for who knew true love
while protecting their heart?

it is easy to ride 
the wave of life
to let forces carry you 
from one place to the next 
and little by little 
you forget who you are
and why you are 
it takes great strength 
to step off this rollercoaster 
and embark on a new path
that is uniquely you

our ego is
the cage of the soul
when we forget the world
to experience pure joy
the soul escapes its prison
if just for a moment

she will crash the party
and leave in haste
she will bring riches
and bleed you dry
she will take one form 
and depart in another 
she is lady luck 
and she will keep you alive today
but extinguish your life tomorrow

alone at last
a blessing it is
to remove my masks
in solitary bliss
no more acting
and trying to please
just me myself and
my mind at ease

the colorful birds 
chirped with glee
to defend their nests
up in the tree
while a young poet
listened with delight
as thoughts of love  
inspired her to write

you are not sure
insecurity imprisons
between doing and not doing
but do not fear
no creative genius emerged
from blind confidence
it is the unsure artist
who tinkers and questions
that creates beauty
and yet
carries on insecurely

just as the soft breeze
carries a falling seed 
of the maple tree
to a distant place 
with the sun's warmth 
and a gentle rain 
life sprouts anew
just as love's seed
opens in our hearts

love cripples the strong 
and strengthens the *******
love fools the wise 
and wisens the fool
love brings harmony to chaos
and chaos to harmony
love is balance

everything you do 
(and don't do) 
will be interpreted 
by your peers 
for better or worse 
whether true or false

together we walk 
to our deaths
in this thing called life 
but somehow we forget 
we are in this thing
together

we live in a world 
of ones and zeros 
of science and theory
but only love will guide us
through darkness and pain
for its mystery is illuminating

you ask me why i love her?
what a silly question 
“why” you ask?
for no other reason 
than i just do
love is a wordless mystery 
there is no reason for loving 
you just do

the hot water rained down 
on my cowered head
as i scrubbed my flesh
until my skin glowed red
but i could never wash away 
the guilt that marred my blood
it had seeped into my bones
turning my heart into mud

love gives you the wisdom
that you are not alone
but love’s pain 
(from separation) 
emerges from this knowledge

i will scream and fight 
i will stay silent and brood
i will suffer and hurt 
but my love will never die
my heart will not yield

there he goes again
why does his ego have 
to be so **** fragile
he takes my one little comment
and has to launch an atomic bomb back
the question is should i take the bait
or let him have it
it's just not worth it
but it really ****** me off
and why do i have to hang on
to that anger when i can fight back
but to what end
he'll just get more vengeful
and i'll get more angry
and this will go on for days
and then for weeks 
until we both can't take it anymore
so **** it
i'll let him have this one

sometimes letting go
is the most courageous act

no matter how dark
    the abyss
no matter how weak
    the body
no matter how lost
    the mind
there is a way out
    to rebirth

you must believe

what joy it brings
to step into yourself
to know what you stand for
to do away with nonsense
but this knowing takes time
and time is the cost 
of self-acceptance

to fall in love
is to see the world
through the eyes of god

just as the red sun
glows on the horizon
just as the moon’s light
glitters upon the ocean
you open your eyes
and i am in awe

when you gave yourself
to a nameless stranger
my heart was ripped apart
by my bloodied hands
while i descended
into poisonous perdition

the distance between us
larger than oceans of time
yet she peacefully slept
beside me

everything you need
is inside you
you are a miracle
do not let this world
make you forget
who you are

this armor i wear
strong and solid
heavy and rusted
shielded me from
arrows of suffering
but i grow tired
carrying this weight
to continue on
the path of life
i must shed
my battle-worn armor
and be free once more

if you don’t play
by their rules
you can’t lose
at their game

embark on activities
that build character
rather than prestige
for character will triumph
over any adversity

to take sail
with no map or compass
to let the winds of fortune
carry you to distant shores
is more courageous than
he who plans and plots
his destination

the primal spirit
exists in all of us
our coding makes it so
the hunter of past
lives inside you
do not forget
your power

when they insult you
smile back
when they hurt you
smile back
they don’t matter
you matter
so smile back
you will show them all
what you are made of

we learn through
iteration and repetition
repetition hones your craft
iteration grows your craft

our fantastical future 
full of promise and joy
where dreams become reality 
where we go to die

there are days
gray monotone days
when i feel nothing
i want nothing
i love nothing
i hate nothing
i am nothing
my mind floats
between dream and reality
a foggy purgatory
of nothingness
this scares me
more than suffering

mothers and fathers
do not wish
upon your children
a life free of pain
that would be impossible
rather wish upon them
strength and learning
from the pain in life

when did mankind
mutilate butcher and crudely
stitch back together happiness?
for i cannot recognize
what we call happy anymore
cheap thrills and shallow substance
happiness, the drug of choice
for the modern generation
ancient moral virtues
lay fallen by the wayside
take out your pitchforks and hunt down
that “frankensteinian” happiness
for he is an abomination
of what happiness was
of what our society needs
make an example of him
to set us on the right path

should happiness be our purpose
does it carry the same meaning
aristotle intended for us
we live in a society of addictions
swim in anxious waters
float in melancholy skies
yet demand happiness at every turn
happiness has become
our new addiction

strong winds
following a storm
pure and sweet
full of life
kiss my cheek
cleanse my spirit

more collaboration
     than competition
more compassion
     than callousness
more creativity
     than conformity

you deserve your best
it is your right to achieve
but your responsibility also
the world owes you nothing
take (or create) what is yours
forge your weapons
win the wars you wage
but remember to respect
the freedom of others
lest it comes back to you

who are we supposed to be?
we are born into this world
a blank slate as soft as clay
raised by mother and father
taught by teachers and friends
told to contribute to society
but be happy along the way
is this all there is
or is there more?

are we nothingness?
are we god?
or something in between?
i do not know
but we are so much more
than we think we are
that truth will reveal itself
upon our death

to those who fear death
know that death
is the ultimate trip

i remember
when life felt immortal
when love was intoxicating
when days were simpler
my long lost friend
my youth

what is success you ask?
not sacrificing today
for a better tomorrow
when the elusive tomorrow
becomes a genuine today
then you have made it

as still water stagnates
blood stagnates
move your body
keep blood flowing
fuel your life force

we sit in our gray cubicle
(or corner office if you prefer)
use up days months years
even decades of life
to reach the dream
oh, that elusive dream
dangling about in the unknown
forever in the future
forever out of reach
forever a mirage

there is nothing wrong
with a disdain for authority
break their rules
do things your way
just don’t get caught
you are no good to anybody
locked behind steel bars
or expelled from school
take their degrees and accolades
use it against them
make this world a little better

to walk your own path freely
with a creative heart or

to walk the well-trodden path strictly
with control and ambition

the former breeds love
releasing buried tension

the latter breeds fear
stimulating addiction and paranoia

the grass and plants
the trees and leaves
they all seem to dance
in the cool light breeze

this world is theirs
i’m just passing through
they lessen my fears
as i write a haiku

thank you sweet nature
for your peace and care
i will be less of a stranger
with time, I swear