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Alex McQuate Dec 2022
I'm looking here,
Why is it gloom all that I see?
Let me shine a light into these dark corners with a candle,
Chase away this negativity with a warm orange glow.

I know just one candle doesn't illuminate much,
But with this flame other candles can be lit,
And perhaps we can brighten up this room just a little bit more.

Naive?
Maybe,
But I just can't feel the wrong,
For life is hard,
And being pessimistic is just too **** tiring,
Perhaps we can try something new?
Alex McQuate Dec 2022
Fight, Love, Look, See,
Take in such a beautiful brawl that stars you and me,
Flying chairs and broken glass,
Blackened eyes and much-kicked ***.

One more time around that big ball of fire,
What will this trip bring this time around?
Some mud and hard to trek mire,
Or gold and diamond laid ground,
An easy path ahead towards we joyfully bound?

Such wisdom must lie in the future,
Startling realizations and obstacles we approach,
Yet stretches onward like a magnificent azure beacher,
That one might upon first glance be wary to broach.

But saunter forth we must,
With the trodden gait of some war-weary old sailor,
With a rind of salt crust,
Who has been both Captain and Bailer,
Lost-Limbed and near broken.

Such a great journey this last trip was,
Such changes it has brought,
With a son I learned caution and to be more kind,
Abandoning my careless risks,
To have more presence of mind,
To weigh my options and be more careful with my money,
And to always be more kind.

But roots you should not forget,
To take chances still,
To still live life with no regrets,
For no flour is made in a place that is a still mill.

Love this world,
But don't hate the things you can't change,
Fight for those things,
With tooth and claw,
For those things will be the most relished victory of all.

I sit here typing this,
A bittersweet adieu to the year 2022,
For death rung in the year,
And leaves me with the gift of a new life,
The start with a startling pain from the stab of a knife,
But ending with the approaching of joy that is oh-so-near.

Lace up your boots,
******* your pack,
Take a seat,
Buckle in,
7 seconds left on this bucking bronc,
A last kick that will bring a few more knocks,
But will bring in the new year with smiles that lets the last stings of death defrocked.
Alex McQuate Dec 2022
Can you give me a moment to gather my thoughts,
and let me know if I'm wrong,
but are there just some days where everything just seems to click?

Where the turbulent winds of the world calm for a second,
Realization comes in that allows you take stock,
and let's you come to the conclusion that things aren't as bad as they seem?

We're on a trail of time,
Spanning such a cosmic range of distance,
and that we get so wrapped up in the here and now,
we simply forget that the trail doesn't just up and stop around the next bend?

Hard times end,
Storms come to a stop,
and the sun will arise once again,
The body dies,
but the soul travels on,
and the world rotates again.
Alex McQuate Dec 2022
Sometimes, I just get blown away by how beautiful you are,
with a smile that clears away the clouds on an overcast day,
And a laugh that sounds me like church bells,
That I hope will ring in the near future.

I went a looking for a ring,
And I was blown away by the prices of a rock and a bit of gold,
But you are so worth it,
I'd be happy to pay for 10 times more.

I know I planned to propose to you in Scotland,
but with our little unexpected addition to our family,
I hope the mountains of Kentucky will just be as magical to you.

Our time together gets me through the bad days at work,
where nothing goes right,
And getting to sleep next to you makes me wish I never have to leave bed.

Our banter makes Abbot and Costello jealous,
and gets us laughing so hard I tear up,
and you nearly ***.

You are the one for me,
And everyone I know can see,
I can't wait to get down on one knee,
And ask you to marry me.

My heart flutters thinking about you in a white dress,
and my stomach drops thinking about seeing you walk down the aisle to me.

I can't wait, my May Queen,
It's something I can't wait to see.
Alex McQuate Dec 2022
Long absences,
My muse fills me once again,
I am afraid to stoke the fires of it too quickly,
and let these embers get chocked out and die.

But the words are flowing,
and my mind feels so clear,
The troubles of the world are held at bay for a moment,
And for now, it's just me and these keys I type on.

So while it's still here I will type,
My stature relaxed and my heart light,
And hope it burns some more
Alex McQuate Dec 2022
My darling son,
I write this one for you.

You're so far away,
Still so many months from meeting you,
And meeting the man you will be.

I can't wait to see your first steps,
To hear your first words,
To take you trick-or-treating the first time,
To absolutely embarrass you with my antics.

Will you like music like me,
Will you be as sharp-witted as your mother,
Will you be as much of a hellion as your old man,
Will you be as ambitious as the woman I've come to love so much.

What will be your favorite sport,
if you like them at all,
What will your greatest fear be,
And how can I help you conquer it?

You know you already have scared the living **** out of me approximately times,
And that made your mother laugh each time,
I swore to her that I wouldn't be a worrier,
But we both knew I was lying.
How many more heart-stopping moments do you have planned for me, I wonder?

How many times do you think I'm too strict,
That I make your life unfair,
That I just need to chill a little bit?
How many times do you think I'm a stick in the mud,
Not knowing I was a steely-eyed warrior,
Who traded in his sword for a swaddle blanket,
And his bullets for a Babybjorn,
Doing so with a smile on my face.

I look to the far future,
Where I see you in a suit,
Some of your best friends by your side,
Nervously awaiting the arrival of your bride,
In this glimpse you glance over at me,
And you'll see I am so happy.

Looking further,
You'll be in scrubs,
Perhaps with an unshed tear in your eye,
And tell your mother and eye that your own son is born,
That my son,
Will have my heart so filled with pride.

But that is so far away,
My Boy,
And for now I just await to hold you,
And shed a tear of my own.

My son,
We can't wait to show you how wonderful this world can be.
Alex McQuate Dec 2022
Looking around,
Pit-Pat Paddy-Wack,
Heart bat-batting to an electronic beat,
Morale swinging like a grandfather clock,
Tick-Tick-Tocking,
One moment serene like a Sholin Monk,
The next rageful like Kublai Khan,
Sweat running like rivulets like some kind of Gatorade commercial,
Vision a-tunneling,
Fists a-tightening.

This inner monster jumpin,
Like a monkey on the bed,
While the outer demon is swayin,
Like a reed in the breeze,
Duality being duplicitous,
And clarity illusive like a cloud in the fog.
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