You know, I really like the letter L. I think most of the important things to us starts with L:
- life
- locks
- love
- luck
- lemons
- liberty
- the Lord
- lamb
- laughter
- lucrative
Need I say more?

Oh, let's not forget Lust.

There are also unpleasant things that start with L:
- lies
- lice
- loss
- loathing
- lament
And many, many more.

Now that I think of this, life is a big fat series of Ls.
Good and bad. Everything in between. The good makes life worth living, the bad makes the good even worth living for.

So don't despair. Live for the good Ls. And be strong when the bad Ls come.
(Especially lice)

Please
I say.

Please don't go,
            I beg my grandmother
        when her breath wavers
                   and her milky eyes
                                land on me.
Please don't tell them,
                   I cry to my teacher
                when she caught me
                  smoking a cigarette
              on the empty rooftop.
Please don't break my heart,
                     I whimper to him
                       when he cradles
                               my wet face
                               in his hands
              which feels like home.      

Thank you
I say.

Thank you for coming,
                    I greet the visitors
                        dressed in black
                  when they whisper
         and peer at my dry eyes.
Thank you for everything,
                       I tell my parents
                    when they left me
            at the boarding school.
Thank you for the gift,
                         I smiled at him
                     when he gave me
                           pearl earrings
                                     to adorn
                  my unpierced ears.

Of course,
        Please and Thank you
can be
                            beautiful too.

Please
I say

Please keep him safe,
                        I plead to God
            when my brother left
                     to join the navy.
Please come again,
I called out to the customers
              when they stroll out
               of my bustling café.
Please buy me ice cream,
                     I grinned at him
               when he waved me
                                  goodbye
                      ­   over the fence.

Thank you
I say.

Thank you my dear,
     I chuckled at the little girl
           who said I looked like
                                       a fairy
            in my wedding dress.
Thank you for the surprise,
  I cried with my best friends
       when they bounced into
                                 my home
                             with pots of
                          birthday food
                      made with love.
Thank you for life,
        I whispered to the trees,
                              flowers,
                   ­      sun,
                    chocolates,
               myself.

They are manners,
but they are also much more.
     tell someone
          please
    and thank you

today.

When the long arm swings
Round and round
My eyes follow
making me frown
and groan

When the numbers change
One by one
My eyes blink
wondering where
the time has gone

Staring at the screen
Escaping to
An abstract reality

However
when I hear
the
tick
tock
of the clock
My breath catches
My heart speeds
Lead
weighing my conscience

I know that
I am procrastinating.

Inhale
a
Nosefull
of
Air

Exhale
a
Lifetime
of
Hurt,
Pain and
Regret.

Let
Every
Single
B
   R
      E
         A
            T
               H
Float away
into
Nothing.

Listen
To the breeze on your cheek
To the kiss of the sun
To the little shallow creek
For they are the symphony
Of a simple j o y

Awe and adoration
Towards life
Is a celebration
Of being a l i v e

Never fail to listen
For it brings
C o l o u r s
To this sometimes
Dreary
World.