When you hear the voice of "can't"
Know that it was never really yours
You've been preprogrammed to believe
The doors of opportunity are closed

Remember--
Our language's vocabulary is vast
For every contradiction of "You can't"
There is always an "I can"

© JL Smith

I sincerely miss
Giving the top of your head
A kiss
When you appear in my dreams
On nights like this

© JL Smith

Stop, dear girl
Savor this moment
The world spins fast enough
Don't forget the present
Before it's stolen

© JL Smith

I must have erased this
A hundred times
The truth is
I feared loneliness
As it peaked at bedtime

Someone once spent a fortune
Of time on me
Implanting ideas
I'd amount to nothing
"Just wait and see"
I wasn't worthy of love
Something out of my reach
I worked myself to the bone
To earn nothing
Of what was promised or preached
And one day Someone left,
But I've managed to survive
While those poisonous thoughts
Continued to eat me alive

Time does pass
As wounds heal slowly
My loved ones remind me to laugh
And look after me closely
I'm grateful for them
And for guidance from Above
I can fall asleep peacefully
Knowing I am loved

I'm confident
Someone wouldn't recognize me now
I'm stronger, wiser, less lonely
But I don't question how

For you see, the answer's obvious
Granting me tenacity of a fighter
All along, my strength's been within
Loving myself through words on a typewriter

© JL Smith

It's not that
I'm playing
Hard to get
I just wasn't made
To be kept

© JL Smith

I don't know
Which is uglier
Your jealousy or pride
I grew too closely
Then you changed
Like the seasons
And I drifted
With the tide

© JL Smith

They'll think I'm crazy for this,
But I'm certain they already do
You're not here yet,
But I'm confident someday in the future
The world sure is gonna welcome you

You'll be bright
A shining star
With a head full of curls
Always setting the bar

You'll be kind
Looking out for others
With a smile
Patient, like a Southerner

You'll be humble
A skilled listener
With arms open
For any visitor

You'll be witty
Eliciting laughter from many
With joy as your purpose
And remarkably friendly

You'll be loving
Deeply, so deeply
With a heart
Crafted ever uniquely

You're not here yet,
But someday we'll meet
For now, you'll remain in my heart
As I count its beats

Until I witness these words
Of all that you'll be
I know of their truth
Because you'll inherit them from me

© JL Smith