Water.

The mightiest of all liquids.

Ability to crush through towns, cities and countries.

Water.

Bone-crushing. Fearless. Indomitable.

Able to carve mountains, and swallow entire ships whole.

Water.

The most feared substance of all.

You are 75% water. 

What are you afraid of?

(From the perspective of a North Korean)

I have become more curious lately. This void space inside of me is getting harder to fill as the days go by. As I work in the fields every morning, I see the wall. The wall that makes me a prisoner of my own land. I can’t help but wonder how life is for the others. Not a moment passes that I don’t dream of the magic that is on the other side. I play it over and over in my head. What could be there? Could it be fairies, and unicorns? Dragons, and knights? I daydream of how it looks, how it smells. I paint a portrait in my mind with all the colors that I can find. Rushing glass-like rivers and crashing waterfalls. Beautiful princesses and sorcerers. Singing animals and enchanted creatures. Where the trees sing melodies and the people live harmoniously. Flowers of every color under the sun. Never-ending gardens and lakes. I imagine the smell. The smell of fresh lemonade and honey that fills the air creating the perfect combination of sweet and sour. I dream of the happiness that I long to feel. The warmth of the sun kissing my skin. But soon I am brought back to reality. Back to the indestructible prison in which I am trapped. Oh what I would give just for a peak at the other side.  

Crowded streets cramped with humans ignoring a reality that isn’t there. The reality of life is that reality ceases to exist. It is constantly changing. Transforming to the opinions of the next. The only reality that we know is that reality is not constant. We know that we are human. We are made up of atoms and molecules. Good memories and bad ones. Deceiving words and the sweetest ones. Love for our own race and war against the others. The very things that come together to make us human, are the very things that come together to make us hate one another. Conforming daily to new ideas and perspectives. We make homes in our imaginations and can’t find our way out. We judge everything we see, and create hatred toward those who find happiness. We are good, but we are evil. We are human. And we have no reality. 

Through generations, she stands.

Her feet deep in the ground, and her head soaring in the clouds.

Towering over the land, forever she is queen.

Impermeable to pain. Insusceptible to defeat.

Compassionate. Offering shelter to those in need.

Every flaw accumulating to create her monstrous beauty.

The mightiest of storms bow at her knees.

She is her branches. She is her leaves.

She is Sequoia.

Famine striking his home-land, planning his escape.

He made his life here but he must get away.

How it hurts to see your lifes hard work go to waste,

But the thought of his families freedom makes it okay.

He’s checking the water, making sure it’s safe enough for his daughter,

Praying border patrols don’t catch her, process and deport her.

Getting closer to the shore, they start to see the people.

Of the land of the free, where they feed you, treat you like equals,

But proceed to deceive you, stamp you and call you illegal.

Second thoughts fill his mind, was this a waste of time

The freedom that he longed for is not available to his kind.

Every hope he had is crushed, how could they be so blind.

He is deported to his home-land to watch his loved ones die.

Lay your head down pretty girl, tomorrow is another day.

As the sun comes up and the moon fades, the memories of him will run away.

Let your tears drift in the sea breeze.

Lose yourself in the beauty of life.

You don’t need a superman.

In this moment, you’re kryptonite. 

She lives in the universe. Saturn is her home, and the comets are her playground. She grew up in the cosmos. Childhood memories on the sun. The endless possibilities that surround her are inevitable. She is an actress and the galaxy is her stage. She created her own enchanted world. A magical place overflowing with extraordinary things yet to be discovered. Where the wicked have no place and happiness rules all. But she’s trapped. She is confined within the walls of her own creation. Nobody is around. A kingdom that was once beautiful, has now turned into a meer desolate waste land. No one can see what’s happening to her. The beautiful golden locks of hair that once flowed from her head are now shriveling to dust. Her skin is deteriorating before her very eyes. Her face deforming. Her wings have been torn and mutilated. But not one person notices. They don’t see the heavy chains that bind her. Her big brown eyes that once held the stars, have turned to stone. Her cries go unheard. Not one person knows what she knows. She is in a prison of her own inception. Her secrets trapped her there. Her insecurities came alive, and now rule over her. The stars that once sung her to sleep now whisper words of deception in her ears. She is dying. But she feels it. She feels the tingle of the energy building up inside of her. The same energy that will one day set her free. The energy that will destroy all of the evil within her, and make everything beautiful once again. Till then, she waits. 

Four letters. The four-letter beast that traps you with just one look. The beast that comes alive in the night and consumes you with your own thoughts. With teeth like knives, and a shriek that will make your body cringe. And those eyes.. Who could forget those eyes. The ones you try your hardest to avoid, but can’t. Those cruel, deceiving eyes that see right through every lie you try to tell yourself. Those eyes that serve as a window into every nightmare you’ve ever had. Every doubt that runs through your cramped brain. Every memory that you so desperately want to forget, but the beast won’t let you. With the voice of a thousand screams, the monster that resides in the darkest crevice of your heart taunts you with its songs. Feeding on every insecurity that you keep hidden. Fueled by your secrets. Clawing savagely on the walls of your mind, pleading with you day after day. Each scratch reminding you of your worthlessness, and each scream bringing you back to your point of desperation. You run, and run. Searching for a haven. A place where it won’t find you, but it always does. Everywhere you turn, everywhere you look. It’s there. It lives in the shadows. Constantly lurking for prey. Attaching itself to its victim without saying a word, and slowly squeezing every last breath of air from its victims body until it’s left there. Cold, lifeless, and beyond repair. Wrapping its chains around your dreams one by one and dragging them to the bottom of the ocean to rot. You’re hoping for a way out, but it will never go away. No matter how hard you try, the four-letter beast will always come back. So lock your hearts and guard your thoughts, because he is coming for you.