Each one of us is different,
Every one of us unique,
Not one of us should pass judgment,
Ill of our fellow man should speak.
For each one of us has value
that not one of us should begrudge;
To judge others says more of you
than any of those you might judge.
None of us are superior
To think so is pure arrogance,
Thinking others inferior
Highlights only your ignorance.

A solitary place
in the middle of nowhere.
Great distance from perfection.
The horrible look is incomparable.
Covered with dirt;
no marks of hope.
The shadow of dark
surrounds every part of it.
Abandoned
Hopeless
now unknown
deserved to be gone.
Then a man came,
from a paradise.
The place awaiting to be destroyed
given a dot of hope.
Pleased
Optimistic
and for some reason
the man stayed.
Alone for years,
the man removed every single dirt.
From irrecovable
it turned into something
abrupt.
It can be "something"
from nowhere.
Unforseen
A day approached
the man said goodbye.
Away
the place still looked beautiful.
But
it has no value.
Empty
Unworthy
The changes are insignificant.
Certainly it needed more than
how it looked.
Even so, its new beauty
without the man
remained
a solitary place.

*-Steph Dionisio, July 13, 2015

There is a story behind everything

Whether they can pass for something interesting you can talk about at parties, a story you wish to tell your children, or words and paragraphs you wish to keep between closed books, unspoken

We choose to let these stories unfold on the sentimental values that uphold such existence

Like the ring on my finger, the necklace around my neck that I hope could represent how much I love a person

Or the scarf that was given to me one winter, a picture that was taken last summer, or simply just thoughts that cannot be expressed enough to shape something physical

Everything comes in forms with words of meaning, that may or may not articulate accounts that we desire to bring across an audience of eager listeners and uninterested individuals

There is no such thing as ‘meaningless’, just significance, and one is not required to utter words that can suffice the story behind it

It doesn’t matter if it can only be held by the heart, or of hands that are worthy

We all have treasures to keep and experiences that we have yet to receive and it is up to us as human beings to take such things with gratitude that will be enough to create a story

A story that would be deserving of words, or a story of unsaid expressions that are ours to keep

n.j.

I may seem hard
From far outside guard
Just thought me inside
And my softest soul will abide
But
With only one uncareful touch
Means so much
Takes no doubt
I could be broken *inside & out

Appreciate what you have,while you still have it,
Don't wait for it to go before you realise how much value it holds.

Maroon, crimson, dark red.
Whatever color you want to call it,
it sits balled in front of me on my old bedside table.
You want it back because it has "sentimental value,"
your brother bought it for you before he went off to the military
and it cost him seventy dollars.

On the top shelf of my current bedside table,
at the back, hidden from light, from sight,
sits the ring you bought me that cost over two hundred dollars,
the ring that signified a promise that you swore you'd keep.
You asked if it bothered me to have, if it hurt,
and I told you that it didn't.
You said that I should keep it.
You say the hoodie has sentimental value but I sit here with a ring of mineral,
real diamond centered on its band,
coveted only by the box you presented it to me in when you tricked me into finding it,
when you told me you'd love me until the day that you died.
The ring that later represented not only our connection,
our relationship,
but our engagement that I hear you're denying ever happened.

You did not ask for the ring back.

You never said that it held "sentimental value,"
but your seventy dollar hoodie from the brother who has given you
fear to be touched by unprecedented betrayal,
does.

I cannot help but wonder how you are not bothered by an item that once held such meaning
no longer being in your possession.
I cannot help but wonder why you have not mentioned it.
I cannot help but wonder if you hear a certain artist in the car, or with friends,
and think of me but do not say anything in fear of making a scene.
I cannot help but wonder if you are still in love with me.

If a hoodie can hold such sentimental value and the ring you proposed to me with does not,
did the words
" I love you "
mean less than
" I'm trying to get over you "
when you said them within a week of one another?

Am I never meant to know?

I fear I am not privileged enough to know whether or not these words,
these things that have passed through my life were ever meant to mean
more than a cool March night of lying on the roof of your car,
staring at the constellations and wishing to be with you forever
when I saw the shooting stars.
I fear that I am no longer privileged to say no one knows you like I do.

You said you wanted your hoodie back,
and I told you that I found it.
You said you'd find my clothes as soon as possible
and I told you to take your time.
I told you not to push yourself too hard.
I didn't want you to hurt anymore.

I don't know what to do with your hoodie, though.
It's moving from my bed,
to dresser,
to bedside table
to bed
to dresser
to bedside table
and I wake and see it and think of you
and I wonder if I should put it on when I go for a walk
because it's warmer than anything else that I own,
but I don't,
because it has sentimental value.

I do not.