I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
     And wild and sweet
     The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
     Had rolled along
     The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
     A voice, a chime,
     A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
     And with the sound
     The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
     And made forlorn
     The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said:
     “For hate is strong,
     And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
     The Wrong shall fail,
     The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where:
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak,
I found the arrow still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

In times of crisis or trouble
I’m the one that keeps it together
When the world's crashing around me
I remain everybody’s tether

“Hey are you alright?”

I offer words of comfort
I tell them: ‘all will be okay’
No matter what the problem is
I have something positive to say

“You know…. its okay to be upset”

‘I’m fine’, I tell them all
When things happen in my life
Everyone around me is impressed
That I’ve overcome another strife

“Just keep hanging in there”

The truth is no one knows
That this is how I cope
I hide behind the happy mask
So I can give others hope

“You’re taking this…really well”

But somewhere along the way
I lost track of how I feel
I even tricked myself into thinking
That my happiness was real

“Are….are you sure you’re okay?”

But I can feel my façade cracking
Emotions are breaking through
I don’t have any distractions
And I don’t know what to do

“But..if you’re really okay…”

I force my smile even bigger
And laugh without knowing why
I’ll do whatever I have to do
To maintain this beautiful lie

*“…then why are you crying?”

Someone recently wrote that ‘Love Has No Color’
I disagree:

Love is the deep blue of the ocean
It is the pink of my dog’s tongue
Love is the orchid colors of my daughter’s bedroom
And the blacks my son wears to theater

Love is mocha, pale, ebony, and tan
It is emerald, sapphire, chestnut, and jade
Love is honey and straw, pitch and caramel

Love is cherry blossom walks
It’s painted deserts
It’s shimmering skyscrapers
And the intense greens of triple canopy jungles

Love is the color of your first car
And your girlfriend’s prom dress

Love is stained glass
Bright green Christmas trees
And the Easter dresses
Of the church that you call home

Love is your alma mater’s jerseys
And NOT your rival’s
It’s shimmering fireworks with friends
And the long rays of the sun from a folding chair in the sand

Love is not without color
Love IS colors

Love... is colors

All the silence does not mean
You are alone,
It is the world waiting for you
To listen;
And in the darkness you are
Found by the light
Of your hope.

And in the tears of your
Pain you are born,
There you become stronger
And it creates order.

Pick up your flesh as your spirit
Lifts,
And speak your happiness
As if the tip of your tongue
Was the mountain's peak
Speaking at the sky,
The burden is a caged bird
And only the conscious can set
It free.
And sing to yourself so that
You know you are never alone
In your body.

Know that your crazy is beautiful
Because it makes you YOU,
Wear your skin like
Your cozy blanket and cuddle
In the warmth of yourself.
     You are not broken,
But scattered like the night
With pieces like stars shining,
    Open your pain and yourself
To the wound of the world and heal
Whatever you choose.

Do you believe in destiny?
That you were born for a certain need  
A certain path you are told to follow
Which you've no choice but to heed

I was born to be a hero
To protect those who are weak  
I'm the one that will come running  
When others begin to shriek

I jump in the way of battles
And protect the young from pain
Seeing the people that I love be happy
Is what I hope to attain

Sometimes it gets lonely
Standing out amongst the pack
Sometimes it gets scary
Having a target on your back

When people see great power
They want to make it their own
The fact that one day I might lose
Is something I've always known

But knowing I've done some good
And that I might've saved a friend
Every single sacrifice I've made
Was worth it in the end

So it's with a smile on my face
And with a kiss, I say goodbye
Don't you shed a tear my love
'Cause sometimes heroes die

Sometimes I feel like a puzzle piece
Looking for the perfect spot
But actually finding a connection
Is harder than I would have thought

Sometimes I find a section
That looks exactly like my hue
But our edges just won't match up
And I have to begin my search anew

I recently thought I found my place
Where everything seemed to fit
Together we'd be a work of art
I thought this was finally it

But once we started to get closer
I noticed that something was wrong
Our pieces wouldn't fit together
And I once again would not belong

I didn't want to search anymore
After the years of frustration
So I came to the conclusion
It was time for an alteration

There were pieces of myself
I thought I could afford to lose
So I began hacking at my edges
And changing some of my views

Even with the changes though
We could never be a match
I couldn't become the proper shape
For us to be able to attach

But as I turned to leave
It occurred to me what I'd done
I'd altered myself forever
And might not ever fit anyone

My once perfectly smooth edges
Were now ugly and uneven
And so I left it all behind
Thinking I had nothing to believe in  

While I wandered around the world
Feeling helpless and alone
I soon discovered a brand new place
Called the crooked puzzle zone

It was a city full of misfits
Who thought they'd never find their place
They were all so friendly and welcoming
Of my broken, tattered face

Together we still make beautiful art
It's just a little more abstract
And though we don't have our "perfect pairs"
We can still happily interact.

So whenever you're feeling down
And life has made you weary
Remember the world is full of puzzles
And every piece is necessary

Way back when I was younger
I was mistaken as a dude
They asked all sorts of questions
That slowly grew more rude

"Why don't you wear makeup?
Or dress in something nice?"
"If you ever want to get a guy
Why won't you just take our advice?"

When I began in high school
I had just begun to change
I had bought myself some cheap makeup
And clothes that just felt strange

Still, it wasn't enough though
The insults continued to come
"Ugly. Lazy. Undesirable"
It all began to make me glum

By the beginning of junior year
I had fully given in
Dresses replaced all of my jeans
And makeup covered all my skin

It was then, the insults changed
And people began to glare
Said I "cared too much about my looks"
And my "head must be full of air"

I still always got straight A's
The way I talked was still the same
But though I knew that they were wrong
Their comments made me feel lame

When senior year had rolled around
I was lonely as could be
People "liked" what I'd become
But I felt no one liked me for me

I'd never been on a single date
Because all the guys were crude
So it was only a small amount of time
Before I was labeled as a "*****"

When I finally started college
I expected something more
But people took one look at me
And labeled me a *****

I had not been sleeping around
I still hadn't even been on a date
Everyone just made assumptions
And looked at me with hate

The part that was most ironic
Was that after all these years
Of changing to be whatever they said
I was still hated by all my peers

I didn't want to dress like this
I didn't want to just conform
But there is only so much a person can take
Before they need to fit the "norm"

Society is what destroyed me
They are the reason I am this way
I changed to be what people wanted
Now I understand: I'll never see that day

I don't know who I am now
Though everyone else thinks that they do
Now please just take one piece of advice
It's so important to just stay you

You are perfect just as you are
So continue to stay strong
Remember no matter what they tell you
What society says is **wrong

I have unique opinions
Just like all of you
Sometimes they seem out there
I have a different view

I think that show is good,
I think that dress looks nice,
I think that things are better
When you experience them twice

But my opinions are wrong
Or so you'd have me believe
You don't listen to a word I say
Because you think that I'm naive

I vocalize my thoughts
And all I hear is "No"
You always shut me down because
I "think" whereas you "know"

I can't get out a single thought
Without you telling me I'm wrong
Your words continue on forever
And eventually others tag along

Everything you ever say
You present as if it's fact
Other people must be mistaken
And you inform them without tact

Lately I don't even bother
I keep my thoughts all locked away
It isn't worth it with you fighting
Against every word I say

I think people need to shut up
And just let me say my due
I'm aloud to have my own opinions
But of course that opinion is wrong too