Violet doesn’t compliment bloodshot eyes where fire burns
I learnt that from the mirror
While holding a latte; my holy grail
I was cycling
The wheels a mere idle spin
Every road was the exact same.
The same trees mothering calculus worksheets
The same kids living by “ignorance is bliss”
The same concrete that screamed a lack of life
Quivering on a tightrope, one foot in front of the other
But the end was an ominous cloud if there was one
Committed arson on my mind it was in flames
I glided through corridors like a phantom; my sombre face played the part well
Shakespeare’s four humours; melancholy
But I got sick of playing the phantom who rides the bike on the never-ending road
Went from a snag to a sycamore
Living the teenage thrill at twilight
Life is summed up in a beat-up pair of Nike Air Force Ones
Close my eyes; I’m Macbeth no more
But my life is no lazy river
Success is no stranger
Failure is still a foe
I live a double life
Crossing through comparative essays and mall eshays
A restoration of the teenage mind
Swam sideways from current to calm
They had a lot to say when I stopped slaving away
Told me I’d gambled it all for nothing like a middle-aged man at TAB
1994 Courtney Love
But they all just wanted a pet guinea pig to run the wheel for them
Alas, exploitation of the Yes Girl
A broken record; Miss World
Except then she snapped out of it and made something of her life
But that’s oh-such-a-shame
Two hours of another’s labour instead of seven is oh-so-devastating
Because yes is still a necklace that I wear
It’s just that I wear a lot more than one necklace
The ending of a children’s story
A prison break from your old life
A Madonna smile cured the corpse!
Those who exploit you will always be loudmouths
Especially when they are confined to your voicemail
Stubby little arms trying to reach into the cookie jar they spent so long depleting
Watchful eyes like eagles
A story of several clichés
But isn’t that the story of youth?
Losing and finding what was always there, while others commentate
If burn-out is just another episode of the reality show that is adolescence,
Then why not cut the cameras?