It can go
ever so slow
or just way
too fast.

When you
hurt it just
seems to last
forever and ever
as the pain just
seems to
hang on.

When
everything feels
right time
just flies by at
the speed
of light.

When you
watch the clock
time just
creeps along like
a giant rock.

Like lightning
the present
becomes the past
and you blink
and you don't
even have time
to think....

It is said
that time heals
everything leaving me
to wonder how long
do I have to wait
for this pain to end
even knowing that
by keeping it
I have nothing
to gain.                               Jon York                     2012

There are too
         many  mediocre  things
            in life to deal with.

                        Love
              shouldn't be one
                      of them.
             Anything less than
        extraordinary is a waste
                            of
                       my time.

               She's annoying,
        she's hilarious, she makes
            me yell, she drives
                     me crazy,
          she's out of her mind,
                   she's magic,
            but she's everything
                        I want.

                 I'm pretty sure
         she deserves a spanking.
                  She loves the
            anticipation of what
        I  am going  to  do  to her.

                       She is all
                  I need to set my
       dirtiest fantasies in motion
                            and
                she's extraordinary.
                            and
                        I love her.
                                                                             Jon York   2019

I want to be the
      reason  you  look
        down at your
      phone and smile.  

      Then walk into
              a pole.
                                                             Jon York   2019

Think about it,
          your best
    dreams  and  your
    worst  nightmares
      have the same
    people  in  them.
        So  love  all,
          trust few.
     Everything's real
             but not
      everyone's true.
  So  be  loyal  to  your
          future, not to
  your  past and  do  not
         depend on
anyone too much in this
              world,
       for  even  your
              shadow
      leaves  you when
           you enter  
            darkness.

Open your mind before you open your lips and before you try to tell someone that they are living the wrong kind of life. Being different is the only thing keeping the world beautiful.
                                                                              Jon York   2019

The heart, such a delicate part
of the human anatomy
because it can be so easily bruised,
so easily hurt, and easily broken
but sometimes when it needs to be,
it can be one of the strongest parts
of our body and it will
carry you through when
all else has failed.

Everyone plays a part while
trying to protect their tender heart
but it breaks so easily and sometimes
it is so very difficult to repair
and make a new start.

So sometimes you have to try
to not think with your heart
but you will find that this is where
the love that you feel will always
start and that is in the heart.

Take the time to think about
what you are doing before
you involve your heart if you can
but remember the heart
is always hungry for love
and that it has to be fed
or you will just feel dead.

Give love to others
and you will receive
all of the love that you need
but learn to protect your heart
from the very start.             Jon  York            2013

If you don't
let the past
die, then it
won't  let
you live.

Do not give
your past the
power to define
  your future.

Two things prevent
us from happiness:
living in the past,
and observing
      others.

Care about what
other people think
and you will always
be their prisoner.
                                                                                          Jon York    2021

I remember. . . .
When I first heard your voice
and I knew at that very instant
I had no choice but
to make you mine
in time.

I remember. . .
That you saw my pain
and my sorrow and you made
me look forward to
another tomorrow
and you made me laugh
and feel alive again.

I remember. . .
The first time we touched
and it seemed so right
that I never wanted to let go
and when you told me
that you loved me
and it set me free because
I not only believed it,
I felt it too.

I remember. . .
When I felt your smile
as we kissed and
as we lay in bed together  
nothing else mattered.

I remember. . .
when you called me
just to hear my voice
and thinking to myself
where would I be if you
hadn't come along
and set me free.

I remember. . .
the feeling of your body
so soft and warm as you
slowly rode me
through the night
and oh my what
a beautiful sight.

I remember. . .
telling you that I once
knew a place cold and frightening
and bitterly blue
and if you should find
yourself there too
I'd hold your hand
and walk with you.
                                           Jon York                2013

Be. . .prepared for the journey of life and where
it may take you.

Be. . .prepared for anything that may come your way
knowing that some will lose and some will win,
                                       but we will never be here again.

Be. . .creative and dynamic in your thinking and
doing and happy, because life is too short to
be anything else.

Be. . .strong when you are weak,
brave when you are scared, because you will
need it if you expect to survive.

Be. . .humble when you are victorious and happy
because life is over before you know it.

Be. . .thankful to be alive knowing that every minute
you have will never come again.

Be. . .the first to apologize, the first to be bravest
and the first to forgive and be the happiest.

Be. . .patient, everything is coming together.

Will it be easy?
               Nope.
Worth it?
              Absolutely.

Trust the process and do the best you can until
you know better and when you know better,
do better.                                                          ­   Jon York     2016

We all have
our dreams but so many
of those dreams are shattered
because the world
isn't what it seems
as everybody has their
own little schemes.

No one is real
but we all are the same
just with different names
and either part of the have's
or part of the have not's
or one of the many
in betweens.

This is the world
that we live in and things
will never change
because the rich get richer
and the poor get poorer
so all we can do is
open the door and try to get
some more of what society
says we need to make
that dream come
true.

So we try
and we lie to ourselves
and everybody else
and end up being
not what we
really seem so we can
live that dream                                    Jon   York    2012

So very young  and so in love, the  first  love
that you never forget. You went somewhere
(I had no idea where)and I went to Alaska and
then I  went  to  war  and  the  years  began to
fade the memories, erasing lines of dialogue,
making  vague  the  dates  and  the  places...

...my lips and skin still remember, my hands
will still know all the contours...

...and clearly feel the touch of you.

We both had a dream of love. We looked for
it  in the hidden places of  the  future,  in the
secret places of our hearts.

Fifty years later you found me and I can't help
but think that you may have never been mine,
but I was yours and I still all these years later
go to bed every night wondering how it would
feel  to  have you here  with me. True  intimacy
happens when nothing is perfect.

You are many miles away, married, living in your
castle,and I can't help but feel you are scared to
meet me again after so many years even though
you made the effort to find me, contact me and let
me know that your heart was still heavy with thoughts
of me after so many years apart.                                    
                      ­                                                                 ­        Jon York 2021

Your clothes
         look
   nice on my
    bedroom
        floor.
   Yes I have a
    ***** mind
          and
   you're running
        through
            it....
         naked.
                                                          ­                                Jon York  2019

Every year is getting shorter
as I get older and the seasons
come and go at the speed of
light but the Winters feel so
cold and slow and the Summers
feel long and hot as you look up
and everyone you know has aged
almost beyond recognition and
you wonder how they let themselves
get in such a condition as the pages
keep turning and you wonder to
yourself, "do I look that old?"and for
your youth you are yearning.

As I look for something to say on this
lazy Summer day, I know that I am a
strong person, but every now and then
I need someone to take my hand and
say everything will be all right because
sometimes it is the little things that
matter and the few kind words that
people speak and the few precious
moments that we choose to keep
forever in the back of our minds
as we ride out the final years in
what sometimes feels like an
endless grind.

Forget what hurt you, but never
forget what it taught you and
don't promise when you're happy,
and do not reply when you're angry,
and do not decide when your sad,
and know it's better to bite your
tongue than to eat your words
knowing that the word listen contains
the same letters as the word silent
and know character is how is how
you treat those who can do nothing
for you.

There will always be a "lie" in believe.
an "over" in lover, and an "end" in
friend, an "us" in trust, and an "If" in
life, so be kind, for everyone is fighting
a hard battle and realize that the happiest
people don't have the best of everything,
they just make the best of everything
so don' be afraid to swim upstream
to find that dream.
                                                       Jon York     2016

"Life is beautiful so let us
admire it and realize our
dreams as our journey begins
and let us go confidently
in that direction so it seems
and know my black haired beauty
that it is only you that will do.

I can feel your presence and
I can feel your touch and as
I close my eyes to the darkness
I can feel your heart beating
next to mine as you wrap
your body around me one
more time.

Where do we go from here
and is what we have something
that we can hold to be dear
as we both know  that our
happiness is up to us and
even if we run, walk, stumble,
drive or fly, we can never
lose sight of the reasons for
our journey and the rainbows
that we might see along
the way.

For as long as you love me
I will love only you and
as long as forever my love
will be true because where
there is love there is only you
and always  remember
that from mornings first light
to evenings last star how
special you really are.

You found me when my life
was way off track and you
took my hand and guided
me back by taking my heart
and giving both of us a new
start and we did this by not
gazing at each other but in
looking in the same direction
and if I now know what love
is, it is because of you.              
                                           Jon York                   2013

Have the courage
to stand for
something, do not
be content to wait
and see what will
happen and have
the determination
to make the right
things happen,
and they will.

Recognize and use
opportunities that
come your way
and make it your
day and your life
will start going
the right way and
listen to your heart
from the very start.
                           Jon York   2018

So good
so glad,
with her lies
things became
bad.                                     Jon   York                 2012

Some memories
                  never  leave  
       your  bones.  Like  salt  in
           the seas they  become  
                 part  of  you.
           The smell of her hair,
              the taste of her
            mouth, the feeling
                 of her skin  
         seemed  to get  inside
              of me, or into
            the air around me.
                    She had
      become  a physical necessity
          and  we  were  in  bed
     together  laughing  and   we  
                didn't  care
            about   anything.
         The  strongest  drug
   that  exists  for  a   human  is
         another human being
                   and the
                little things?
         The little moments?
                They aren't
                      little.
                                  ­                                                        Jon York   2019

In six days I will turn 73.
When I was young, a little boy,
I always thought 40 was old.

When I was 40 years old,
I thought 80 was old.

Now I'm 72, I still like to rock
and roll every night and
listening to classic rock is one
of my favorite pastimes.

Nursing homes I will never go,
because I'm smart as a whip,
not thoughtless and old.

People treat me very strange,
as if I'm dying or deranged.

But I'm just fine,
now that I'm approaching 80 and
thought of as old.

I just laugh and think,
wait until they're 80 years old.                                       Jon York    2021

It's been awhile
since I've been able to smile
and hold my head up high
and there is really no
reason why.

I have been
given a mind to discover
and talent to create
but I am always just
a day late.

I spend so much time
wondering why I just can't relate
to so much going on out there
in a world of hate, lies,
and little trust and of course
those great big egos.

The world that I create
around myself is filled with
love, truth, honesty, and kindness
yet this is a world
no one chooses to see
around me because
of what I used
to be.

Almost as if I wasn't real
yet others always
seem to be looking for
something
to steal.

There are countless
paths of knowledge and many
ways to give
but only I can live the life
that I really want
to live.

Get rid of my pain
I tell myself
this pain from losing people
and things that
I thought were here
to stay but seemed
to go astray.

I give love at the risk
that it will not be returned
and when it isn't I wonder
if I am giving too much love
or not enough
but the pain still comes
just as surely as
the rain.

I try to free myself
from the wasted past of things
and loves that were
never meant to last
and I try to never feel guilty
because I didn't live up
to another's expectations
or because I didn't meet
another's standards.

One of these days I hope
that I will be able to finally see
all of what has been going on
right in front of me
so that I can be
set free.

But for now
I just allow the words to flow
and I watch where they go
hoping that they might
catch someone's eye
and be read before
I am dead.                                                       Jon York                2012

Looking out at the road rushing under my
wheels, looking back at the years gone by
like so many summer fields, in 66 I was
holding my first love  and she really took
me, the way she looked so fine and now
50 years later she is still on my mind.

You got to do what you can just to keep
your love alive and try not to confuse it
with what you do to survive but I know
that so many years later, she still
remembers me and who knows,we may
meet again some day, and I will say to her
love the life you live.and  live the life you
love and know that life is to be enjoyed,
not endured, and do things that move you,
knowing that every day is a new day, so
be yourself and the ones who really belong
in your life will come to you and stay.

Everyone I know, everywhere I go ,people
need some reason to believe,  but I do know
that love is a story that never gets old, a
taste so sweet, so full of forgiveness, and
letting go, with a kiss that enters the soul.  

Today I turned 69 and I am going to
experience as much as I can while learning
from my mistakes and find the causes
of my problems and eliminate them,
knowing that the future is so uncertain,
and the end is always near, which is why
I hold life to be dear, knowing that a little
love goes a long way, and a lot of love
goes forever, so I will understand and have
courage, as well as be strong, knowing that
love will come my way again some day,
even at my ripe old age.        
                                                   Jon York    2017

Every day is a poem.  Poetry  is  therapy, whether  you're
reading  it, writing  it, or  simply  evoking  it  in  thought
patterns and perspectives.

Pain,  both  physical  or  mental, is  part  of life.  It  is what
makes us  human;  it shapes us the same as  love. Through
poetry we touch the places that are too painful to linger in.

Be your own hero. Let your pain be a source of inspiration,
turn your heavy load into poetry, own  it, use  it, and take
as  much from it now as  it has taken  from you in the past.
Embrace pain and burn it as fuel for your journey.  You're
a dangerous person  if  you go  through  things  alone and
come back better.

In  our writing, we  can uncover the  how and  why of our
pain, looking deeper into the process of its becoming, and
then we begin to dismantle it.

Turn pain  into power,  sadness into strength,  words  into
wisdom.  Pain makes  you  stronger, heartache makes you
wiser. Let your pain become your power.
                                                                                              Jon York  2023

I have no special talent,
I am only passionately
curious about life and I
know that our life is a
message to the world, so
I try to make mine
inspiring.

People may not always
tell you how they feel
about you, but they will
always show you, PAY
ATTENTION.

Learn to embrace reality,
even if it burns you and
if you do what you love,
you will never work a
day in your life.

Creativity is intelligence
having fun and the creative
adult is the child who
survived, so  go confidently
in the direction of your
dreams and live the life
you've imagined and
remember that nothing is
worth it if you aren't happy.

Never let you fear decide
your future and grow
through what you go
through and you will find
that your hardest times
often lead to the greatest
moments of your life and
if you keep the faith, it
will all be worth it in the
end.
                              Jon York    2017

We are just mortal beings in an
ever-changing phenomenal existence
and our life would be very empty
if we had nothing to regret but
at the same time we have to know
that kindness, beauty, and truth can
show us the way and give us the
courage to face life for another day.

Life may not be the party that you
had hoped for but while you are here
you should always try to remember
to not ask for much knowing that the
truth will do just fine and you need to
accept what is, let go of what was,
and have faith in what will be.

It is good to discover people who are
worthy of respect, admiration, and love
but it is vital to believe yourself deserving
of such things so act without acting,
serve without serving, map difficult
through easy, and approach great
through narrow.

We are born soft and weak but die
stiff and strong while sometimes sincere
words are not pretty and pretty words are
not sincere and remember that we all
have to go through the same thing,
we are born, we do some living, then
we die, but so many never know why
and having no clue, they just live and die.

Know that a mediocre person will tell
you something, but a good person will
explain it to you, while the better person
will demonstrate it for you, but the
great person will inspire you so open
your eyes so that you may see the beauty
that surrounds you and open your ears
so that you may hear the joyous sounds
of the world and slow down so that
you may have time to revel in the
glorious world around you and know
that all that you touch and all that
you see is all your life will ever be.
                                                               Jon York      2014

Yesterday is a
cancelled check;
tomorrow is a
promissory note;
today is the only
cash you have
- so spend it
wisely and take
the time to look
around you and
see the beauty
and love that is
out there and
realize that people
do care even
though your life
may have been
unfair.    
                                  Jon York   2016

Her blue eyes
like the changing sea.
    Her blond hair
soft as a rose petal.

    Her childish grin
hides her crazy and
    evil ways.

    Her laughter,
unique with no rhythm,
as if she was calm, sweet,
    and innocent.

    Standing there
staring with fire in my
eyes I grabbed her close
with a passionate kiss
holding on to her like I
was never going to
    let her go.

    And then I wake up
remembering this so
    real dream.                                                                    Jon York    2021

Life is more than
a song: it is a concert
and life is to be lived
so be thankful for
bad times for they
herald the onset of
the good and know
that the most important
lessons in life are the
most painful.

Remember that the
greatest trees are
humble enough
to bend in the wind
so be strong and you
can bend: be rigid
and you will break
                             Jon York   2015

Time flies whether you're
having fun or not and
when we are young we
admire clever people but
when we get old we admire
kind people and sadly we
find that there is always a
specific moment when we
realize that our youth is
gone.

The first forty years of life
give us the text and the next
thirty supply the commentary
and one of the many things
no one tells us about aging
is that it is such a nice
change from being young
because in youth we learn
and in age we understand
but the really sad part about
getting old is that we stay
young on the inside but no
one can tell.

Live a good and honorable
life and then when you get
older and think back you'll
get to enjoy it a second time
around and by the time you
hit sixty you'll have learned
your hardest lessons because
by then you have found out
that only a few things are
really important and you
have learned to take life
seriously but not yourself
and by then you know that
beautiful young people are
acts of nature and beautiful
old people are works of art.
                                                      on York   2016

I felt you before I knew of your existence,
maybe it was a hint from the universe to
continue on the yellow brick road so when
I would find you along my travels I would
simply just know.

We are connected, wide and deep and no
one can remove this connection that we
have because you are part of me, I am
part of you for ever and ever.

I am who I am partly because of you and
you are you partly because of me.

In spite of being apart we connect through
our dreams and we could be a thousand
miles apart, and I'd still know you were
there.

Re uniting with you was like a blaze of
connection-or collision, as we were both
wandering in the same labyrinth and
had finally rounded that corner that
brought us face to face.........................
(phone to phone) and it was a feeling of
being lost and alone, and then suddenly
neither.

I could never hate you because we are
too connected and I couldn't hate you
without hating myself.

Invisible threads are the strongest.

No matter what happens, this much is
certain: our souls are one until life closes
the curtains.

A part of me will always be you and a
part of you will always be me.
                                                             ­   Jon York   2018

Getting  your  **** together  requires
a  level of honesty you can't imagine.

There's nothing easy about realizing
you're  the  one that's  been  holding
you  back  this  whole  time.

     YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE :
No  one is  going  to save  you. This
life of yours is 100% your responsibility.
No  matter  how  you  feel,  get  up,
dress up, show up, and never give up.

If  you're  searching  for  that  one
person that can change your life,
take a look in the mirror.

You don't always have to tell your
side of the story.

Time will.
                                                                                               Jon York  2023

Seventy-Four years old this  past  September 20th.
The years went bye so very fast but I think I'll last
several  more and this  is what I have to say about
the elegance  of  time.

Time is one of  life's  valuable  commodities. Don't
take time for granted. Let what drives you  be  the
knowing that the clock is ticking.

Time dies,  life goes on and the minute you  think
the past  was  better, your present is  second-hand
and you become vintage.

We are all just stories in the end, just try to make
yours a good one, eh?

"Life  will  send  you  whatever  experience  you
need  to  stimulate the  evolution of  your consciousness."  
                                                             Eckhart Tolle
                                                                                                Jon York  2022

Music helps me
           to forget about the world
                           I live in
              and gives me reason
        to   end  something   useless
                      and move on.
           At times I fit into the lyrics
                    more than I fit
                          into life.
            In   many   life   situations
                      and events
          I  find  myself  in  I  can't  
                    explain how I
                        feel but I
           can find a song that can.
                   I love it when
            I  hear  lyrics  that  apply
                          to  my
                  current situation.
      Each memory has a soundtrack
                     all of its own,  
         even  if it is a bad memory
that you'd prefer to erase from your
                   mind forever.
            When  you  hear  that  
   particular song, the  bad memories
         are always there with it.
  Behind every song is an untold story.
              Someday it's gonna
                      make sense,
                     but for now.
no reason to stay is a good reason to go.
                                                                                              Jon York   2019

The mind is
              like water. When it's
           turbulent  it's  difficult
                          to see.
                 When it's calm,
           everything  becomes
                           clear.

                  Sometimes we
            must be hurt in order
                       to grow.
                 Sometimes we
        must  fail in order to know.
                 Sometimes we
            must  lose  in  order
                       to gain.
         Because   some  lessons
                 are  best  learned
                    through pain.

                        Be soft.
            Don't  let  the  world
                 make you hard.
                       Do not let
             the  bitterness  steal
               your sweetness.

                       You learn
           a lot about people when  
               they don't get what
                     they want.
                                                                                         Jon York   2019

Even if
your on the right track
you will get run over
if you just sit there
never looking back
and what you should
do today don't put off
to do someday
no matter what
others say
because if you
put it off  
life will make
you pay and pay
and try to
remember that
someday is not
a day of the week
no matter what
you seek.         Jon York                      2013

The only things we do
    two by two
we pay for
   one by one.

Someone once said this world is a stage
and each must play his part and
fate held me as a lover and you as
my sweetheart and Act I was where
we met and I loved you at first glance
and I thanked the author for this part
and for giving me this chance.
You said your lines so cleverly as you
never missed a cue and I was the
happiest man on earth and then came
Act II and you seemed to change, acting
strange just why I never knew until
you went away and left me alone and
blue.
if you lied when you said you loved
me I had no cause to doubt you but I'd
rather go on hearing your lies than to
go on living without you.

I swore the day I met you that I would
win your heart and I vowed that day
I'd get you to yield to Cupids dart and
I've rued that fascination and I wish I
could forget you but I have one
consolation - I swore the day I met you.
                                                                        Jon York   2017

The Sun will rise every day
and the moon will follow its course.

Let your shadow move where it will,
its magnitude decided by the Sun.

May you never be the reason why
someone who loved to sing, doesn't anymore.
Or someone who dressed so uniquely, now
wears plain clothing. Or why someone
who always spoke so excitedly about their dreams,
is now silent about them.

May you never be the reason someone gave up
on a part of themselves because you were
demotivating, non-appreciative, hypercritical,
or even worse - sarcastic about it.

Do not relentlessly try to understand.
Time itself will decide.
I will not be sad. It has been written for me.
My joy will come when it is time.
                                                                                             Jon York  2021

"I believe in you." Words that water flowers
                                                         ­                          Jon York   2019

If I could go back
over the days and trace my steps
through all of the ways
I think the first thing I would do
would be to find my way to you
and seek to take from out of your heart
the pain for which
the greatest part
I was to blame.                        

Our love was like a cigarette
easily started...quickly done
then tossed away
without regret and then
you light up another one .                  Jon York      2013

My face against your
breast as I remember
it was under that full
moon upon our first
meeting.

The taste of your body
in my mouth quenched
my hunger for your
love.

Your juices flowed
with a taste so sweet
and I was thinking
that if this is a dream
I hope that I never
wake up because the
power of your love
is so strong and I
have missed it for
so very long.
                      Jon York    2017

I am waiting for. . ..
a bright new tomorrow,
no more sorrow,
inspiration,
reassurance,
my coffee to be ready,
my turn,
some patience,
someone who likes to kiss,
something good to say,
the stakes to be lower,
more time to do what I haven't done,
a significant relationship to come along,
the right person to right my wrongs,
my youth to return,
the physical pain from age to go away,
the next time around,
the day I will write the perfect poem,
recognition of my poems besides just a lot of reads,
my ship to come in,
perfection, if it really exists,
to win the lottery,
some honest compassion,
the thanks I never got for wasting my youth and going to war,
peace on this planet
people to realize what they are doing to this planet,
a perfect ending,
how long do I have to wait?
                                                       Jon York      2016

As I get older I discover that there
is a certain beauty to getting old
and as I get older I discover that
it opens me up to not being afraid
of anything in this beautiful
adventure of life.

I choose to celebrate life in my
later years and I take nothing
for granted anymore because
I am still in a beautiful adventure
and it can be especially beautiful
when you are able to celebrate it
with the person that you love
and want to be with so you can
celebrate the adventure together.

Life is full of beautiful moments
and I choose to let them in
knowing that these are times
that I will want to cherish and
they deserve the perfect
memories.

We are not going to live forever
but we can create something that
will through love and those
perfect moments.
                                              Jon York   2017

We are all traveling through
time together and all we can
do is just do our best so flood
the universe with an ocean of
good karma and you will in
return receive only the best and
good fortune will come your
way so be prepared to accept
all of the happiness that comes
your way if you don't count the
days but make the days count.

Nothing is fixed and everything
is always permanently changing
as change is part of our existence
and  is really its foundation as
time passes and the years fly by
bringing many mental changes
along with so many physical
changes and we look in the
mirror and discover that we
are not the same person
anymore and neither are any
of our loved ones or our friends
and we soon realize that
growing old beats the
alternative of dying young.

Resisting change is like trying
to hold water in your hand
because change is life and life
is change so don't be afraid
of changing but always be
afraid of not changing and
remember that it never gets
easier but that you just have to
get better and remember that
life is only complicated when
you make it complicated.
                                                  Jo­n York       2016

Don't regret growing
old because it is a
privilege denied to
many and while you
are here be in
competition with no
one and have no desire
to play the game of being
better than anyone else
but just try to be better
than the person you were
yesterday.

Getting lost will help
you find yourself so
make every act count
since we are going to
be here only for a
short time and learn
to enjoy every minute
of your life and be
happy now not
waiting for something
outside of yourself to
make you happy.

We are all here for
a single purpose and
that is to grow in
wisdom and to learn
to love better and
this can be done
through losing as
well as winning
or by having and
by not having, and
also by succeeding or
by failing so
remember that love
is what we are born
with and fear is
something we learn
so make every act count.              
                                           Jon York       2015

You're not
going to
master the
rest of your
life in one
day.
   Just relax.
  master the day,
   then just keep
   doing that
    every day.

The best part
    of your life?
every morning.

         You
         have
a new opportunity
            to become a
     happier version
              of yourself.
                                                       ­                               Jon York   2019

Every  time  I open  my  eyes  I  unlock
a world of wonder. Sometimes  I'm
an angel, sometimes I'm a devil, sometimes
I'm in-between.

Sometimes I'm as bad as it can get and
sometimes as good as it can be. Sometimes
I'm a million colors, sometimes I'm black
and white and sometimes I'm all extremes.

Try to figure me out you never can.
There are so many things I am.

I have lived a thousand lives, I have
loved a thousand loves.

I have walked on many different worlds
and seen the end of time, seen life and
death so horrific that it defies description.

In small matters I trust the mind. In
large matters I trust the heart.

For important decisions I empower my
mind to do what it does best and my
heart to do what it does best.                                           Jon York  2022

That's
    her magic,
         she
      can see
  the sunset on
        even
  those darkest
        days
    and she is
      poetry
    in a world
       that is
         still
   learning the
     alphabet.
                                                       ­                  Jon York   2019

Let your love be warm and generous
because whosoever loves much performs
much and can accomplish much and know
what is done in love is done well and to
me there is nothing more truly artistic
than to love people.

I have nature and art and poetry, and if
that is not enough, what is enough and
a great fire burns within me, but no one
stops to warm themselves at it and passers
by only see a wisp of smoke but to judge
another is to become blind and delay
your own passage.

Normality is a paved road: it is comfortable
to walk, but no flowers grow on it and I try
more and more to be myself, caring relatively
little whether people approve or disapprove.

If you truly love nature, you will find beauty
everywhere and to suffer without complaint
is the only lesson we have to learn in this life
and it is such a pity that as one gradually gains
experience, one loses one's youth.

Do not try relentlessly to understand because
time itself will decide and do not be sad, your
joy will come when it is time, and remember
to not love easily but well.
                                                                   Jon York   2016

Everyone   must
choose   one   of
two   pains:

The pain of discipline
               or
The  pain   of   regret.

I've  found the  pain of regret to hurt
so much worse.  Discipline  I learned
in the Marine Corps because if I didn't
learn it, I was a dead man in the war I
                                                       fought.

Discipline is the
          bridge
     between goals
             and
   accomplishments.
                                                                                       Jon York   2019

You  walked
       into my life again
                   and
       this time it was like
                you had
        always  lived  there,
          like my heart was
             a home built
              just  for you.

        I didn't fall for you.
              It wasn't a
            falling feeling.
          It was more of a
          wandering into
         a quiet room and
      knowing  I  was  home.

           I am not going
                anywhere.
             The  only  time
               I'll let go of
             your  hand  is
          to  grab  your  ***.

           And  I  need  you
            not  in ,the  ways
             to survive, but
          in  the  ways  that
            make life worth
                    living.
                                                                   Jon York    2019

You are enrolled in a school called life and you will have
daily opportunity to learn lessons and all of the lessons you
learn you will not like because there are no mistakes only
lessons because growth is a process of trial and error and
your lessons will be repeated until they are learned and
how quickly you will find that the lessons never end
because as long as you are alive there are lessons to be
learned.

If you. . .live with criticism you will condemn and if you live
with hostility you will learn to fight and if you live with fear
you will be apprehensive and if you live with pity you will
constantly feel sorry for yourself.

If you. . .live with lies the truth will always be hard to find
and if you live with ridicule you will be shy and if you live
with jealously you will learn what envy is and if you live with
praise you will always appreciate and if you live with love
you will find acceptance and sharing.

If you. . .live with sharing you will learn to be generous and if
you live with honesty and fairness you will learn what the
truth really is and who is telling the truth and if you are friendly
you will learn that the world is a nice place to live and if you
possess serenity you will have some peace of mind.

If you. . .have to wonder why then your life will always be a
question and if you live with shame you will always feel guilty
but if you live with tolerance you will be patient and if you
get encouragement you will learn to be confident.
                                                                ­      Are you living?
                                                         ­                         Jon York   2017

Having
        a deep
   conversation
          with
      someone
          who
          has  a
        brilliant
         mind
        and a
      beautiful
        soul is
         a new
        way of
      making
         love.
                                                                                                Jon York   2019

Living in seclusion and
trapped in the worlds
illusion of what is right
and what is wrong as I
continue to search for
things I can't seem to find
because I am trapped inside.

All seems a grand illusion
and there seems no escape
from all of the confusion
but I am happy alone
because my mind can roam.

Don't judge others and others
won't judge you and don't be
so ******* others and others
won't be so ******* you.

Forgive them and they will
forgive you and you will
harvest what you plant,
whether good or bad.

We don't stop loving because
we grow old, we grow old if
we stop loving and life is
beautiful so let us admire it.

Life is sometimes a dream
so let us realize it and let us
dare it and let love be our
guiding light so we may
know that all of the hurt
and pain will eventually
fade away.

People and things quickly
become the past so enjoy them
while they are here because you
look up and they are gone and
you didn't even get to say
so long.

Know that it is better to have
given too much then not enough
and that in the end all you can
do is lose or make a friend,
needing no longer to pretend.
                                                      Jon York        2015