cigarettes will **** you
and pills will make you try
the ***** will make me miss you
and your pictures will make me cry

Choose gratitude over regret,
Before the time ticks away.

So throw off the bow lines,
Sail away from safe harbor.
Catch trade winds in your sails.
EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER..!!

People have aesthetic childhoods.
With parents that understand and cuddle them when lightning strikes.
I remember the teddy bears in my bed,
and how they smelt of mum and dad,
how I would hold Odettes ear with my finger and thumb,
my head ducked under cover in fear of an alien tickling my toes.
But now the teddies are placed high up on a shelf
away from me, out of reach.

When I realise the ear isn't in my hands,
I look around and see the dust at my feet,l like I'm down at the bottom,
I look up,
my family are at the top
and the red cord of family love bounding us together is thin, and I fear we are soon to have a disconnect again,
When I make it to the third or fourth level
I see their faces grinning with pride
at their daughter succeeding and waking up before noon,
and I say something funny to lighten the mood,
but I tumble lower by one or two
depending on how fake the laugh I hear was.

I sit in the gravel and wonder.
I don't understand why I can't touch them anymore because I'm like my mum,
we're both alike,
and I'm like my dad,
we're also alike,
but I feel lost on a planet when I meet their eyes,
like I'm somewhere I shouldn't be,
I wallow in the dust for days, until I feel
them prodding me with a stick from the top shelf,
asking me when I'll finally reach the top.
Telling me that I'm seventeen now and that I used to be on the sixth shelf when I was sixteen.
How I used to do so well with my homework,
and I would get great grades,
but now I get dark stains around my eyes,
and a tearstained face,
but from their great  height, they can't see my shoulders shaking,
they just see me carrying my baggage,
too heavy for my small frame to handle.

I force my way up the mountain,
until I see their faces,
they smile and I tumble right back down.
I feel like screaming;
LOOK AT ME!
I AM HERE!
I EXIST!
I AM ON MY PLANE,
AND YOU ARE ON YOURS!
but however hard I do scream,
the wind picks it up and carries it away,
and all they hear is;
'Look at me, I'm on your plane!"

They smile.
I tumble three.

In a library you could find a book's buildup,
There was this quiet girl who hid behind bookshelves.
She was special, for she took the courage to stand up;
For those who could not stand up for themselves.

She realized that those fighting what they're fearing,
Often did not have a choice.
And that the ones worth hearing,
Often did not have the loudest voice.

She was the one to have her sails unfurled,
In a storm, yet not inflect.
For sometimes those who change the world,
Are the ones you least expect.

Let me be the sunshine that pours rays to heal your broken soul,
Let me be the light that radiates over your dark thoughts,
Let me be the hand that help you when you falls down,
Let me be the book that makes you amuse,
Let me be those flickering stars which makes you dream,
Let me be the reason of the perpetual smile that lives in your soft lips,
Let me be your shadow, so when you feel isolated
i can hug you from behind and make you feel crowded,
Let me be the map that shows you the routes to the destination you seek.

Will you ?
Will you allow me to be everything that makes you happy ?
Will you allow me to be that color which you use to paint your skies ?
Will you ?

sitting on the porch
enjoying midday sun
while others reel in snow
not having any fun

riding icy roads
they slide and spin
going the other way
that they have been

snowing in Atlanta
freezing in Mobile
they scratch their heads
in how the scene unreels

while here in Arizona
we sit and soak in heat
that exceeds the normal
such a wintry treat!

can't help but rub it in
the wonder of the weather
we're blessed to have it so
this January treasure.