my pages are shaking like
timid dry leaves on
a brisk Autumn morning
I am a book heavy
with unspoken words
piled beneath countless others
a couple stains and a weak spine
it's hard to hold all the stories together
sometimes I'll find a page out of order
that someone's ripped out and
rearranged
The stories are getting shorter and shorter
losing pages throughout and

What fascinates me about stars,
is that they are born from explosions
and built from collapsed particles.
I like to think that people are like that as well.
So whenever you feel like everything
is getting a little too much
and you are about to give up and explode,
don't be afraid to collapse.
Let yourself crumble.
This is not your destruction,
it is your birth
it is your time to shine.

Whenever I look in the mirror
I'm not sure what I'll see
Because the person staring back
Isn't really me

The person in the mirror
Is nothing but a lie
Doing what people want
And mimicking those near by

The makeup that she wears
The fact that she's lost weight
All just makes her look like them
The people she used to hate

The way she acts and talks
The things she'll do and say
It's absolutely horrible
She's truly gone astray

Then the smile on her face
It's the biggest lie of all
Because I know deep inside
She feels like she will fall

So I ask you this question
And please, think it through
Is your reflection staring back
Still the real you?

Once there was a little bird
As happy as could be
It soared up in the sky all day
Joyful and carefree

The little bird loved to fly
Till someone broke its wing
It was okay living on the ground
But the thought caused quite a sting

That bird had beautiful feathers too
Till someone plucked them out
With nothing to protect itself
The bird was full of doubt

So the bird built itself a nest
Till someone else made it their own
With no room left for the little bird
It went off all alone

The little bird used to love to sing
But somehow it lost its song
It knew it still had a voice inside
But everything felt wrong

Once there was a little bird
With nothing left at all
All alone, stuck on the ground
The bird just felt....so small

Everyone has choices in life
And make them every day
Small decisions like what to eat
And big ones like go or stay

Each and every decision
Presents a different path
With tons of decisions every day
Well, you can do the math

Who knows what would change
If we could redo what's already passed
"...If that one thing had been different?"
A question we've all asked

If you were given the opportunity
Would you change an event so small
Would you really take that chance
When that little thing could change it all

Sometimes when life gets bad
We want to take it all back
We wish that things were different
And want to try a different track

After doing lots of thinking
I think we are where we're meant to be
On the road to greater things
We just have to be patient and see

There are so many times in life
When we are forced to choose
Do we help someone else win
Even if it means that we lose

For me the choice has been easy
Always fill other people with cheer
Even if the choice hurts me,
It's worth it to remove their tear.

There are times when it gets lonely
Putting others before one's self
There are times when it almost feels
Like I put my own needs on a shelf

While doing all I can for others
I try my best to never complain
But even with my best efforts
It's me that gets left out in the rain

When someone needs a friend
I'm always the one that they call
Then when they are feeling better
I'm ignored; left alone too bawl

I don't regret the things I have done
Because it helped show them I care
But sometimes it'd be nice for me
If somebody could be there

Throughout my entire life
I've been hurt putting others first
But never having the favor returned
...that is definitely the worst.