My name is Dan Aubrey II. There is no Dan Aubrey I. It’s a result of a conflicted collaboration and time stamp of where my parents were in their imperiled union.
I’d usually get asked about my name Aubrey confirming their idea that it was from the popular song by Bread. It was clearly about a girl. Prior to that, it was a masculine
She wanted a love story
A haven where she can suspend belief
That stars can burn bright
Eventually reach
Another
Beyond the sparkling light they share
In this infinite darkness
She wanted a love story
There need not be a hero
She got the scars of independence
Undeserved to be recipient of her warmth
That burns relentless
She taught me how to always look up
To sing away the storm
I’ve learned to slay my restlessness
The way I killed my dreams
Into a slow lull routine jest
Choked by the softest pillows
As with many, turns to sleep
Wasn’t able to find that sweet spot
To drown and doze off
Dull the frequency where
My brain runs its pointless marathon
Of sparks and friction
This headache bangs like kitchen pans
He wakes up unwilling, 4am
But the day begins at 9
There’s usually a battle for a piece of mind
After the bladder’s emptied
And metal tasting water jumped the system up
Quick check on friends
Green lit in another zone
I go quick, be unseen
I don’t want to answer
Whether I’ve yet to sleep or what woke me up
Ah, but she said get off
Never to meet again
Serendipity need not end in bliss
No matter how propitious the beginning
And I complied
Take it like a man, right?
Up until I met
How crazy my mind could get
On a three hour bus ride
Please don’t equate silence with laziness
Or some form of complicit
Surrender or defeat
To elements that threaten
Though natural or inevitable
October digests differently
Approaching a finish line
Of a race that doesn’t really ends
Until your heart stops
October is when I put my head down
Compensate for lost time
Wasted in jawing about
Creating
Then I don’t
There’ll be glimpses
Here and there
Persuasive to tilt
We were looking at the moon as
It was discovered
In brand new eyes
Fresh coat of lies
Reserved at the back of our heads
As parts were shared
Skin was shed
Convinced that hope
Is a flotsam
That when held tight with belief
Will keep us safe
Until we’re saved
But both are not guilty of deceit
Two like many who
I never knew
He always seemed strong
Kept it in
He never bothered me with
Anything
That may constitute
As weakness seeping in
Pop opinion boxed as
Just doesn’t care
When he says it
Never did it
Felt like he was seeking affirmation
Setting a tone for preconceived
And foregone conclusion
As this simulation might as well be a ruse And the only way to truly defy expectations Is to go all out And outright lose
She looked at me
Trying hard
Not to break my heart
Feigning a weak disbelief
This most recent test
Amalgamated what we knew
Months in
She’d seen me or a version of me
In too many faceless samples
But for this
danDAman 