The Branch

Tying knots for hours

Like the ones that simmer in my stomach

Hoping that this practice makes perfect   

Because this road ends on my terms

The sun illuminates my last cruise

Into the abyss of all that has consumed me.

My goodbyes have been sealed by my heavy heart

That will soon float like a feather

On the precious minds of those who remember

- Marley Isley

Resilience

The pain I’ve weathered has placed me lifetimes ahead of the elders that surround me

I dream of the bliss of ignorance that dances in their softened minds

I fear I wallow in the loss I hold so dear to my heart

The loss of who I could’ve been.

Without the trials of wretched,

I would’ve blossomed without fear attached to

My innocent eyes

They have eclipsed, now treading on the past

On an endless loop

If I hold on any longer to the cries for help that barely left my pursed lips

I will be incinerated from the raging fire that contains my inner being

Nothing eases the burden of knowledge

That was forcibly burned into my soul

-Marley Isley

Cinderella

It should be easy to let go

I have every reason to

But somehow I remain afloat

Drifting into dissociation

Every second slipping away

It’s this familiar feeling

That swallows me any moment I remember that  it exists

Everything that burned scars into my soul

Multiplied into a million different thoughts

That festers in my mind

Until I’ve convinced myself I’m an imposter in my own reality

If anyone saw the world through my eyes

I’m not sure if they would make it

Congratulations becomes tainted with loneliness

Because success never seems to fill the void

I could be a hero

Putting someone’s life before mine

But in the same breath

I’m not taken seriously

For things I never could control

Forcibly trying to fit in a life

That I couldn’t live up to once everything caught up to my soul

I must be addicted to suffering

Fighting the never ending battle against myself

Every detailed plan frustrating my fragile being

I have played God one too many times

Attempting to pull the plug that leads to my heavy heart

Dedicating myself to this dream of freedom

But never really breaking free

Love,

Marley Isley

A.J.S.

The sound of your voice torments my thoughts

And your touch eats away at my conscious mind

These aren’t rose colored glasses.

You’ve turned my vision black

And there’s nothing I can do to return to the girl

I once knew before you preyed upon my soul

Everyone was sound asleep

When the breath was taken from my lungs

By the grip of your cowardly hands

But I wouldn’t dare make a sound.

Trapped in a glass box while they watched my misfortune unfold

I wanted to throw stones and knives to break noise

Like the bullet you left at my doorstep.

But all that I managed was

I still love you

You didn’t know I was counting on you to do it

So I wouldn’t have to remember the moments of my life I’ve wasted on the monster that consumes you

- Marley Isley

Weeping Willow

I weep in agony

Until the blood vessels break apart

And a pool of red splatters my eyes

I weep in agony

Until my pillow is stained

Puddling a sponge bath of my tears

I weep in agony

Watching how effortlessly you love everyone

Except me.

Brief moments of needing a mother

Quickly turn to resentment

How many times will..

I weep in agony.

Like a star without a galaxy

Watching the world slip from its hands

-m.j.i.