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dad left
for his second tour of duty
on my third birthday

mom kept
a jar full of jelly beans
on the living room coffee table

every night
she gave me one to eat, saying
"when these jelly beans
are all eaten up,
dad will come back home"

sometimes
i would sneak another,
to help dad come home sooner

one night
the phone rang
and i watched mom
wipe away a tear
as she filled
the jar
back
up
On this Remembrance Day, I think of all those who have served, with a special thought for Dad.  And though she has no medals, I also think of Mom; every tour of duty Dad went through, she went through too, taking care of us on her own.

*** Edit: Thank you for all your kind words!  Due to a recent outpouring of sympathy, I feel it necessary to clear up the fact that my dad did in fact make it home from this mission; his tour had simply been extended for an additional 3 months.  Still, it isn't easy being part of a military family - and that's what I meant to show. ***
 Feb 2015 Julie Butler
Kataleya
I'm gazing up, I'm gazing high.
Let me watch the stars tonight.

It mightn't give me better grades,
or wash my clothes or clean the plates,
or make me famous, make me rich,
or change the direction of my fate.
And it won't just fix the politics,
or save the falling economy,
or cease these tiring, endless wars
and it won't eradicate poverty.

But even if there's nothing right,
let me watch the stars tonight.

Hitchhiking through the galaxy,
a blazing comet passes by,
and waves to billion specks of light,
those sparkling diamonds in the sky.

Tomorrow I may change the world,
or I might even exercise.
Tonight I'm gazing up and high,
I'm looking at the stars tonight.
 Feb 2015 Julie Butler
Kataleya
Today,
I swallowed down
my newest shade of lipstick,
in hopes
of bringing some colour
back to my soul again.
Life just seems so gloomy nowadays.
 Feb 2015 Julie Butler
M
?
 Feb 2015 Julie Butler
M
?
for a second, I saw you exactly the way you see yourself
 Feb 2015 Julie Butler
M
love isn't knowing someone so well you see them as they see themselves
love is knowing someone so well you see them as God sees them.
When in love or inspired,
An eternal kiss from the divine
Awaits us all.

And, just as the frostiest of old maids
Secretly longs to tremble
With excitement in her bed,
One more time.

Or the pained young lover
Pitifully nurses a wound
That renders their heart homeless,
Mourning the loss of romance
Seemingly gone forever.

The truth is
Nothing that truly matters
Can ever evaporate,
Be excised,
Burnt out of your soul.

However ready we may or may not be,
And at any stage in our life,
There will always be the chance
To reclaim our essence,
The shape we call our own.

For, once spun,
The silken thread of all our aspirations
Remains intact,
It can never be broken.
And, with courage, even a trail of tears
Will always lead us back
To where our fractured heart longs to be.

So that, just as the wise old Shoguns
Chose to,
With their most precious of porcelain vessels,
We too can repair our cracks with gold
And glow again.
Crazed by life,
More beautiful than ever before.
Parang ako yung nag-aabang sa kanto
Yung ang tagal makasakay
Yung umulan, umaraw makapaghihintay
Yung kahit naiinitan na, mag-aabang pa rin.

Aasa pa ba ako sa muli **** pagdating?
Pano pag dumaan ka’t hindi pala nakatingin?
Pano pag bumalik ka pero may sakay na pala?

Kaya nga ayoko ng laro
Minsan madaya kasi
Seryoso na, pero ba’t nakikipagbiro pa?

Hindi laruan ang puso
Na pwede may mag “Time First”
Pag na-checkmate na ang isa.

Pilit ko mang ikubli sayo
Pero sana hindi na lang
Tinanggap ang hamon
Ang hirap pala mag-move on
Tutulak ka nga
Pero may pasan pa rin.

Walang pasintabi,
Katapusan na pala.

May nabibigo pala talaga sa laban
Hindi man lubos na maintindihan
May istratehiya pala
Pero sa bawat laban, bawat laro
May sasalo pa rin pala sa bawat kabiguan.

Titingin pa rin sa Kalangitan
Titiklupin ng Hari ng Sanlibutan
Ang pahinang walang saysay
May maisusulat pa rin pala
Kahit sa pusong naging sugatan.

Ang Amang may Likha, nagbigay-pag-asa
Patuloy na iibig nang tunay
Pagkat simula pa lang nang pagsagwan
Hindi ko alam kung kailan hihinto
**Pero alam kong may mararating ito.
 Feb 2015 Julie Butler
Hayleigh
In her eyes lay pools of self hatred
So deep
that even the
strongest of swimmers
would drown.
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