We bear the mark of mortality;
A tear in the fabric of our souls-
A void, left empty.
We long for fulfillment.

We seek to satisfy our emptiness at all times-
Constantly stuffing ourselves full of earthly notions of "good"-
Seeking acceptance,
We adhere to standards we set by ourselves
And loathe ourselves when we fail to meet them.
We crave the riches of the earth;
We strive, lifelong, for financial success,
Measured by the depth of pockets,
The weight of titles,
And the length of our Golden Years.

Yet in the essence of the Word
There is a greater call
A call to transcend;
To defy all bounds,
And to level the field;
To grasp the truth of mankind's reality:
        
         We are all the same.
         There is no greater man,
         Nor is there one less-
         Of dust we are formed,
         To dust we return;
         Both rich and poor
         Rot in their graves.

So, we should live in the same way.
Loose ourselves of convention's ropes,
Abandon the expectations of a fallen world,
Whose eyes lust after gold and jewels,
Which cannot prosper the soul.

Our Master has placed talents in our care;
We must not bury them in the ground,
Nor waste them in pursuit of riches.

Invest in the kingdom, all you artists:
Sing your songs with passion;
Write your poems with zeal;
Color your canvas with the Glory of God,
For His eyes and His ears are tuned in.

Invest in the kingdom, all you wise men:
Ponder the vast universe with wonder;
Calculate the sum of years with humility;
Extol the complexity of the Creator's design,
For His eyes and His ears are tuned in.

Invest in the kingdom, all you mighty ones:
Fight your battles with dignity;
Face your opposers with integrity;
But do not forget the mercy given unto you,
For the Just and Merciful One watches and listens.

And you, wealthy men and women,
You must divide your riches:
Give much to the poor, for their need is great.
What remains, give to God;
Offer it up with an open hand,
For every gift comes from above and is not yours to own,
But God's to use through you.

Do not let things drive you;
Do not let gold drag you down;
Let love be your captain,
And grace be your sails,
As you cast off into the stormy seas.

And you, poor men and women,
You must be humble:
Accept from others only what you need,
For God has provided.
Take no more, and always give thanks,
For God has been faithful and has provided,
That you may prosper by Him.

Let every man and woman-
Young and old;
Rich and poor-
Let every man and woman humble themselves;
Let them give thanks to God, who alone can give and take away,
Who brings healing to the sick and cares for the broken,
And who will judge all at the end of time,
According to their hearts, and actions thereof.
Let every man and woman praise God.

I can still hear you walking,
stomping
Hoping you don't hear me talking,
stopping
realizing I'm talking to myself
cause there is no one else

You know, I used to get sick of the way
I cover everything up with laughter
I got it from you
And I used to wish I never had
It makes it hard to deal with things
Because I don't
I just laugh until it doesn't hurt
And sometimes that's worse

I used to hate how nervous I get
Before leaving the house
Always searching for something else
Always feeling like I'm missing something
It's not that cold,
but what if my car breaks down?

But I miss how smart you were
And how humble you were
When asking how to spell simple words
I **** at spelling, too
I got a lot of bad things from you
Or so I used to think

But now, it's as though all my flaws
Have become pieces of you
Laced through different parts of me
How could I ever hate them now?
I'm still learning to love myself because of you
I'm still growing to love the way you taught me to
I love myself even better now
And it's all because of you

I went to my last counseling appointment today
and when i stood up to leave
I felt as if I should shake her hand

but instead I walked out that door on tentative fawn legs
I stepped into the cold
and I felt like a stranger to myself

I bought coffee and a pack of cigarettes
and stood by the same ledge I always do
but it didn’t feel the same

I have her card in my front pocket for emergencies only
I feel as if I just stepped into harsh burning sunlight
I feel like there is winter air trapped in my lungs

I've come to the conclusion that
there’s nothing really wrong with me
but there’s nothing all that right either

I write poems to remember you, and you snort ******* to forget about me. We all find solace in different things.

The last of the leaves blew off today.
But don't worry, they are biodegradable.
And they realized it was their time to go.
And they really did give us quite a show
Their sacrifice was appreciated by a few
And now they are given a mass burial
Their corpses lying on the sidewalk...

And I've realized that
The beauty of fall is prettier
When shared by two.