The Legacy of Man 

For what can Man do, 
Except follow its predecessors today?
Regardless of the path,
It all ends with the grave.

Till the heart ceases to beat
And the hand ceases to move,
Till the corpse has no heat
And the mind achieves no feat.

Yet even beyond the grave
All men are remembered in some way
And it is through their ideas,
Legendary and brave.

We know not their life,
We know not their strife,
At times, we know not even their name.
But we know what they did.

A legacy remains.

It will only follow,
Through sickness and health,
Through poverty and death
In hopes that it can even live to compare
To the might of those who left it behind.

– Maya Desdemona

Omnipresent Burdens

In every breath I take,
I only fill my emptiness
With air
For a brief while.

A longer release from this nameless burden that sits over me,
Would really be appreciated, you see?

I cannot breathe in for too long,
The weight returns with a spiking pain,
As painful as a somber memory...

Without name and cause,
This burden rests above my chest,
Yet from there it will not budge,
And I must be an Atlas, holding up the sky.

But wherefore does this weary weight come from,
It weighs heavy on the worn soul,
And when one knows not its cause,
It resembles a mystery to unfold.

My life is good and my worries are few,
Yet this immaterial intangible weight
Still constantly rests on my soul.

Are there others in this world
With so queer a tale to tell?
So I ask, dear readers,
So you feel such impending dread?

– Maya Desdemona

Nocturne


Sweet Nocturne,
She needs not the light of day,
Nor the labours that do not pay,
For with her she has numerous nebulae,
That keep her at bay.

She is oft mistaken with coldness and death,
But in her darkness one finds a hearth,
A truly limitless rebirth,
Yet one that blazes with solace.

It needs no light
And does not burn too bright,
So as to hurt your eyes
And feed you with all-encompassing lies.

For sweet Nocturne is Wicked
Man’s veil,
Though the many layers of her beauty
Enclose many in pain,
Those lost souls always searching for their way
Will always find themselves in that dark haze.

– Maya Desdemona, Arsh.

After The Words Are Exchanged

I have been cruel.
I don't know if it was necessary.
I don't know if it was deserved.
All I know is that I have been cruel.

Why was it so?
Do I even regret it?
Have I truly stooped so low in this life?

The thought plagues me.
I know not what I have done,
But the thorns around my heart
Constrict with knowing silence.

They were merely words,
Having no effect on the receiver.
But I must live
Knowing I have been cruel.

– Maya Desdemona

Humanity

What gives an entity humanity?
It cannot be love,
For some humans don't feel it,
Though they are as human as everyone else.

What gives someone humanity?
It cannot be empathy,
For some people don't feel it,
Though they are as human as everyone else.

What gives someone
The right to decide another's humanity?
For humanity is an oft debated subject,
That no one knows the answer to.

Our humanity doesn't define us,
As we can't define our humanity.
So what makes us any different
From non-human entities?

– Arsh

Day Twenty Nine: On Belonging

I have never understood the concept of 'belonging'.
How could any thing,
Or being of this planet be assigned to anything?
Who would decide that?
What would it mean to that person?
I have noticed that it often becomes a part of their personality,
But what is its relevance?
What is this 'belonging' to begin with?

– Maya Desdemona