Casual Christmas

 As I walk down this crowded road

Where the Christmas tree stands center

And glows with its bright lights

The ornaments fall off like nuclear bombs

Shattering on the floor

One for hope, another for happiness

Shatter for me, like old dreams

With the people on the street

All look at me with pity

They look down

Because I have no Christmas spirit

My insides are empty

Happy emotions have left

And the sad ones are here to stay

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

I Don't Understand

 As I get locked up

And get the old common glare

The concept of shunning

Is already the definition of me

The emotion that I feel

Emptiness as some call it

Others say depression

But me I don't understand

What they call happiness

Or hopefulness

Is just another mystery

To my constant confused self

I don't understand

What it means to have a friend

My personal life sentence

For being different, has set off a signal

This signal that people see

That always happens to surround me

Is an invitation to tease

Or just blame me

Harsh punishment,

As I considered it

Has faded into ignoring of the ignorant

That's usually me

I don't understand

How people get along

Or just cling on, to the optimism

That falls from the sky

Good optimistic emotions

That flutters on the common boy's fingers

And glows inside of people

I'll never understand

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

Late Nights

Late night

Going out alone

Get lost

Don't know where to go

With all these streets

No one sleeps 

I'm down

All the way at the pier

I might jump

I don't have much fear

With all this water

It makes me wonder

What's life

What's it all about

Sweet gigs

Or am I just missing out

With all these trees

I'll never leave

Walk home

Confused and surprised

That I

Made it out alive

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

The Glass

Every second
Of every day
Seems to be 

Laid out for me 

But there's always

That one thing

That we all do

That we all sing

At first, it's music

To our ears

But then it causes 
All our fears

It says, friend

And with every action

And every word

It shatters our glass

That can only be mended with time

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

One Bright Night

 As the lights go out

And each house seems to shrink

As I walk through the silent streets

Just a pedestrian forgotten

I go to the place that I call my home

I walk alone aided by only a firefly

That turns my dark path into light

He comforts me with his small smiles

Halbert is what I've come to call him

He responds to that name

As well as my comments

When I talk to myself

He answers my questions

With his morse code

And flies all around me

Just to say he's happy to see me

We arrive at a locked gate

Its sign says no trespassing

I sit down on an empty bench

With Halbert on my shoulder, we fall asleep

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

Behind the Glass

 For these past few years

Behind this glass

I have sat and stared

At the images that seem so clear

Are just distorted memories that appear

The shadows that I used to watch

Walk past me, like I'm not really here

The determined shadow, on the other side

Take no thought of those that hide

Whether it be out of fear

Or of some tear, that won't be seen

The glass welcomes all

It told me come one come all

I ran to its beck and c all

And have stayed ever since

Those that come for comfort

Do not realize the worth of others

For if I ever escape 

And see the face of an old friend

I will look at them with an unbroken smile

And forget what that dim room can do to oneself

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

The Invisible Friend

 In every classroom, and every school

There is someone, who's thought a fool

Whether they are smart, or they are not

They get turned down without a thought

They turn to the desk on the left

And ask their invisible friend

Who do you think I am?

The Invisible friend just puts on a smile

And looks around for a while

The friend finally looks them in the eyes

But says nothing

That's when they realize that their invisible friend

Who was once so real in their mind

Is now just a shadow in their eyes

So the fool walks home

With no friend by their side

With hopes of finding a new one

Somewhere inside

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

If I Was a City

 As cars drive by

And the pedestrians go their own way

I stand among the crowd

Just a tiny speck of the world's beauty

If I was a city

Nobody would go unnoticed

No one would feel like just a speck

Or have any fear

If I was a city the buildings and houses

Would always rise a little higher

Not one cloud would be ignored

Each one noticed for its worth

If I was a city

No road, wall, or sign

Would be vandalized

For vandalism is an element of mistrust

In my city

Where all of these things, tend to exist

I close my eyes, my only anecdote

To get the worst of the world out

If I was a city

All thoughts would be turned to good

There would be no grudges

But it's only in my mind

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

The Vacant Room

 In a brightly lit room

Where no one lives

Or even looks at

It sits waiting

With the walls painted red

As well as the floor and ceiling

Cracks with time that's not spent

The mood is that of a chamber

Or a cell for a prisoner

The sadness drips from above

The room wants a visitor

Or perhaps someone who's willing to stay

Some say that it would be happier if it was stolen

The room with its coat of red

Stands alone waiting

With its purpose hesitating

Its door opens

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

In the Past

 This week is hopeless

It's far too long

But just like the rest

Its come and gone

I miss the days

We used to have

Where only you and me

Talked about the good and bad

Memories of us

Hang on the wall

But time and time again

They tend to fall

I remember a time 

About last year

I know I wasn't ready

But you helped stop my fears

That was in the past

I'm still here

But now you're gone

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

Fallen

 From the moment I met her

Everything changed

She's like a new umbrella

During the rain

Whenever I'm around her

My world gets unchained

Like flowers in the spring

It's all that I need

Like a ray of sunshine

She brings smiles to everyone's face

Wherever she is time stops just for her

Now that she's gone

I'm fallen from love

With my heart stolen

I stand here alone

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

As love goes

 Just like the stars

She's the one that sparkles in a crowd

With people who all are the same

Yet each one is slightly different

I remember the way she used to smile

And introduce me to her friends

The way she would toss her hair

Without knowing it

Now love hangs on a string

Just for me

Like being put in a maze 

And seeing if I will come out

That's all it is

Love is only a test

But the trouble is

Knowing if you will pass

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

Bright things

 When dark clouds storm over

It's your bright stare

That chases them off

Because where happiness lies

There never can be any sadness

Or any wrongs

Though hills might separate us

And distance may help along

Just know that when we're away

We won't stray, we'll find a way home

I'm sorry for the time that I wasted

I know it's not fair

That life scares some off

I know that when I feel alone

It's your bright stare

That shows care and love

Wherever you are

Sunshine follows

Though darkness may make light weaker

You make it strong

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

Your Average Valentine's Day

 I walk this lonely road
With only a few who pass
Each person has a pair

Who walk with smiles

The missile that they call love

Like every year misses me

By just an ear

To help someone different

Each person that falls backward

Can only be grateful for the new life

That has been given them

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

Letter to Love

Here I stand burning
In the fire of self-pity
Some have said that I have no heart

But you tell me otherwise

Through all of my dark days

And all the bright ones too

You told me I'd be there for you

Through the times of life

Where there is no trouble or strife

You said it would be different

I know when you burn up

Or have some trouble

I will always be there for you

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson 

My Girl

 On an Island

Where sunsets are far more beautiful

Than all the scenery of earth

I stand here alone with my girl

I stand frozen

As she walks down the beach

Brown hair flying in the afternoon wind

Never stops to move me

We sit down

And watch the blue waves rush

As the water touches our feet

And calms us

We look up to the sky

Where the sun falls

And changes the blue sky to orange

Just to switch the mood

She taps my shoulder

With her silk soft finger

And motions for me

To get up

We walk into the forest

Where all the pine trees grow

And go to the houses, which we have made

For any traveler that may get stranded

She looks at me,

With eyes that are bluer than the ocean

She smiles.

As we go our separate ways

For the night

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

My Last Note

 Here I stand

With ten thousand swords pointed at my throat

I fight for you

With myself frozen

I burn my white flag

To show everyone that red flag

Which tells them to step back

Although you may move on

And so will everyone else

Losing you would be worse

Than ten million bullets to the heart

My heart is my home

And there's nobody else

So it sits there

With no room to roam

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

My Rose

When roses are ruined
The petals fall off 

The wind picks them up

Just like the seasons

In rooms full of poison

We are the cure

We are the light

That will cease it

Tonight

The hunt will start

For us

But we don't need them

Because you're my violet rose

The only one that knows

What we are

Through the dark night

I will take flight

Just this one ride

Is for freedom

If a battle takes place

We'll look at deaths face

But its cold embrace

Can't concede us

Tonight

The hunt will start for us

But we don't need them

Because you're my violet rose

The only one that knows

What we are

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

Something Like My Love Song

 If you ever walk through empty streets

Or find somewhere, that's not complete

If the path ever strays, and you get lost

I'll be there for you

If there are ever people that you meet

That don't treat you like they should

I will come and find you

Because you're something like me

And if my love song ever does repeat

It is all because of you

If you get caught in flames

Or begin to drown in the deep sea

I'll be there to carry you

If you don't look down

You will not fall out

From this strange world

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

The Night is Ours

 I still remember 

The way that you smiled

It was in the summer

When I loved

Do you rememnber

The way that we danced

With the soft melodies

Playing

The stars that would twinkle

Always made us glow

In that dark Summer

When I loved

Now that you're away

Miles off the road

I sit and wonder

If I will love

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson

My Song to Love

Tell me now

Tell me how you feel

Am I yours

Or is this just surreal

Oh I know

The place that we call home

The Place that people go

Is just another field

There are those 

Those people who say I love you

They don't know how I feel

So tell me now 

How is it that you walk past me

When you're around

I just always feel relieved

It's always me

That is so quiet

Nobody really sees

So they don't know how I feel

We always run

From other people

Going after gold

So tell me now

Tell me how you feel

(c) 2019 Tanner Stevenson