By Daryl Simons Jr.

Furry little creatures of fur
Scruffy, fluffy, I don’t care
Usually most of them are cute
All unique in their own way
Loving, and love attention (normally)
Independence is their identity
Yet, they are ever so dependent

I have three (now two) of my own
Used to have one more, before
Can’t say that I ever “had” them
They more or less had me
Cats are no ordinary pets
They do what they want
However that may be

They hold grudges
They show anger and stubbornness
And they have their own attitudes
Own habits
But, despite this all
They normally reciprocate how they are treated
And thus, can be very loyal and loving

Believe this as you may
They will never care what I say
For they are cats
Just cats

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Tribute to Buddy...

There was once
A cat unlike any other
His name was Siddhartha Buddha
Buddy, for short
A big and time worn cat
When we first found him
He seemed to be like an old warrior
Random scars a plenty
Skittish, none the less
But he became trusting over time
He became family
He became a protector of the other two that resided
Very defensive and territorial
Yet, one of the most friendly
And gently animals you could ever find
For those who say animals don’t have souls
He was living proof that they do
You could just sense it
Feel it in the air
His soul permeated through his personality
It was beautiful…

One last breath, last gasp
Leaving us where this chapter began
As a member of our family
As a friend (as crazy as it sounds)
Memories of him will always remain
With everyone who was fortunate to see him
With my dad
With me
He was my buddy, our buddy, everyone’s buddy
He was Buddy

Digging my nails into my skull
Wondering if there is anything left of me at all
Of me… I pull and scratch
This world, of that I do not attach

Sociopath, psychopath, whatever I have become
From my beginnings of which I have come
I now laugh at anguish
Exist in disrepair 
Raveling from the fighting and despair
Society no longer means anything to me, no longer care

I am like a mad clown, 
preaching my religion with guns
Help me! Help me! I am shedding tears of blood
Tears of which that flood
My entire psyche 
with a monkey riding a little bike, malarkey! 

Looking around, I see all the pathetic people
Wandering around,
Praying to a God under a steeple
A God that I have long forsaken
Well, before he takes all of these lives
That need to be taken
Why are they alive… what is their purpose?
I just want to fuck with them now,
Create anew
Give them a sense of reason that I can construe
A slit across their wrists,
Or a bullet to their head
Doesn’t really matter which,
Both would mean more
 than any book they have ever read

I wish that I could say that I am sorry
But I am not, what a folly
For I am just a man
A being in this world
Maybe more enlightened than most, I suppose
Or, depending or who you ask, 
Crazier I suppose
But what is crazy?
Is it simply viewing the world 
in a different way?
What is crazy?
Is it the understanding of 
a truth that doesn’t exist?

Craziness, or insanity, could just be
Acting in a way outside of man, truly
So distant from your fellow spirits
In a way that no one can hear it

I hate to tell you this now
Sane, insane, I can fully vow
That I have become so irritated, infurated
With what we call our “reality”

I hope you read this,
That someone hears my message
No matter how scary it sounds,
I have begun hating everything, myself around
As you have read this entry, I must now act
From what’s left of my sanity, I will act
To protect you all from what I have become,
I declared that I will be undone…

I hear a snap, yet somehow, I am still writing
Notepad in my hand, 
fighting to write these last few words
Undone everything… as I write
Madness slips away, returning to peace, as I fade into blackness…