The Kingdom of If
Is a lovely place
The only ever fantasy
I’d ever be able to live
Out

I whisper the name
Of its protective
Deceptive
Conceptual
Walls and I
Feel like I’m home
In ways this drab reality
Which
Tears me down with its
Battering rams of
Incessant disappointments
And failure to live up
To the beauty of
Impossible
Impenetrable
Ever glistening
Kingdom of If
Could not
Do for me

1.
Let me paint you a picture of my situation right now. Actually, we don't have time for that. Let me draw you a rough sketch. I'm tied to a chair. For reals. Like a mystery thriller drama. Over me, are standing two dark figures. Leering. Yes, they are actually leering over me. Behind me? I'm not really sure what's behind me seeing as we've got the whole tied of thing going on right now. Let's just scribble in a bunch of blackness because it definitely feels like cold wind from some void blowing up my back.

A tempestuous sea is surrounding me
I’m in a raft built with my hands
The waves toss and pull me with glee
I start to drown, hopeless of land

Falling upon the broken boards
I cry out in grief and shame
I hadn’t sought or searched my Lord
And so I was to blame

I wept aloud distraught and broken
Begging for forgiveness there
But then the sun began to open
Leaving the sea calm and fair

She walks through the day in her tippy high-heels,
With her eyes straight ahead, no one knows how she feels,
'Cause her Maybelline face never cracks, never peals;
And she begins again,
Just the way it’s been,
Each morning.

Some nights she thinks that all is not right,
She should put down her novel — she should join in the fight.
There’s a world-wide war between darkness and light —
She should put down her phone, and just maybe she might…

Would you like to meet my friends?
You would? Hurrah!
I’m sure they are the finest group
Of folks I ever saw

Let’s begin with Lucy,
The dear, brave, and sweet girl.
She’s gentle yet faithful
Through ev’ry adventure.

And that’s Pollyanna,
Standing by the window.
She’s most remarkable
Among everyone I know.

Her life was not easy,
But she still played the game.
She would count her blessings
Whene’er troubles came.

Dear Reader, it has come to my attention that there remains a small beast unrecognized for its unique addition to this good world our Creator has made. Such a beast, no matter how small or hideous, reflects worthy characteristics of its Maker. This creature is none other than the Silverfish. Popularly called the Pincher Bug, this six legged insect surprisingly bears no distinct, exterior features to warrant its name. It is neither silver, nor a fish.

Oft there come these pitch black nights
Untouched by heaven’s perfect lights
And in those nights we fail to see
Lost in darkness, but alone by no means

For lights soon prick the canvas, black
And with their beams loneliness lack
But carry with them friends, or love
They come with Truth the dark to prove

So lose not hope in blackest dark night
But pray until you see the light
For clarity accompanies luminescence
And faith shines forth in clarity’s presence

A dragon trapped me in the walls
Of fortress worlds away
My hope: one day a knight would come,
Bring me from dark to day

I took a candle, every night
And with a falt’ring tread
I set its tiny flame upon
The sill close by my bed

One day, I said, someone will see
My silent, wretched cry
My plea to search within my walls
To grab my hand and fly

But unlike that which Psyche saw
My candle showed no face
Just blackness, not a star above,
A plane of empty space

My soul is bare...
there is nothing left, not a single drop
to burst into a fountain of magic.
There is nothing,
no fantasy sublime with which to enchant.
My words have failed me—
fled from my mind into
darkness.
All that I own are
the little fancies—
sweet, wispy dreams
that elude my grasp...
and gone are the days that held my clearest thoughts.
Deep is the cavern where the
lost have fallen.
I am left with only a prayer,
heartfelt for its vagueness,
a bare offering of my soul

I watch the ebb and flow
Blue rushing to meet deep green
Sand tickled by frothy white
This is the charm of the sea

Consistent in its constant change
It sparkles darkly at its depths
Deeper than my mind can fathom
Reaching past my old regrets

Yet in its solemnity there is joy
Like when the sun finally breaks
And spreads its light across the surface
Spreading, too, across my face