a red traffic light

a red traffic light

standing on your streets

like a drunk late-night driver

you let people break straight in

and you ask

why is that your thoughts are scattered?

like a hot coffee mug

lying on the table without a coaster

leaving a permanent mark

on these wooden plains of your memories

and when you look at yourself

you ask

why is it that you have scars?

like a broken car

sliding down a cliff

submerging into water

that lay beneath

and when you meet yourself down there

you ask

why can’t you breathe?

like a fish which lives in water

lost its way

caught in a plastic bag

and sold at a tiny village

when playing games

you are won by shooting a rubber duck

with a water gun

you wonder

why is it that love isn’t free?

you keep your sizzling plates

into the frigid zones to refrigerate

to enjoy the warm taste of your cuisine

and you wonder

why isn’t the world silent anymore?

inside of you lies a well

where the parts you thought were dead

lie screaming for help

filling your veins with noises you suppress

you wonder

why don’t you laugh anymore?

like a rubber band

stretched way too far

you hold onto your pain

and when it breaks,

you wonder why it hurts more

than it did in the beginning

like spilled coffee

on a late-night bed of sleepiness

you contain the tears

only the night knows of

and you wonder why

washing isn’t enough to remove the stains.

like slippers

lying beneath the bed

you wait for a set of feet

to walk the world with you

and yet you wonder why

the world isn’t big enough

for you to discover.

like dangling light bulbs

capable of lightning the darkest of nights

you wait for the switch

to light you up

and you stand in the darkness

wondering

breathing

lying against the stars

for light.