlds with which to inspire
I must not forget the past I used to know
Lest it become a place I may never go