A flame for every year
but then we blow them out
A symbol of a life
But an action of our doubt.
Why do we blow them out?

I turned 20 yesterday.
They lit two tiny flames.
One fire for each decade.  
But then I blew them out.
Why did I blow them out?

Perhaps it is a symbol
of years come and gone,
of life that's not lived now.
I want my flame burning on,
why should I blow it out?

A legacy is not established
by only charred remains.
I want to start contagious fires,
burning forever in Your name.
Don't make me blow them out.

I want to leave all three tenses
lit up in glorious flames.
So when I finally meet you,
You'll say "Well done, you left a blaze."

I have replayed what I'd say to you
Time and time again
If our paths did cross
If we ever spoke again
I promised to myself
I wouldn't be the first to speak
But here I am writing this
My heart's starting to leak
Forgive me for my forwardness
I just can't hold it in
If I stay quiet any longer
I'll implode from within:

208 days have past
It's really sad, it is
I'm keeping track of the days
Since I've seen you last
Does that scare you away?
I would turn and run
But see I can't stop falling
When I've already begun
It started forever ago
At least that's what it seems
I'd watch you talk to her
But we'd talk in my dreams
The 'her' left you mistreated
And I saw you break apart
Watching you suffer
Was like a dagger to my heart
Then we hiked a mountain
Something happened to my soul
I felt something draw me in
Like the stories that are told
I waited, though I shouldn't
And I only was let down
Not once, not twice,
But three times I hit the ground
In the midst of all of that
I realized something new
That I would lay my life down
I would lay it down for you
Crazy that I'd say that
But I can't deny what's real
I tried so hard to forget
I tried harder not to feel
You'd think that I'd be hurt
Enough to turn away
But something keeps me here
And your memory won't fade
I've tried everything I can
Everything to no avail
You're floating in my head and heart
Since the day you first set sail
You are waiting for a right time
But life goes by so fast
Never is there perfect moment
To make what counts last
So grab me by my face
Tell me "this will never work!"
That is the only way
To lose the feelings that lurk
And after all this spilling out
Am i just the obsessive freak?
Or is this silence killing you?
Is your heart starting to leak?

Faces, faces lost in the crowd
Planes coming in and planes going out
With the hustle and bustle a soul can get lost
If I talk to this person, how much time will it cost?
Not a thing will I loose but only I'll gain
Look at her soul, she could be going through pain
Maybe she is, maybe she's not
But could I spare a minute?
A lifetime's been bought.

Tap tap tap tap
her fingers beat the wood.
The table did not deserve this
but her patience said she should.
Absence of a complex thing
is what drove her to the brink.
The brink or the door
whichever you prefer.
I am still waiting
writing to pass the time.
I realize now this is not my best rhyme.

The blossoms aren't there anymore
The trees turned to green
It's funny how everything's not how it seemed

Your flowers have died
They hang on my wall
But I know this time, for sure
You'll never call.

Instead of a rainbow
of springtime and ease
My life's turned to darkness
Though it's summer's Eve.

They say absence makes the heart grow
fonder dear, fonder of the one who's gone.
So this is me wondering, has your heart grown?

Cause 6 weeks ago I might have held your hand
And 6 weeks ago I thought I'd understand
Where my heart would be but I think it's separate from me
It couldn't stand to leave ole' Birmingham

I'll tell myself I'm doing fine.
I'm doing fine but I'm writing rhymes
about your eyes and how they shine.
Do mine shine for you too?
Cause writing rhymes ain't anything,
I do about the ones that mean something.
You mean something to me.

Cause 6 weeks ago I might have held your hand
And 6 weeks ago I thought I'd understand
Where my heart would be but I think it's separate from me
It couldn't stand to leave ole' Birmingham

I guess time crept up on me and you did too.
Now I'm left feeling I'm wearing two left shoes.
Yes, yes I missed you.
They say absence makes the heart grow
fonder dear, fonder of the one who's gone.
So this is me wondering, has your heart grown?

Three strikes and you're out.
Be careful where you step.
This heart was carved from thin ice.
Don't gamble on me,
I'm worth more than your dice.

3 years, you say?
The timing is wrong.
If you make life a checklist,
You won't get along.
Love isn't a thing on a list to check off.
It's something that comes when your ready or not.
So go ahead, make your list
But you might find I was an opportunity missed.

You are gone.
I try to rhyme these words.
But you are gone.
To no avail,
Because you are gone.
When you left,
You took my inspiration.
You are gone.
Maybe I'll resort to
constellations.

Come quickly now I beg
Cold mornings but hot days
Do nothing but pull on my leg
I dream of you and coffee steam
Of colored leaves and gentle breeze
That wraps it's arms around my neck
And gives my lips a softer peck
Than air that bites my skin in heat
My dear fall, I anxiously await our meet.

Sincerely, your lover.

If what you see and what you touch
Is the only thing you think is real,
I beg a question of your brain
pertaining to what your hands can't feel.
Do you believe that Love exists?
Cause your opinions counteract.
The way you look at me, it seems,
You believe in the abstract.
So tell me now if you disagree,
I will not be surprised.  
I'll accept your answer cordially
but I'll know you just told a lie.

The number of faces I see each day
adds up and starts to fade away.
I exchange laughter and speak a lot
but never do my eyes get caught.

They say that love can be first sight
but never did I think it might.
Books and movies make it seem
but fiction's not reality

All I know is your eyes caught mine
I close them now,  you're in my rhymes.
You spoke to me but i couldn't hear
my heart was beating so loud i feared
that you could hear it and walk away
but i don't know what made you stay.

I will NOT be the girl
That pines away for you
Fish or cut the bait
Cause there might be someone new
And I can't see his eyes
Cause you're blocking my view

My eyelids are heavy
But you said resistance is futile
My mind is slowly drifting
But you are the ocean
My thoughts have floated miles in
But you cannot here me
My head is only loud inside
But I'll speak loud one day
Because you said resistance is futile.

Right now,
It seems
our lives
Are comprised
Of few "hellos"
And short "Goodbyes"

"Byes" aren't good
I cannot stand them
The bright hello
Becomes so dim

But...

I'd rather say bye
A thousand times
If it meant
Your arms
Could hold me more.

save my heart
wrap it up
keep it beating from the start

don't let me look
from left to right
at those who'll take it part by part

his eyes are kind
his hands are strong
but his soul could do me wrong

i know it's safe
but i'm not patient
keep me from his temptation

Lord hold my heart
until i find
the man who's hands are big enough

If I go anywhere in the world alone
I know that I am not at home
The view is nice, the weather good
But I don’t see it like I should
If I set out across state lines
Even just for a little time
An empty hole within my heart
Reminds me home and I are far apart
But now I realize something true
Home is not a place, in fact
Home is my person, home is you

Let's go anywhere, you choose-
Cause I'll be home, no matter the view

Am i caught up on fiction?
Is this some type of disease?
Rid me of my ignorance,
I'm begging you. Please.
But if ignorance is bliss,
I'd be smart to stay shy.
Although if this is false hope,
I think I might die.

This is the last scheme that You will have a place in.
I think I need to write it down only to remember
That you will no longer be the beginning and the end.
But only an ending, cause nothing will ever start with you again.
Say goodbye to the home that you kept within my words
Cause you are no longer welcome in my heart or in my pen.

You make me mad.
Or is it sad?
I can't decide.

I played with fire.
Burnt my hands.
Should've known how that pans.

So mad it is.
But not at you
At me, because I wanted you.

It's snowing.
Maybe that is why you did not call.
It's Tuesday.
Maybe you've got your back against a wall.
It hurts.
That I can only guess.
It's annoying.
My heart is such a mess.

She poured out herself
Like the oil and vase
The flow never stopped
Full of patience and grace
Maybe grace was too steady
Was it excuses instead?
Cause the weight was too heavy
"Nothing's wrong" she had said

I vow to Love you.
Not with a cheap kind of love
But a Love that is extravagant and priceless
A Love that was bought with a death
A Love that I know only from the pursuit of my savior
Now my Love will not be perfect
But by grace it will be a reflection of something that is
My Love will not be on the surface only
But deeply rooted in the center of my chest
Growing straight through both our ribs and connecting to your heart
Our Love will grow and flourish, getting stronger everyday
Blooming into a bond that cannot be broken
Though rain and wind may come
Our Love will keep on standing
No drought will be a threat when the Lord is on our side
We are not the creators of this Love that we will share
But we are blessed to eternally possess it
Although we have access to it, at times it may seem unreachable
This is no surprise because I am human and so are you
But I vow to see this through
I vow to Love you.

Jesus wept.
It wasn't a silent tear rolling down his cheek
She screamed at him through gritted teeth and He began to weep
He didn't cry because of death or the promise that He kept
But Jesus wept.
The tears flowed from His eyes for a people filled with lies
Like a father hurting for his sick child
Jesus cried for us all the while
The emotion that He felt was real
He cried for the pain that she had to feel
He knew in a moment her pain would be gone
But he felt her pain because of their bond
I can't help but wonder if it's a present tense verb
That wept is still weeping, we just haven't heard.

It's rushing through my veins
 Speeding up a slower pulse
  It only causes pain
   When I know I can't get close
    I try to block it out
     Try and keep it far away
      But I hear Satan breathing
       And black and white turns grey
        Desire is like honey
         It runs thicker than my blood
          I'd try and stop the bleeding
           But on my own I'm not that good

The clocks shorter hand rolls around again
It goes unnoticed cause my mind's deep in thoughts of you
You've poisoned my blood
The doctor says I've got a bad case of love
I need a cure for this.

Thermometers are useless
Because the fever's in my heart
My temperature  is rising
This love is gonna tear me apart
The thought of your name
My head is throbbing do you love me the same?
I didn't let this happen easily
I put up all my walls
But the germs crawled through them all
I've been infected by your disease
I'm lovesick for you.

What happened to an apple a day?
And why didn't keep you away
My legs and my arms they are shaking
My heart is pounding, no it's racing
I've got the shakes and the shivers
They're bad as can be

Darling, won't you just love me.

Life is a journey and I've carried one bag
Made of my ribs and part of my back
Containing one soul and only one heart
Along the way, I've left pieces and parts

I've only left mine, I never take their's
And that's left my luggage with a few tears
Then you came along and I forgot the "what ifs"
The worries of failure, and if love's just a myth

I took hold of your heart, placed it inside my chest
That's why you're different from all the rest
I didn't take their's, cause I knew I would leave
Ignoring the signs, they weren't good for me

I took your heart cause I'm planning to stay
I hope you understand what I'm trying to say-
That I see no one else in my future but you
And now my bag holds not one soul but two.

Navigation on rough waters
It is not an easy feat
Especially if you aren't a pilot
And you've never been this deep.

I thought I knew the currents
And the channels to avoid
But I'm stuck here in the crashing waves
And I need help, I have no choice.

So with gritted teeth and stubborn hands
I take up my pen
And write my message in a bottle
To the beginning and the end.

He has made the very seas
Alone, I can't seem sail
So why would I reject His compass
Cause on my own I'll always fail.

I do not hide it in my chest
my heart is always on my sleeve.
Not that i like it out there, best
I just forget to keep it conceived.

This issue could be good or bad
but for me, it is a problem.
I tell too much of happy and sad
in hopes that he will hold them.

But alas my heart is dropped
and I am left retrieving
the broken pieces on the ground
in a rush to stop the bleeding.

When I gather all the parts
there is one piece missing.
I'll add it to the list of lost
but there is no point in wishing.

When i have it all sewed up
a fool i am to place it back,
Not in my chest where it can hide
but on my sleeve where secrets lack.

You'd think by now I'd be more wise.
I'd learn to keep my mouth shut too.
I wouldn't freely give my heart but
Maybe it's cause I hope they're you.

I always pick up paper if I see it on the floor
Curious the thoughts of the person before
Possibilities make it blank or an old receipt
But something in me hopes it's someone's secret to keep
Or the caring words of a lover to his lovebird
Maybe the thoughts of a wandering mind not heard
It could be the lyrics to a strangers favorite song  
Maybe it's a letter that was lost for oh, so long
Words are what's inside us, it is our heart untold
So maybe I'm a seeker of a stranger's soul
Or maybe it's no stranger, but someone met before
Maybe it is your soul that I am looking for.