Take me
Take me from this land
Use me
Use all that I am

Send me
Send me where I must go
Let me
Let me make others know

Give me
Give me to the lost souls
Show me
Show me all of my roles

When I only want myself
When I'm caught in something else
I'm not looking for what's right
I'm just giving up the fight

When I lose track of my way
When I let go of my faith
I'm not hopeless in Your grace
I'm the one You came to save.

Pour me
Pour me as an offering
Wear me
Wear me down and I will sing

Use me
Use me, use me Lord
Take me
Take me and my life outpoured

When I seem beyond return
When my life has ceased to burn
I am never out of reach
Lord please give me constant peace

When I forget why I'm here
When my focus disappears
I am being made anew
I can still be used by You.

Use me
Use me, gracious Lord
Take me
Take this life that You've outpoured.

This song is so stuck
In my head, that it hurts.
You ever felt that?

They’re taking me over
I can’t back down now
They’re pushing back the line
I can’t give up now

So tell me, what’s a put-down,
When you’re hating on yourself?
Tell me: what’s another’s opinion mean,
When you don’t care about anyone else?

Giving every chance away,

Thinking he could hold out—

no.

Am I as mortal
As the rest of this planet
Or will I linger?

Life is hard, and plus
Haikus are just hard for me
Haikus are life. Wait

Never simply wait;
When the time comes, it will too;
For now, you must work.

So tired, I think
I may have forgotten that
My name is Ashley.

It kills me because
I know how to make music
But I can't right now.

If a picture's worth a thousand words
Then I'll send you a picture of me smiling
Because I'm speechless when I think about you.

The very first time I opened my eyes,
I was blinded by sudden and brilliant light;
The sunlight beamed down from heaven above,
And pierced the corners of my blackest night.

The very first time I looked at the world,
I was 'nraptured by grass bladed green;
The depth of color amazéd me
And rejuvenated by what I had seen.

The very first time I gazed at the sky,
I was overwhelmed by the purity of blue;
The innocence of crystal clouds were sailing high
And birds soared in light brand new.

The very first time I glimpsed the sea,
I felt the size of a small grain of sand;
The endless reaches of water tricked with my mind,
And the crash of waves made it hard to stand.

The very first time I searched for the sunrise,
I watched the light spread across the sky;
The gradual unveiling of heaven's light,
It always feels just like the first time.

At least
We stayed away from the fire
The rest were burned.

Don't move

They surround the ones who struggle
And pull them down to the depths
Where their flames are snuffed out
And they all meet their deaths
Introduced by the king of the hall
Where they join all the rest
And wish they had stayed still

So don't move.

Some of my fears frighten me so badly
that I just wish I could find the right one and get married already.

Chasing tails, erasing fails
The world is out to get you
What if this was just a risk
That you could really  live through?

They've turned my life to boredom
By whitewashing all walls green;
I will not let them in my bedroom
Where they'll mess with my dreams.

I watch as my emotions
Gently roll up and down
That was an understatement
They're faster than I can write down

I don't want to forget
Make a mental note:
Should it be a B?
Or C, D, E, F, G?

I came here for you
And yet you're walking away
Can't you see My love?

Twelve hours of sleep 
Feels exquisitely lovely 
When I can get it.

Can I hold on long enough
To see the end come true?
Or will I fall before I know
How it is ‘tween me and you?

dry your eyes my child
now you know what we fight for
and why we march on.

~~

don’t close your eyes
until the day is done
if you must rest,
then first do a simple task.

~~

you can’t grow stronger
if you let every chance pass
because you can’t win.

~~

don’t bite off more than you know you can chew
being intentional about overcoming your weaknesses
will win over the mindless pummeling of your will to fight
by feeding yourself more than you can handle
and expecting anything less than a stomach ache.

~~

Here is my love, 
for you to take
Here are my hands,
which comfort make
Here is my heart,
for you to hold 
Here is my trust,
it's made of gold 
Here are my eyes
for you alone
Here is myself,
don't be alone
Here will I stand,
all for you
Here will I wait,
until "I do"
Here is my promise,
it ensures
Here is my life,
I'm forever yours.

Fire bore me
Death cannot keep me
Ice remade me
I am Free.

We escaped the night to find
That day was so much darker
For all our biggest fears and doubts
Were visible shapes much sharper.

Not quite sure what’s happening
But now I see more clearly
Can’t tell where things are going
Are we there?  Nearly.

Sometimes fires burn my hands
Sometimes the smoke burns my eyes
Whenever I fall in the red sands
I look up to the open skies

Tired of crawling for the end
I’m standing straight and tall
When the wounds are on the mend
We’ll find we’ve been strong through it all

How far will this winding path go?
How long will the battle push?
All I remember is, I don’t know,
But still we lead the rush.

Not quite sure how close we’ll get
Not quite sure how far we’ve come
But if we continue we will find yet
He gave us the strength to run.

I will go to bed....
I will go to bed when I find the key to existence
I will go to bed when I hear the voice of God
I will go to bed when I find my sanity
I will go to bed when my iPod dies.

Tired and weary,
Torn and worn;
Wrung with wights,
Thick with thorns.

"Broaden your horizons,"
Said the teacher to the student.
He said, "Fine, I'll do that,
I'll move to another planet."

No matter where I go today
A song flows through my head
It twists and turns, leaves and returns,
But stays, just as I said

It is a song of monotony
That changes into peace
The tune reprises, what I realize is
It’s a song that mirrors me

As I run along to my next class
The song picks up the pace
Inside my mind, it leaves behind
Of slowness every trace

I reach my seat and barely get
To sit before the bell
I look around, the song resounds
Of relief that I did so well

And as I walk back home today
The song is humming still
Satisfaction, pleased distraction
The song skips down the hill.

If my words
Were musical
And had a beat and time,
How would all
The cymbals go
Around my crafted rhymes?

Horace Mann in my history class
Lived from 1796 to 1859

He was born three hundred years before me
And lived to be sixty-three

What if I died in 2059?
I don't want to die that soon.

I won't even get to see the year 2100!
I've never thought of that before.

I'd have to live to one-hundred and four
And that is highly improbable.

So maybe I'll live to 2076
That's if I get to be eighty

But even then...what if it comes
What if I'm dying, and I have regrets?

What if I'm eighty years old
And I'm lying there thinking

And wishing I had witnessed to those kids in highschool
Wishing I'd taken advantage of having grown up overseas

What if I'm lying there wishing
That I had more time

Wishing I didn't have to go
Feeling like I'm not ready yet?

I don't want that to happen!!
I don't want to die with regrets!!

No!! I still have 63 years
Until I'm eighty, that's enough, isn't it?

But.....that's only assuming
That I'll die of old age

What if I got cancer
Or what if there was a school shooting

Or what if another country set off nukes
Or what if I was on a plane and the plane crashed

What if I died before I got married?
What if I died before I got my love life straightened out?

What if I died without forgiving people
What if I died without forgiving myself?

What if I died without telling my parents
How much I appreciated and loved them?

What if I died without ever finishing a story?
I'd never be a famous (but dead) author.

What if no one remembered me,
Or missed me, or thought of things I'd done?

What if I never did anything worthy of remembrance?
What if it took me before I was ready?

What if
             I died
                      *tomorrow?

She gobbles up short stories,
She scoffs down lines of prose;
She reads the long tales through the night—
Bree's appetite plainly shows.

You have your hands full
without criticizing all my faults.

I looked and realized that my
Hands were shaking terribly
I never would have known if I
Had not been faking security

I didn’t know how I should start, but
There was nothing said
Words were simply lost on me, what
I wished I was loving instead

You were my only fear, and I
Hid the selfishness
I only wanted to run and hide
Ineffectiveness

Maybe there was something more, that
I had never thought
Perhaps I had come too soon, at
The conclusion it was rot.

Should have held your hand
Just a little bit tighter
So you'd understand.

My love is moonlight
Because it's not only dark,
But illumimates.

My love is music
Because it's both personal
And vulnerable.

My love is a tree
Because it grows back slowly
And slower each time.

My love is home
Because if you leave it, still
It stays there for you.

My love's a haiku
Because it has its limits
But depth speaks much more.

The thing about my mentality is
It isn't very real
Someday, I just hope I look
Just as cool as I feel.

Hey, looks like we're friends
Again, or maybe anew
I just hope it lasts.

I smile sometimes
Only in remembrance of
Funny things you'd said.

You write to share your feelings
So others will see them too
I write because I poem
And rhythm and rhyme, too.

I tell you I've been busy
And sometimes I've been dizzy
Going somewhere constantly
Wandering unconsciously

Too tired to pretend
Just hope I'm near the end
Getting harder every day
To remember what to say

Every time I look
Every chance I took
Got me right back here to see
That You're right in front of me

All the times I hide
All the reasons why
Get me right back to the start
Take these pieces of my heart

I look like someone hurting
Others they are learning
Not to stand and stare at me
Not to ask me what they see

Burdens on my shoulders
I have lifted boulders 
Nothing that I cannot do
When will I give in to You

Every time I look
Every chance I took
Got me right back here to see
That You're right in front of me

All the times I hide
All the reasons why
Get me right back to the start
Take these pieces of my heart

And I'm never going to get it right
Not in this life, not in this life
I'm never going to get it down 
Not here tonight, no not tonight
And if I never really get this thing right
That is alright, that is alright
If I never really figure all of this out
Then it's just fine, yeah it's just fine

Every time I look
Every chance I took
Got me right back here to see
That You're right in front of me

All the times I hide
All the reasons why
Get me right back to the start
Take these pieces of my heart

Oh take these pieces of my heart
Take me right back to the start.

Grey means I'm tired,
Black means depressed,
Turquoise means I'm happy;
Just look at how I'm dressed.

You write of sadness all the time
No human feels this wretched!
Perhaps you wish you were pitied still
So pity is your method.

Do you take joy in
My confusion and my daze
When they're caused by you?

Something I hold onto
To help me let it go
Something that changes
To keep the status quo

Fuzzy lines and pointed questions
They get the worst of me
Maybe to forget what I remember
I need the memory

Color drains and drips from your face
Skies turn to grey and say “I’m sorry”
And as the rain falls it’s a sure thing
The lightning overhead lights up around me

Knees bent and face to the ground
What was I running from?
Don’t need to understand to believe
What else to do when He says “Come”?

Don’t hold your breath
Expectations always fail
What we thought we knew
Was anything but true in the end of the tale

We’re all searching for life
When it’s right here in Him
So many miss the mark
When it’s right there; it’s Him

Answers need questioning
We solved the mysteries before 
Before the world opened wider 
Afraid to step through the door

The things that are easiest to say
Are hardest to do
The things we do so easily
Are hardest to say.

All the music runs together
When you listen to an album all at once
It's hard to tell where one song ends
And another begins the trance.