Never

That novel that I never wrote

Is something that you'll never quote;

The characters that never spoke

Rose to a dawn that never broke.

The mountains that I never scaled

Were met by legs that never failed.

The snowy peaks I never saw

Were cold enough to never thaw.

The friendships that I never made

Were full of games I never played,

And laughter that I never shared,

Pretending that I never cared.

For all the things I’ll never try,

Before the day I'll surely die,

I promise that you’ll never see

The fearless man I’ll never be.

Bad Mood

Don’t cross my path today,

Avoid my searing gaze,

Be careful where you step,

Don’t look to me for praise.

I've warned you many times,

Implored you to retreat,

Begged you to take cover,

Before I overheat.

Some stray spark’s ignited

The tinder in my heart.

Soot and ash are falling;

It’s best that you depart.

No Safe Distance

There is no distance safe enough

Once we've become entwined.

My fuse was lit some time ago

By circumstance unkind.

I regret that I’m constructed

Of such explosive stuff

And efforts to reduce the risks

Are never quite enough.

Perhaps a bright red warning sign

Should hang below my neck,

Screaming aloud to those nearby

“You’d better hit the deck.”

So perpetual combustion

Propels me through the years,

Laying waste to those around me,

Compounding all my fears.

Mediocrity

We’re seldom as good as our best

And rarely as bad as our worst.

The middling is where we repose,

Spectating last and first.

In youth we imagine greatness:

No obstacles to block our way,

But passing years dampen the spark

Yielding to beige and gray.

This vision may seem quite dreary,

The lament of an unskilled hack,

But we’re straddling the bell curve

When talent’s what we lack.