My heart doesn’t skip a beat
When you walk into a room
No, it bends space and time
Defying the laws of physics
As it flies to a new dimension
Leaving me in an endless state
Where a single word could save
My future or you miss my smile,
A sentence to infinite sadness

Only one thing in this existence
Last longer than these seconds:
The time it takes choosing novels
I want to present to your study
From my favourite bookshop
Where words are as unbounded
As my feelings for your beauty

Upright, staring out
      Blinking, blinking, blinking
           Preventing destruction
      Warning passing ships
“Avoid my volcanic rocks!
      Behind me, havoc is wreaked.
           Where is humanity’s lighthouse?”

The first time, golden sand, perfection
Sparkling, sparkling, sparkling sea
Washing away footprints, a sanctuary,
Offering escape from the daily grind
Where time no longer holds meaning
And a single breath can last a lifetime

The best time, Valentine’s Day, naked
Sobering winds dispersing a gin haze
A dance of freedom, we taunt its waters
It bites back as we wade, limbs thrashing
Laughs echoing, we collapse into clothes
Flashing, flashing, flashing as we retreat

The last time, half a lifetime after the first
Wispy grasses and rippled dunes eaten
By a wrathful nature digesting its revenge
Is there still time to turn back the clock
Ticking menacingly towards midnight?
Hopes flickering, flickering, flickering

The next time, I’m just atomic debris
Floating through ruins of the coast
Past the flaming, flaming, flaming
Of a town destroyed by a bitter enemy
The waves have devoured our excesses
And those responsible for annihilation

Alone, no more warnings
     Blinking, blinking, blinking
          As the harsh sea pilfers
     The sand, land and memories
“I’ve seen destruction in my time.
     All I have left is to fall asleep.
          What happened to humanity’s lighthouse?”

How I longed to be invisible
While all could see the black dog
Dragging me down living streets
Sickness dripping from pores
Threatening to infect those
Surrounding me as they wait
To see if I’ll pull back or let go

The gaping pit in my stomach
Left unfulfilled by binges
Trying to satisfy desperation
Clothes always getting tighter
And I’m more visible than ever
Struggling to keep up the pace
The black dog dashing onwards

Doctors prescribing rainbow pills
Some bringing sleep like death
But when I try to kick the habit
I’m left bleary-eyed, zombified
Withdrawal worse than disease
How close to the edge of the cliff
Was I dragged on my worst day?

I didn’t need to fly that morning
But I’m wondering if wings
Will unfurl when I need them
To flap and chase away words
Which cut through pallid skin
“Cheer up, it could be worse,
At least you’re alive.” Barely

Then one day I’m disappearing
A snarling hound’s grip easing
Muscles moving, not groaning
I’m demanding human touch
Side-effects of drugs fading
From a chrysalis I’m emerging
The man in the mirror familiar

I sometimes see the black dog
In the corner of my eye, growling
Far enough away I don’t panic
The mocking hound of depression
Has taken it’s leave, temporarily
I have my wish, I’m all but invisible
While those who need me, see me

Marvin Gardens? It’s a place and it’s a person. And a way to have a Jimmy Buffett-themed website without infringing on his IP. Anyway, Marvin Gardens is alive! And he’s pretty bloody pissed.