There are things that schools,
have simply forgotten to teach us.
Things that you're better off
once you know.
Like how the sun always follows
a rainy day.
Or that you're only as happy as
you'll let yourself be.

The simple things, that no teacher
has ever learned to teach
are the things that fuel us to keep going.
As long as your feet are on the ground,
it's never a bad thing to explore the clouds,
and to never let the negativity
grow to more than a whisper
in the back of the mind.

These are the codes to life
wake up; smile.
Be thankful for what you have,
and always be hopeful of receiving more,
because no amount of happiness
is "too much"
and remember that bad things
are only temporary.

Bad things may come in threes,
but so do good things,
and the lessons taught by our trials
are more valuable than gold.
If your nose is pointed at the ground,
you'll never smell the coffee
So chin up, smile.

Teachers never taught us happiness.
never taught us the delicacy required
to wipe away tears.
Never taught us how to deal with
sudden cases of sorrow.
These lessons will take us
the longest to learn.

So here's to a new curriculum,
one that teaches pain.
Because you can't learn to smile,
without having once felt tears
streaming down your face.
But also one that has an extensive
lesson planned on joy.
Just so you really know the difference.

Summer staggered in like bruises
purple accents swelling under skies pigment,
sunlight dripping like red death
from hemophelic skin.
Midnight showers somersault,
into morning haze.
Lightning cracks in jagged edges,
leaving lines of wonder on tormented skin.

Autumn came and brought sorrow,
took away my fondest feelings,
and made me learn perseverance,
to be rewarded with a hand to hold,
someone to whisper sweet nothings to,
and hold me up when the marionettes have failed.

Winter brought bitter cold,
numb skin, and cracked lips,
yet somehow the butterflies still live,
in my stomach.