there's those little things
you know the one's i'm talking about,
that make life as special as it is

the smell of rain hitting the bruised and broken sidewalk
the feeling of sand grasping onto your vulnerable toes
the crunch of autumn leaves begging for forgiveness
the day you realize, hey
i really love myself today

the crackling orchestra of post-sunfall bonfires
the book you can never really find the time to put down
the tea that brings your world to peace
the cafe that always welcomes you with open arms

the feeling of hugging somebody you love with everything inside of you
the sunrise, that can just be seen over the forest of trees
the stars that shine brighter than an eternity of smiles

the feeling of your decadent sheets after a long and stressful day
the freedom that comes with driving destination-less
the comfort of your friends and family
and the warmth of your favourite blanket

the joy found in adventure
the sound of nature
the act of finding a mix tape that perfectly sums up your current emotions
the creativity found in the far corners of your mind

you see friends?
there's so many things we take for granted
so many things that make us happy
that pass us by each day
without even the slightest clue

sit back
relax
enjoy these little areas of life

for one day,
you may never be able to experience them again.

hs

love, what a strange concept

as i've grown up, i've been able to learn a lot of things about love
for one, that it never fails

now this may be hard to believe, because if love never fails then how come divorce and break-ups exist?

well there is only logical solution, the love wasn't real

now you can argue with me all day about how you "loved" that one person, but it just wasn't working out for either of you

now to me, that doesn't sound like love

love is fighting
love is patient, love is kind
love is sacrifice
love is un-ending, it never gives up, it never runs out
love never fails

but the part that is truly devastating, is that true love may have only been felt by one person

now i'm not here to tell you that one's love was fake, but if that person chose (keyword: chose) to love no longer, they never truly loved

love does not change, it does not make conditions
it does not decide one day, hey it's time to move on

love doesn't work that way,
love never fails

i think the concept of "love" has been twisted and altered in our world to lead us to believe we can fall in and out of love

ha, it's funny to believe you can "fall out of love", there is no such concept

love cannot be broken, or altered or demanded
love occurs naturally, and love is unconditional

take the love of God for example, that is pure love

there is nothing in this entire universe that will ever be able to separate us from God's overwhelming love

no matter how many times we've fallen short, betrayed, gone against or ran away from God's love, it's always there

it always welcomes us home with open arms,
and offers grace at any given opportunity

now that, is love.

and i'm not here to tell you that you cannot love, because no love can ever amount to the love of God

but simply showing that true love is something that never really leaves, and if it does, it wasn't ever deeply present

because if you do choose to truly love, you will do anything
you will fight until death does you part
you will invest all you have
you will give up areas of your life that may be hard in order to make it work
because after all,
love
never
fails.

hs

Change
The word that makes my heart flutter and stomach turn
The word that dignifies new beginnings
but also
The word that no overly-attached, over-thinking girl wants to hear
or feel

Change
Quarters, Pennies, Nickels, Dimes
while at the same time
the moment in which my entire body becomes so overwhelmed with emotion
I can barely even think

Change
What I use to pay for my morning coffee
or to take the subway to where only God knows
trying to escape the feelings of change

It's crazy isn't it?
How change can be so many different moments all at once?
Moving houses
Getting married, making a family
Finding a new coffee shop to spend too much of your time in
Loosing a best friend
Dropping out of University and moving to a city an hour and a half away from home to start a new life
to feel truly free
to be independent
to live

But change
isn't always bad
It doesn't always mean loosing everything you once had
or forgetting every ounce of memory you once contained in your precious mind

Change
A new start
A reason to be refreshed
Meet new people, experience new things
Live life to the absolute fullest extent

I've always wanted to travel and be free
But I have a fear of change
How very ironic

Because the edge of my comfort zone
is where my life begins
And I would be crazy to not take every opportunity life throws at me

So here I am,
embracing the change that's occurring all around me
sitting in a little coffee shop off of King West
far from home
and all I've ever known
writing this poem

If you ask me, the world has gone mad.
Not the type which can be cured by a couple doses of strong medication, or can be institutionalized back to what is referred to as "the normal."

But simply, mad

It's a sort of unbearable feeling you know?
Knowing that you can never
and never will
be enough for this world.

We are born into this.
The world takes us into it's grasp and nurtures us from the very day we are born. The words "skinny" "pretty" "skinny" "pretty" repeat over and over again like a broken record.

We live in a world where perfection requires a price, and beauty is only recognized in what is seen.

Creativity has become something that is confined to "indie cafes" and "poetry blogs."

The place in the very centre of the Earth which was once filled with inspiration and imagination, is now an empty void with nothing to show but the loneliness that lingers in the cold, brisk air.

Is it really that hard to simply be kind? To smile at the stranger who opened the door for you so you wouldn't spill your coffee? To be a helping hand for those who need it most?

What happened to all the wild dreamers? Optimists? Adventurers? Those who are willing to step out of their comfort zones to live a little?

We have become so comfortably numb,
and our world has become nothing but the illusion of insanity.

We let it be this way.

hs