Cliff Hanger

Should we say it?

We have to say it.

Time is running out.

Do we have to mean it when we say it?

Can we keep a different scenario in our heads?

Would that be so bad?

Can't stop. Won't stop.

But we have to.

We knew when we started.

Always remember.

Take away what you learned.

Appreciate the experience.

And if we meet again?

It will be like returning to an old home.

If I had a redo,

I would change nothing.

Thank you.

Backbone

Integrity is not enough.

Without a spine the best person will fail under pressure.

Guilt will suffocate after; that is integrity kicking in.

Integrity gives the knowledge of right.

The backbone allows for integrity to shine.

It is the oil to the flame.

A spine without integrity can stand.

Though wrong it may be, it will not bend to pressure.

Woe to both which stand one without the other.

Hollow Tolerance

You get used to being in the hollow place.

You forget what it's like outside.

You tolerate your circumstance.

Still, there is a magnetic push away from the place.

Still, you know it is only a stained-glass masquerade.

Still, you take any opportunity to visit outside.

It is a constant search finding ways to delay return.

Lies come natural with reward being an out.

Even temporary leave is better than nothing.

The hollow place is hard to pinpoint.

The hollowness is not seen, only experienced.

It is a cloud of feeling:

Feeling like you must bend to every rule...

Feeling even that which should be sacred is merely plastic ritual.

Feeling a single "wrong" attribute makes you sub-human.

Feeling oppression in the facade of freedom.