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Iron Lung
Sonic Mejias

Some days, I’m a balloon
Letting people blow into me
When they need to let off steam.
I’ll take all your pressures

And hold them in me for a while,
So that you can remember how to breathe again.
I embrace emissions of energy,
It warms me knowing what help I can be.
And when I'm in my own time,
I can fully release, knowing that
Their burdens aren't mine to carry,
Nor could I carry them anyways.
All I can do is help guide their breathing.
But rubber can only take so much stress,
Be pulled on and stretched so many times,
Before it eventually
Bursts.
The wear and tear of choosing to care
Is never an easy weight to bear.
And being a balloon, there isn’t a way to let off steam.
My natural state is empty,
Letting go of the pressures inside me.
Letting myself be filled up by others’ joys and sorrows,
Borrowed passion I can hardly call my own.
I say I naturally let go,
But I’ve been holding onto something for a while.
Or should I say someone.
The wrath of wraiths wreak havoc on the havens of my heart.
For once, I found a passion of my own.
A person who takes my breath.
Someone I can fill myself up on.
It’s enough being by your side.
A feeling I never want to let go.
I’m afraid that if I let the memories go,
I’ll forget how you felt.
I’m afraid I’ll only have the scars to remember you by.
I’m afraid that if I open my mouth
And let it go, let the air out,
I’ll be empty once more,
And surely I’ll drown.
Some days, I’m diving for treasure.
Looking for gold, something to feel fortunate.

When I saw her trapped under there,
I knew she was a masterpiece.
I did my best to release her from her constraints,
Free her from what held her down.
And to that end, I’d say
Task failed successfully.
Now, she is free from her bindings,
As she is free from me,
And I’m trapped on the ocean floor,
Holding my breath, wishing for more,
And trying not to burst.

A Day in the Life of the President
Christopher T. Dabrowski

The president was bored that day.
How about vetoing something, so as not to go off the form? – he mused. – Maybe those “morning-after” pills? But... Aren't they for hangovers?
He decided it would be bad.
His adviser explained it to him, so he eventually vetoed them.
When asked by a journalist why, he chuckled:
– How about sending your daughter to a convent in advance?
He giggled and quickly moved away – he had many more important matters to attend to, such as what was happening in the Middle East.
– In Israel, the Dead Sea. And it begs the question, who killed?


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