a sail to the wind
caution has flown
run little girl
run all the way home
keep your eyes
on the vanishing horizen
breathe in the cool night
which the stars soon arise in
a song of forgiveness
gives hope to the sea grey
hold close my hand
please let me stay
somedays you hurt me
and somedays you heal
somedays i'm dreaming
somedays it's too real
imagine a miracle
the bringing of the light
i'll change the world
and you hold me tight.


 

It was the most 
beautiful shade of 
blue,  

the flag that 
was imprinted on her skin, 
right next to her eyes 
that shone brown. 

And then the 
king that had thrown 
a revolution of hate 
decided that he didn't like the fact
that she wore it so beautifully. 

This is the story of 
a people's rebellion. 
Rebellion. 

Once upon a time,

the king went through the kingdom
and ripped it off people, 
one by one, 
when he decided that they didn't fit
with what he thought was right. 

He looked at the people 
whose flags where still slowly
being drawn on, 
who had chosen it out of love 
or come here out of desperation 
and decided that the way that they 
clashed a little with the other colors
against their skin was 
an abomination and he tore 
the newly growing things off. 

He looked at the people

My act of courage?

I don't think myself a courageous person, but I think the most courageous thing I've ever done is convincing myself that I need to get better.
I'm not as good with words as some others here, but please bear with me.

I've always struggled with terrible thoughts. It was hard getting up in the morning sometimes. I couldn't drive myself to do anything.
I always thought myself incapable of love, unable to reach out and form connections. 
That's something I believed would never change.

But one night, one that feels like so long ago, I decided I would change.

I got a weight loss app. I started saying hi to people and starting conversations with people I didn't know.
I started trying harder in school. My grades went up. My teachers like me.
I haven't done anything to myself in so long, despite the fact that the thoughts do come back sometimes.

Loud and joyous cheers from the TV in expectation
Hoping for their leader to appear
And to see a man of his (semi) high station.
But he is playing a game, he is playing with them
Playing with the country that he cannot throw into mayhem.

But still he tries.

He lies and cheats and pretends to be our country’s lord
Is he working for us, or someone abroad?
And somehow it is all ignored
As he sits on the metaphorical throne
and as he chips away at the country that once was made of stone.

And still he plays.

Is he looking the other way for corporate gain?
Does he help millionaires triumph?
The truth is no longer sane
Thousands are hurt by the utter and all-composing hate.
And he plays with the people whom he made wait.

And still he lies.

I wonder how this could have happened,
As I look at the exuberant crowd on the TV

Her skin is soil and stone and ancient fossil, blanketed in the greenery of meadows and valleys that form her island shape. Palm trees sprout in her cupped hands, rivers of fingers stretching away with muddy, rushing haste. Vegetation thrives as she lies against the ocean floor, seaweed hair floating languidly around her cragged head. A range of mountains curves across her spine. One, the tallest, sits like a majestic jewel inlaid at her chest, rising stolidly atop her beating heart as she stretches towards the horizon.

She is older than eons. She has seen travelers come and go, nothing more than blips in her eyes. She does not mind as they drink the water from her lakes and eat the fruits that sprout amidst her rich green flora; building unobtrusive huts, then shacks, then structures more complex. They often plant new trees, replenishing her surface with growth—as she provides for them, so they return the favor.

There is no one moment when you fall in love,
Just the collection of all the laughter,
and tears,
and deep conversations between two people.

There is a snapshot from class,
and a memory that always makes you smile, even through tears.
There are smirks and light smacks on the head,
and pencils flying across the room.
There is a list of inside jokes,
special to just you two.

It’s poetry,
that’s waiting to be written.

It’s when you keep lists of things you want to do together,
it’s when you think of them when they aren’t around.
Love is a storyboard of two lives, that have happened to cross,
when no one was changed for better
or for worse,
but instead accepted into a safe environment.
It’s sharing childhood photos.
It’s two hands laced together,
with truth indented in the wrinkles.
It’s the moment when you correctly guess the other’s thoughts,

kindergarten had the smells
of food dusted in the air
so pungently that if you stuck your tongue out
you could taste the bread baking.

first grade smelled
like chalk dust and new beginnings
and new crayons
that smeared marks onto crisp sheets of paper

second grade hung with the odors
of twenty opinionated kids
and teachers disapproving glances
at my pencil grip

third grade had an aroma like
the sound your heart makes
with a stringed instrument
and mud puddles
from rainy days at the farm

fourth grade scents
were uncertainty
and change filled the air
like a mist on a summer's morning.

fifth grade had a trace
of a spring flower
Short, sweet
and new 
but slightly bittersweet.

sixth grade's fragrance
was that of a sharp knife
and the discoveries of
new freedoms
and friends.

Be grateful
'Cause at some point in your life,
Somebody saw a spark in you worth noticing.
At some point in your life, you fell on the face of reality,
But somebody brought you back again.

Be grateful
'Cause for every breath you inhale,
Nearly two people lose their lives.
For every 100 steps you take,
Approximately 105 people breathe their last breath.

Be grateful
'Cause somewhere out there,
There's a human being living a way more deficient life than yours,
A life with no clean water to even remain a night,
Or a cozy, warm, soft blanket to hold on tight for the cold.

Be grateful,
'Cause unlike you,
Somebody is fighting a severe and critical disease,
One that has taken so many loved ones,
Including those we felt deeply close to.
 
Be grateful
'Cause so many people wish for that one chance,