It's her words, I think,
that turn the world into gold.
Or, perhaps, the way her eyes captured entire soliloquies
and her voice took on a hint of an accent
as buttery, honey-soaked verses slid off her tongue
and filled the springtime air with such ease
that I began to wonder whether it was truly a poem
or just the lyrics of the thoughts that painted her mind.

And I know I've known her for a while
in that half-smile sort of way
and the contemplation of a wave as she passed me by
but suddenly there was nothing I wanted more
than to talk for hours under the brilliant sky,
the one whose windswept clouds were palaces
with moats of the most cerulean blue.
Though the sky may have once deserved only a passing glance
it was transformed before my very eyes
as she whispered its secrets into my awaiting ears.

I wonder, idly, what the world would be like
if she sang its soul into existence
and there's a small voice in the back of my mind,
one murmuring that perhaps she already has
but we're all too blind to see it.

her hair shines like the sea glimmering in the sun
flawless, radiant skin with a beaming smile
her eyes are like a trap, once you're reeled in all you can do is stare in awe
how i wish i could be her

boys treat her with respect, that's for sure
effortlessly gorgeous they say, even when she wakes up in the morning
she's the girl who everyone stops to stare at
how i wish i could be her

i see the way they talk about her
the respect and humility they have whenever they're in her presence
especially the way he looks at her, for some reason i envy
how i wish i could be her

she calls herself ugly
but i never will understand why
she's perfect in every way
oh how i wish i could be her

One can change  their
     future  by  changing  their
attitude and to not get discouraged
       about how far they have
to go but instead get excited about
       where they are headed.

           Some people create
    their own storms and then get  
         upset because it rains.

             Stay focused on  the  
   outcome  rather than the obstacles
             and never base your
     decisions on advice  from those
              who don't have to
          deal   with   the  results.

           Give every day the chance
   to  become the  most beautiful  of  your
                   life and be the type
           of person you want to meet,
   choosing joy and realizing that you
                  are what you do,
                not  what  you  say.

        Focus on what matters and what
               makes you happy today
           and  spend  time  with  people
      who  bring  out the  best  in  you, not
               the stress in you because
         it's  all  about  finding  the  calm
                 in the chaos and realizing
        being happy never goes out of style
                                                           ­                                  Jon York   2019

In life
           you have to be
                  able to
       realize there is a role
             for  everyone
                you meet.

      -  Some will test you.
         Some will use you.
         Some will love you.
         Some will teach you.

                 But the ones
                   who are
            truly  important
              are the ones
    who bring out the best
                  in you.

            They are rare
      and  amazing  people
              who remind
                   us why
             life is worth it.  

                   Just keep
                 loving   me.
                         I'll
              keep loving you.
                    And the
             rest will fall into
                      place.
                                                                                  Jon York   2019

Love is
      never a question.  

               If you
              have  to
                   ask
         "Am I in love?"  
            you aren't.  

                  Wait
            for someone
         who  makes  you
                    feel
               so in love
                     that
           by comparison
      everyone before them
                      felt
              like nothing.  

                    And
          I  still  can't  co­unt
            all  the  reasons
                   why I'm
               madly  in  love
                    with you.  

                    We fall
                 in with love
          with people's flaws;  
                The perfect
            person would be
                 impossible
                     to love.
                                                           ­                               Jon York   2019

My only comfort as my tears fall with the water
Is the fact that I'm scrubbing away his hands,
His touch,
His lips,
His skin.
Washcloth against skin,
Red erupts from my pores,
But I don't care because
I need to get his scent off of me.
Just a whiff, and I gag,
My tears congealing in my throat.
Why me?
What did I do?
His hands were so soft,
But so strong, and
I could not escape.
Washcloth against skin,
I don't even know where to begin,
For he stripped me down to the very bone
And lay my soul and body naked.
His fault? Yes.
My fault? They'll think so.
Red flows down my legs because of
Washcloth against skin.
I drown myself in cherry blossom body wash,
The off brand kind.
My last thought before I stop the water is
"But I'm not even pretty."