Doraemon, by Patricia Taxxon (2024)

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Like a homeward demon binding corpses to an elevatorLike an unloved alien with nothing else to live forLike a blooming spider dances out of her conservatoryLike a lowbrow cartoon that was banned in several countriesLike a long lost sparkledog with passion in her colors blindingLike an ashened classroom derelict and all consumingLike a prideful sparrow spears his song to all the village workersLike a frightened animal with nowhere else to hide

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Hey, I started a forest fire todayAll of Maine to Nova Scotia is in flameHey, I breathed my life into this placeYou can see it from a thousand miles awayRed, like the blood I shed, come dance within the embers of my soulI made this special one for youTarantulas all glisten in the twilight of the coming night so coldI made this special one for youHey, will you be meeting me today?I’m lonely and I really hate to waitHey, I just don’t know how long my head will stay,The forest is still fine, burning awayPlease, don’t leave me hanging here, I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t touchedI’m sat here patiently for youThe stars in my head, they scream with light and energy so coldI’m sat here patiently for youHey, where will I be when all this ends?The stars are dangerously close againHey, is my destiny to grow up here alone?The air has grown too hot to feel my faceI thought the flame would die before the darkness fell upon me and the worldBut I still feel so coldI thought I’d have a chance to take control, to change my impact on the worldBut I still feel so coldBut I still feel so coldBut I still feel so cold

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The freshness of the air feels foriegn to my aching heartThe sunlight burns the layers I’ve built up within this paper cupDamn straight, I haven’t earned that much. There’s nothing I can takePolice are roving in my veins, a venom coursing, yearning hatredIt’s second nature now to think myself a traitorTo myself, to all I’ve ever burdened with my rotting visageI can’t breathe, the weight of all I’ve disappointed crushes meIf I were happy it would feel as if I couldn’t trust meDon’t care. You could be smiling if you wanted toYou could be driving, could be flying if you wanted toYou hear that noise? You hear that screaming? That’s your voiceTrapped inside, you could take it out to cry if you wanted toWhy fight? I’d like to think I’m on my sideBut nothing that I’ve thought today has let me think I’m rightYou hear that sound? Or is your coursing blood too loud?Will your better sense come out or will you be alone tonight Don’t microwave your milk too long, it browns and bubbles overDon’t let anyone see into you, don’t let them see your needI burned a forest down for this, I must have something to show for itBut alas, the stars don’t feel like smiling upon meIt’s second nature now to think myself a traitorTo myself, to all I’ve ever burdened with my rotting visageI can’t breathe, the weight of all I’ve disappointed crushes meIf I were happy it would feel as if I couldn’t trust meDon’t care. You could be smiling if you wanted toYou could be driving, could be flying if you wanted toYou hear that noise? You hear that screaming? That’s your voiceTrapped inside, you could take it out to cry if you wanted to Why fight? I’d like to think I’m on my sideBut nothing that I’ve thought today has let me think I’m rightYou hear that sound? Or is your coursing blood too loud?Will your better sense come out or will you stay alone tonightThere’s a pin-light shining out in the mountainsCan’t you see?It flutters in and out of visionIn a hue I can’t quite placeThere’s a humming in the air hereListen closeIt’s like a warmth spreading through meThrough the canyons of my mindThe flowers seem so vivid way out thereBeyond regretI see a gradient from greyscaleLeading into rainbow’s endThe land of milk and honey is in reachIt seems so closeI only need to touch the grassAnd I’ll be one of themOh God I swear, don’t fail me nowThe light is hereI can’t forget what it feels likeJust to act as I belongGoddamnit I can’t take this anymoreI’m stepping outI only hope that the sunlight hasn’t left while I was goneOh God I swear, don’t let me downYou’re all I haveI can’t forget what it feels likeTo be loved and taken in I used to love the scent of rainfall in the dawnThe touch of sunI only hope there’s something left hereSomething left for me to hold

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I took the evening train back into townI sat in the rearmost seatI hid within my wingsAnd softly cried to no one else but me I left a trail of feathers, to my corpse they leadI hope that no one else can seeI hope that no one else can seeI won’t lick my wounds in publicMight as well leave them all openGod knows I’ve learned to stuff itJust like I have always beenBut this is different, something Hurts me so much moreI have to think, I have to ponderWhat I’m doing all this forMaybe I’m just not ready, the stars in my head won’t go where I think I should be able toMaybe I should be honest, there’s a part of me that I might never be free ofMaybe I’m just not ready, the stars in my head won’t go where I think I should be able toMaybe I should be honest, there’s a place for me, there’s a place for meThe landscape gallavants in darknessSilver moonlight on the treesMy eyes glide offThe blurry outlines easily I want to singAlas it seems my voice has left the ringThere’s something broken deep inside meMy responsibilityI wish that I could spread my wingsAnd fly until the morningI wish that I could taste the airAnd behold all before mePerhaps I’d fly so highThat I would find it hard to breatheThe choice to fall from heavenHas been stolen away from meMaybe I’m just not ready, the stars in my head won’t go where I think I should be able toMaybe I should be honest, there’s a part of me that I might never be free ofMaybe I’m just not ready, the stars in my head won’t go where I think I should be able toMaybe I should be honest, there’s a place for me, there’s a place for meNow the homeward demon’s bound the last soul to the elevatorThe unloved alien has found someone to live forOur blooming spider spun a home for all her familyAnd this lowbrow cartoon gained an audience of millionsNow the long lost sparkledog has found an artist’s hand to make herThe ashened classroom’s overgrown with gleeful flowers Now the prideful sparrow only needs his own visage to sing toAnd the frightened animal has found somewhere to hideMaybe I’m just not ready, the stars in my head won’t go where I think I should be able toMaybe I should be honest, there’s a part of me that I might never be free ofMaybe I’m just not ready, the stars in my head won’t go where I think I should be able toMaybe I should be honest, there’s a place for me, there’s a place for me

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