You’ve heard them say it countless times
Put on make-up to be “beautiful”
You’re a lady
Stand up straight
“Don’t wear skirts or tank tops”
Or the boys will get distracted
“Don’t eat too much” but
Confine yourself to the media’s
Version of what a woman
SHOULD be
Don’t be confident in yourself
And walk with your head low
“You’re not special
You’re like everyone else I know”
Don’t cut your hair too short
“Do you wanna be a boy?!”

Or maybe you have heard the other
Put on a fake smile
As you go about your day
Sadness is Weakness
And crying makes you less of a man
Don’t wear “girly” colors
Or you are “too feminine”
Refusing risks
Makes you a wimp

“Be a man”
They say
But what does that even mean
Don’t do things you love
But force yourself to
Throw on that jersey
How dare you want to
Pursue your dreams

Women can’t do this
Men can’t do that
All wrapped up in bubble wrap
Loving yourself?
What’s that?
Change yourself in ways
That deem YOU “perfect”
In the eyes of the world

But what does that word even mean?
Is a bird less perfect if it loses a feather?
Or a lizard less of a reptile when it sheds its skin?
The beach less of a beach when the tide roles in?
NO

I watch the world around me
Boys and girls of all ages
Being conformed to their gender roles
Hunted like the prey of a lion
Society stalking their every move
Making sure nothing is out of place

Who cares what the world thinks is “Perfect”
The absent minds of the world around us
Cannot be changed
Normal to you is not normal to them
Being “weird” is better than being generic
You are beautiful just the way YOU are
You are beautiful
You are perfect
You are…
YOU!

My failure is my greatest success,
I build upon the failure,
And learn my success.

Don’t be a creator of my failure.
I will learn this failure.

Regret my success,
it will not contain you.

I appreciate the leverage,
don’t expect my regrets.

I will strive to always be above you.
I won’t stop for you.

Trust me when I say,
I will not stop.

Hmmmm... something's in bloom
aromatic minty scents
whiff towards me
from the open, uninhabited woodland lot
on the corner of Perry Street

An intricate twisted, matted, tanglewood
of native weeds, flowers, tall grass, pine,
cram this patch of wild terrain

No houses block the balmy view
all sorts of odors, sights and sounds
mingle naturally with shafts
of sunshine and dense shadow

These jungle havens offer shade
and refuge sorely needed in the
sizzling Florida temps and
harsh global warning

Sadly, I watch as beautiful, stately
trees and shrubbery that have thrived
for decades are hacked down,
lots cleared for
building and selling more
and more houses

Now, as I pass an unscathed
forest dwelling
my heart bolts like a giddy gazelle
romping, cavorting blissfully
through the last...lost... sacred wilderness

She plucked a white rose
from the front gardens

my gorgeous niece
sunrise of youth
glowing on her cheeks

with a bewildered look
she revealed how
pointless she felt
much of her studies
and school subjects were

I started to lecture
on the importance of school

Barely listening she let go
of her exasperation
and wandered
by the canal with
the white rose
and a soft breeze
blowing through her
freshly dyed hair

I watched her dance away
barefoot back to her room
of pointless studies
and school subjects

Bluejay gliding across my path
carries the celestial sky
in its wings

Crow raising a racket
squatting on the
telephone pole
has night shimmering
in its wings

Cat bird bursting with
nectarine melodies
carries Pakriti, Mother earth
aloft in its wings

We "Humans"
unaware of our
subtle essence
pulsing eternally
carry Divinity
and the vast cosmos
in our wings

Holy men say
we are all sparks
of the Divine
I feel that now
when I pass you
on the street
there is an
inexplicable radiance
in your eyes
and a bit of the sun
shines through
when you flash
a smile
Even before my
dark raven mind
tries to form a
story about you
I let that heavenly
light gush in
open the skylight
of my heart
where we meet
sparkling explosions
where kinship, peace
and true love
only exist

With my silky body I found You!
Starry footsteps led the way!
a thousand eons
cannot contain
this yearning
wafting towards You!
together we dance
through the halls and corridors of
Forever!

O my Lucky stars!

There is a bridge to heaven
in our garden
Quan Yin and Ganesh
guard the entrance
in my dreams I wander
across the bridge
aerial sliver of silver
floating in the moonlight

I waved at you
we both had our
umbrellas wide-open
under a fine autumn drizzle
cooling the overheated earth
I felt so blessed
when the divine bells
of our hearts
rang sweetly

You caught my hand in yours
a few stars in the sky
smiled down on us
and the misty gauzy moon
cast a veil over our heads
with a silent kiss