ISTEP
That's the standardized test
Where I live

Istepped
Through great hurdles

Istepped
Low and sad

Istepped
Hard and fast

Istepped
Into stress

I did everything I could
ISTEP
So if I messed up,
I'm sorry

*Itripped

You quickly approach
A puddle of mud
Small enough to step over
But you thought it'd be fun
To splish and splash
And make a mess
But it's dirtied your face
And ruined your dress

You stomp out of the puddle
It has ruined your day
You look back in anger
And head on your way

But what is to blame here,
The action or trouble?
The mud or the splashes?
The person or puddle?

Don't walk into mud
Then complain of the mess
If you want to stay clean
Just watch where you step

Not all, but many outcomes
Are up to us
So be careful that your actions
Will lead to what you want

Performing a storm
Is straining a chord, heart-string
Or a lightweight step.

What if we could walk the world
After having shed our masks
What would people think of us
After they see us how we really are
Will they go into shock?
Will they wish that they had believed us?
We shall never know.

For we are to afraid
To step out into the light
In fear that someone would take it
Far far away
And that we'd have to search for it all over again

5 - Mr Buddy loves lakes...
7 - I am the same as you dude...
5 - Mr Lake Minnetonka.....

Frozen footsteps, trapped in time
A single soul, lost can't find
The brightest light, the sun's sweet glow
A song above, mourns here below

A thoughtless step, a friend now lost
The prize I seek, despite the cost
A fighting life, death's icy grip
Continue on, until I slip

A hateful glare, or loves sweet hold
A song of poor, man's greed of gold
The forest high, the village sprawl
An old man's back, new baby's crawl

Frozen footsteps, trapped in time
The path I took, those left behind
This journey long, can't see the end
And was this real, *or just pretend?

You were the FINAL straw.
I refuse to to be SILENCED anymore.
My word speak VOLUMES
And I'll PROVE it to you.

I am SICK and TIRED of being stepped on,
Being JUDGED,
LIED to,
Taken ADVANTAGE of
like I'm WORTHLESS and USELESS.
I am NOT gonna believe that lie anymore, I know I'm SPECIAL.
I am not afraid to EXPRESS myself any longer.

I have people who CARE about me, who LOVE me for who I am,
Not for who I may have PRETENDED to be.

The choices in my life are MINE to make, because
I CONTROL my destiny, not you, or anyone who says otherwise.

I have the POWER to PERSEVERE,
To PREVAIL over any odds.
And GUESS what?
So do you  you and you,
We all have a CHOICE.
I'm stepping up so my voice can be HEARD.
What about you?

The shapeless void beckons me
I take a step forward
Unsure of what is to be
My footing fails me
I plummet.
Or do I rise?

YOU WILL NOT REGRET MOVING FORWARD

Perhaps it’s best to not make sense,
but instead trust and accept.

Take it step by step
Without looking for an end.

Life is a process;

You will be led
To where you are destined.