Girl, rest.
You've done enough for today.
Everything can wait for a few hours.
Let the dust settle, let the world break,
Fix things up when you've recharged.
Girl, rest.
You burning yourself dry won't solve
World hunger or global warming.
People will continue their crimes.
Let it all go to hell for a little while.
Girl, rest.
These few hours belong to you.
There is no one to displease or serve;
Nothing that can't be done tomorrow.
For now, breathe deep, settle down.
Girl, rest.
You deserve the care that you keep
Giving away to everyone else.
For once, turn that care within
And allow yourself to rest.

-

The battle-weary warrior
Sits bloodied within the tent,
Shaky hands fastening the armor,
Plans mapped and hopes spent.

The battle-weary warrior
Has one goal in their mind:
To liberate and empower a people
Who are struggling to survive.

The battle-weary warrior
Has to brave the fields alone,
The army lost, a forgotten cause
Still cloistered in their bones.

The battle-weary warrior
Closes their eyes and dreams
Of better tomorrows, past all sorrows,
And wounds healed by kinder streams.

-

The chasms between us
Churn like ocean currents
Gushing through dark ravines
Gathering deep sea horrors
And rushing to the surface
To dash strange creatures
Upon our confused shores
Gasping for life, lost to depths
Of conversations never sought
And hurts never expressed
And efforts never recognized
And silences ripping more rifts
Of perceptions warring in ice
Now melting with a millenia
Of ancient mishap-piled bergs
Sinking ships that could've stayed
Had either landmass tried
To bridge with careful words
A connection formed in echoes
Of gratitude and understanding.

-

Do I begin?
There's nothing.
Stabbing pain.
A heartbeat.
Pulse flowing.
Fingers and toes.
My body.
The world.
A breath.
Tender hands.
Care and comforts.
Gentle coos.
I am loved?
Cold air.
I scream.
It is pain.
Nothing wrong.
All okay.
But the pain?
All safe.
We're happy.
But the pain?
Watch me grow.
I have words now.
"Pain!"
Silence, child.
Obey.
Whisper pain.
Sharp slap.
This love... is pain?

-

When structures break
And the world comes toppling down
Will you remember
The dying hand reaching out for you,
The echoing scream
Of a soul that's lost to the shadows,
The unshakable block
Of ground beneath your shaky feet,
Or the silent horror
Of what should have never been?

Or will you be content with
The bubble of lies and illusions
Painted over the naked chaos,
Covering cracks and caging realities
Behind a delicate veil of peace,
Never healing, not letting it break,
While holding all of your pain within?

-

Who Are You?

You've become fictional
In my mind, my dear,
And perhaps it is my fault for
Being unable to view your entirety.
I couldn't get to know you,
My dear, I wish I knew
What made your heart race
Or what made your eyes sparkle.
Yet, deep down in my being,
I have cherished your spirit -
The fragments of you that floated
My way in snippets of memory.
I pieced them together, my dear,
In the best way I could,
And pasted them on a large canvas
Like an incomplete collage-painting.
This is who I believe you are,
My dear, you are the missing pages,
And the contrast of images present
Between the shards that mirror me.

-

Hope

When everything gets dark,
When monsters choke your spark,
When wrecked is your last arc,
There is always hope.

When your dreams go up in smoke,
When you are lost and broke,
When even survival seems like a joke,
There is always hope.

When you feel left behind,
When pain is all you seem to find,
When you're burried in the grind,
There is always hope.

Hope lives in desolation,
Hope pumps your heart,
Hope leads you to destinations
That grant you a brand new start.

-

Amazement

An audible gasp;
A thrilling experience;
Something strange and new;
Something you've never felt before;
There's a sparkle in your eyes -
Your instincts are unsure how to react;
Your mind is stunned, processing facts,
With a million questions waiting to be answered...

I suppose this
Is what we lose
As the years pass by
And the new becomes monotonous,
And moments become dulled
By involuntary repetition -
A sense of wonder forgotten,
Steadied by experimentation, logic and knowledge.
We know the light turns on with a switch.
It is no longer magic.

Yet, the shrill
Of a child's delight,
Or fear, or rage, or excitement,
Breaks us out of our undead trance,
And ushers a giggle of curiousity,
Or a shiver of annoyance,
At this silly display of amazement,
By one experiencing it afresh.

-

Imperfect.

The right words
Will never be found,
Nor will the best rhythm
Or the proper rhyme.

There will never be
An unshakeable structure
That wipes away all plot holes
And flows in a spectacular sequence.

No, there can never be
An unblemished character,
An impeccable setting,
Or an unforgettable narrative.

No plan works.
Time is man-made.
Space is chaos.
And matter may not exist.

So, why do I still
Stumble into a panic
At the scope of expression
Aiming beyond my means?

-

All I can do is try
To get through the day,
To make it past hurdles,
To accomplish my goals,
To survive the impossible,
To keep holding onto dreams,
To breathe and live,
To rest without guilt,
To take good care of myself,
To be there for my loved ones,
To cherish all that's dear to me,
To not forget the good memories,
To put one foot in front of the other,
To keep moving forward,
To allow the past to be the past,
To brave uncertain futures,
And hope that I continue to believe...

That all I can do is try
To accept my human limitations
And just be me.

-