The Professor settles in and says, “Let’s go around the circle and introduce ourselves”

We listen to resume after resume of unbridled accomplishment. Then he points to me.

“Hi, I’m Anais, I’m a freshman, from Georgia, and I have mad skills. I can ***** about anything or feign complete indifference. I can give the impression of depth or play the ditz. I can pick the slowest line every time and I’m so good at sleeping I can do it with my eyes closed.” I finish and give the professor a head tilted “anything else?” look.

“Uhh,” he gives me an amused look, “thank you Anais. Next.”

Most of my travels,
A loaner, no one by my side,
Looking at situations,
Wondering why,
I’ll give effort to help anyone,
If they are honest, and will try.
The road I’m traveling,
Will narrow, towards the finish line,
What I don’t achieve now,
May forever, be extra weight,
I will carry, in my mind,
I’ve failed or achieved before,
I can’t put a pause,
On what’s left,
Of my precious,
Time.


                                                                                                                                   Tom Maxwell ©
                                                                                                                                   4/1/2020 AD
                                                                                                                                      11:00 Am

A piece of your heart
Goes somewhere very far
You try to hold on
But the wind is too strong

It climbs over mountains
And swims across seas
It travels the world
Looking for a special destiny

At times it loses hope
At times it loses faith
Still it keeps going
For somewhere between that there is a big dream

How far will it go?
How long will it take?
It remains a mystery
But as long as it keeps searching
One day, it will fit in his place



Hopeful Soul

What the hell does that mean?
When does someone become an adult?
When they turn 18? 21?
Or does age even matter?
Maybe it’s more about what someone does.
How much someone accomplishes.
What makes someone an adult?
Driving?
Moving out of your parents house?
Getting an education?
Losing their virginity?
Having a full time job?
Making money?
Marriage? Children?
What if I haven’t accomplished any of these?
What does that make me?
All I know is that I’m 25
and still feel like a ******* child.

Bucket list dog-eared
Worn on the edges
And my youth
A scribble
Dancing and twirling around
Wild loops bounding
Off the page
And I sat there
Reading each demand
I had laid out for my future
And now were only questions
Open ended and I had no answers
And this ignorance
Perplexed me
For I once could react
And now I knew I never had the answers
So with a new sheet of paper
I scribbled out my truth
And tried to find my journey
Between the lines

Without father, without mother,
I grew up, running wild and free.
Mountains I conquered, cities I build;
In a strange land, I've now arrived.

Your light was brighter than the sun,
Your hushed whispers, overwhelmed the Sirens.
I'm tempted, I followed and I fell;
In a strange land, I'm now enslaved.

Guilt of lack of sleep
makes me decide to go to bed early,

Guilt of lack of accomplishments
makes me unable to sleep thinking about it,

Guilt of sleeping in and time wasted
makes me put 3 alarms at 6:01 am, 6:02 am, and 6:05 am,

Guilt of my emotions eating me up,
makes me unable to get up even when Im wide awake,

It turns out that guilt is the only thing I accomplish, allow to eat my day up, and yet can't decide on lacking.

As the fifth unknown actor gave their heartfelt speech after winning an award,

She realised that all her efforts to win little trophies at school,
just to stamp her name on something to feel the slightest bit accomplished,
Are pointless.

Because who really notices your wins in the end except for yourself?

i’m glad that it was so easy
for you to accomplish what
i’ve been trying to gain the
courage to start for so long.