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If
If you can keep your head when all about you
  Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
  But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
  Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
  And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
  If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
  And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
  Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
  And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
  And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
  And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
  To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
  Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
  Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
  If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
  With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
  And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
 Jul 2014 Robert Purvis
Paloma
Scars
 Jul 2014 Robert Purvis
Paloma
Scars up and down my arms
memories of the pain
come flashing back

like a whirlwind
of nightmares haunting
my dreams

the sharps screams
of agony and pain

so vividly playing back
like a camera capturing lies

the black abyss
at where you lie
for all eternity

like the death
that is slowly creeping in
There lived a girl, average and plain
nothing special about her aside from her naivete-
foolishly believing all people were good,
loving and trusting everyone she met.

She found types of love as she grew,
picking them like wildflowers
witnessing them bloom and die
pricking her soft little fingers on the same thorns
again and again
each time hoping the bloom would last forever
and crying her poor little heart out when it didn't

She wandered through life
wondering why evil triumphed over good
why kind-hearted people were hurt by heartless ones
never truly finding an answer
year after year

She grew into a woman,
cautiously edging away from innocence
eyes forced wide open with a heavy dose of heartbreak
the betrayal and sadness created anger that lurked in her belly

In the midst of winter she tasted lust
spiced and warm with a strong embrace
allowing it to carry her into a darker realm where numb pleasure ruled
faith was a memory, hope flickered

No longer white as snow
she marveled at how well she now fit
into the world slowly being devoured by shadows.
This misty grey day
Looked back at me
and smiled at the sight
See my reddened brown eyes

Joy in my head
As my neck suffered another
crashed out night
On my pillow made of lead

Toss to the turn as the sleep monster says
"no sleep for you boy awaken the dead"
Awaken the dead ? I thought
As my head lolled around
Thoughts of another night
Lost to no sound

Aches to my bones as I shudder the sleep
Fall at my side
Fall as a heap
Sleep please forgive me as I bid you farewell
Another day started
My living
My hell
just another face in the crowd
just another classmate
we spoke occasionally, commenting on each other's work
Then it happened.

A random visit to my slumbering thoughts
made cloudy confusion blow away with the dark storm
I awoke with a smile on my face
hope wrapped around me
with a misty twinge of impatience for Tuesday rolling through

i'm not ready
i can't be ready
it's too soon...
isn't it?
it doesn't matter, he's not interested anyways

i don't want a rebound
i can't get hurt again

silence swept in behind you
calmly, coolly, quietly
setting things down beside me  

playful jibes,
attentive conversations,
shy glances,
soft smiles,
ending with long walks in the darkening sky bright with city lights

heart pounding in my breast,
breath slipping past my lips in bursts,
butterflies fluttering in my stomach

things I had not felt for a long time
rose to the front of my mind
blooming in my heart
stirring with every class spent together

The fairytale I longed for may not exist,
but you may be the man to help me find something *better
Back together again
the three of us
just like it was in high school
late night talks when we should be studying
Princess Parties and making fun of our favorite cartoon movies
teasing each other
laughing until it hurts
creating inside jokes
I never realized just how much I missed this...
How is it that these two girls make my world brighter,
just by smiling
even after six years?
Sometimes we pretend to be dead
So that we can remain alive.
How glorious it once was
My Wonderland
Singing flowers, unbirthday parties
And painting roses red
Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee
Laughing, playing jubilantly
White Rose
Beautiful, brave
Shy Violet
Strong, sweet
Hatter
Protective, playful
Gave hope, kindness, love
I grew older
Wonder fading
Until only madness remained
My dormouse hid in his little teapot
My Cheshire cat disappeared
The Queen of Hearts gave misery
Tied in a treacherous bow
The caterpillar tried to transform
Toxic, *****, fear
Beware the Jabberwock, my dear
He wants you for his bed
My love, the Hatter left me
One golden afternoon
Devoid of wonder
Doomed to ache
The White Rabbit came
And took me by the hand
To lead me from my once wondrous Wonderland
You’re late You’re late
Your future will not wait
No time to say “I love you, Goodbye”
You’re late You’re late You’re late
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