What lesson do our children learn
when watching children
****** children in their classrooms
what value do we give their education
when seperating best friends forever
by filling one heart with grief
and putting the other one in its early grave
what child needs to know
the weight and velocity
of the bullets that tore
their once safe world apart

how many tears will it take
to drown out the greed
that allows the trigger of the gun
to be in such an easy place to reach
and the moment of silence has had its turn
and though it may have brought
some small comfort
it did not take the pain away

now we must raise our voices
for the dead
we must raise our voices
for those who have not yet died
we must raise our voices
and we must be loud
louder than the money exchanging hands
louder than the bullets and the bangs
and louder than the rat-a-tat-tat
machine guns song

its more than a matter of safety or control
its the value of the education
we too often forget
forget to teach
forget to remember
forget to live by
the education of kindness
the value of generosity
the need of empathy
the lesson and the gift of love

that we are all the same
no matter our birthplace
no matter what flag we sleep under
no matter what name we whisper
when we offer our prayers
and our hopes
we are all the same
we all live in the same house
no matter how many walls divide us
no matter the mountains between us
no matter the oceans that separate us

we are all in one house
and we are all connected
by the one thing
the only thing
we need to both give
and to receive  
the lesson and the gift of love

let us teach this first
before anything else
because without it
the education we give our children
will continue to be washed away
with the lives of all the children
that we fail to save

It is hard to dream of you at night
Yet not see your face at all in the day
I desperately need to hear your voice
But when we talk I don't know what to say

I'm tired of living life like this
I hate waking up knowing you're not there
I'm still madly in love with you
But you're too happy to notice or care

I just want to call you again
And tell you how everything is wrong
I wish I could let my feelings pour out
I miss you and it's so hard to be strong

It doesn't matter what I do
Or where I go, you're always on my mind
I'm stuck in the past, I can't move on
I'm not ready to leave this behind

I don't want to be with anyone else
I forgive you but I can't forget
I had the best year of my life with you
And I'm not angry, just upset

I ask questions that have no answers
Why did this have to happen to me?
What did I do to do to deserve this?
Who is it you want me to be?

I've tried to be enough for you
But people can't change overnight
And I'm starting to realize
That with you I'll never win the fight.

One moment I think I'm still special
And the next you prove that I'm not
You used to text me all the time
Now I'm just an afterthought

You're not afraid of losing me
In fact it seems like you're doing just fine
It's clear you don't need me to hold or kiss
I wonder who will be your Valentine

I'm alone this year and memories
Twist tightly around my bitter heart
The empty space beside me is just
a reminder that I'm still torn apart

I know that this sounds pathetic
But I cry whenever I can't sleep
I count the days we spent together
Instead of numbers or jumping sheep

It's embarrassing but sometimes
I talk to myself in the mirror
I tell my reflection all of the words
I want to stammer that you'll never hear

I'm longing to feel your arms around me
No one has ever mattered this much
I love how you light my skin on fire
I hate that I'm sick without your touch

I despise the girl I've become
Begging for your warm affection
I fear that despite my best efforts
I wont ever achieve perfection

I wouldn't ask you to be different
I accept you for who you are
In my eyes your flaws are beautiful
I love and appreciate every scar

You're not the person I fell for
You've changed but I still feel the same
Even now you have the power
To drive me crazy just by saying my name

I'm holding onto what we had
Although everyone agrees I should let go
Friends ask me why I can't move on
I just shrug and say "I don't really know"

My bed is too big and cold these days
My head is bursting at the seams
It hurts to sleep alone at night
But at least I have you in my dreams

you will never be forgotten.
ever.
your name twisted into metaphors and colors and distractions will forever
be painted across pages and pages of her favorite brand of notebook,
no matter how many she burns
there will always be one she forgot,
and she will only find it once she had almost forgotten you.
she will find the one Papyrus notebook
and all of your metaphors and colors and disractions will come flooding back,
just like how the ocean in your eyes
flooded her heart all those years ago.

i am no poet.
my words are far too clumsy
my metaphors are feebly founded
my sentences go on and on
never reaching the point
i wish i had graceful words
and beautiful metaphors
and masterfully crafted sentences
that would work together
to frame my feelings in the perfect way
i wish that i could articulate the emotions that wage wars in my mind
i wish i could do them justice.
and i try
but this is all there is
and i'm sorry.