a hundred novels (poem) - live long enough to become the hero

I have written a dozen novels,

from beginning to end.

People praise me for this.

But these novels are first drafts,

and instead of editing them,

I write another because it's easier.

They talk of my work ethic,

say they want to read them one day,

but never will.

If I die old and miserable,

I will be an author of a hundred novels,

and none of them will be worth reading.

-Zero

A story not worth reading (poem) - live long enough to become the hero

I think I'm afraid

that I'm not good enough,

that all these years of work

were a waste of my life.

So I hide away in my safe haven,

where everyone thinks I'm great.

Here, there's no rejection,

no epiphany of reality.

What if I really am

a story not worth reading?

What if only I love my words

because I live in them?

And I'll spend the rest of my life

pretending that I matter.

-Zero

The mask I wear (poem) - live long enough to become the hero

My mask is calm confidence,

the seeming carelessness

of a man who has it all.

But behind that mask

is a man afraid to speak

in fear of making a mistake.

Behind that mask

is a writer afraid to submit

in fear of being rejected.

Behind that mask

is a fire afraid to burn

in fear of being put out.

-Zero

A crow perched on a cross (poem)

In the end we're all bound to change.

A crow perched on a tall rusted cross,

its once white paint long gone -

the cross now a bare-boned effigy

to a god who went silent long ago.

One day the wind will blow,

and the cross will crumble,

eaten away by years of neglect

by a people who forsake their god.

A great kingdom turned to sand,

washed away by the wind and rain -

homes turned to ash,

their inhabitants spilling out of broken urns.

-Zero