Let go of the narrative
Let your days unfold
You will gradually find
Your fate will be revealed
When you least expect it
When love decides for you

Who do you want to be when you grow up
Would be the the question we should pose
In place of our standard query to a child
What do you want to be when you grow up
For what you do is only part of who you are
Our young souls have far more to give to this earth

Back in 2007

I read in the books

It was bad to isolate

It makes things much worse

Better get out there

Meet people make friends

Best thing for your health

So I made myself

Enough years went by

I forgot what it was like

To want to be left alone

I remember now

So I just pretend

This is what I want

Watching long movies

Reading stacks of books

Sleeping for 12 hour stretches

It is not so bad

Just a way to pass the time

I find I like it

Not like 13 years ago

When I did all the same things

But I didn’t choose

What I did or didn’t do

My depression did

Anxiety is an intruder

With unparalleled power

Tailored to fuel your fears

Conjuring a history of hurt

You are outmatched

Pain in your chest

Sudden brimming tears

Little kid level sniffles

Taking a seat transforming

To a collapse on the floor

Sobs finally give way

To labored breaths

Gradually you shakily rise

Without hesitation or shame

To find your phone

Scrolling to the number

You thought you didn’t need

And call for help

Theater is life

Lived bravely

Watched with courage

As we dare to feel

Ever present together

For two hours plus

In the stillness

Of human connection

You can hear a pin drop

With the recognition

Of the familiar

Laughter breaking down a wall

At all that is fleeting

Applause calls a curtain

Hands held with smiles found

With a united bow

We all rise up

We stand together somehow

Keep your deepest faith

In the true blue geniuses

Fighting this virus every day

Probing for discoveries

Attacking from all angles

Relentlessly working

Around the clock

To find a way to stop this

A mission they will

Never abandon

Not until we can

All hear freedom ring

Thank them

Bless them

Remember them

When despair creeps in

Have faith in

The great breaking news

That will arrive one day

On your phone,computer,TV

Brought on by their

Determined work

That day will come

On a long dreary day

Being met with a bright smile

Like an unexpected rainbow

Will carry you through

Monsters cannot comprehend

People who hold within them

Kind-hearted integrity

Born of who they are

Without agenda

Built on the recognition

Of our shared humanity

When faced with cruelty

These noble souls

Do not retaliate

Against their adversary

Witnessing such empathy

Monsters fade to humans

Shook by a gentle presence

Fury melts into relief

Tears spill from their eyes

Cleansing a hateful heart

Because you do not leave them

Alone with their hidden pain

At a van I gazed

As it slowed to a stop

Such a happy dog

Barking through a closed window

I waved to him in the daze

Of the memory

Of a kinder summer night

Illness is a lonely business

Assuring others you are fine

Desperately simultaneously

Needing them there with you

While praying to be left alone

Anxiety is my dance partner
In the late night hours

Staring at the ceiling
Sleep lacks appeal

When there is nothing
No one to wake up to
Just another identical day

My restless heart praying
For a breakthrough
To set us all free

Sitting next to you

Without a single word

Had a way of erasing

All my troubles

Give me back my torn ticket
I want off this ride
I am done
With roller coasters

The dawn will break

No matter how dark the night

Even if you have lost your grasp

To swirling thoughts and tears

Forgetting who can help or how

I ask you one motionless favor

Sit and wait for the morning light


The sky is permanent

Our troubles are not

Lightning piercing

Through this darkness

Reminds us to fight
 fiercely
For the light of our world
To bring us back home

Look up to the stars

When you are lost and lonely

Millions of wishes granted

Floating above you

Shrug off the timeline

Dare to believe

Wish for our miracle

I hated winter
Until the seasonless days
Were all strung together
Into nothingness
If it is a winter day
When we are granted relief
From this deadly intruder
I will love winter eternally
For the ever warm memory
Of that blessed day

Feel that weight lifted
Off your shoulders
Feel that pent up
Angry energy dissipate
Feel the lightness
Of a miracle set in
You were always brave
Today you are at last free

Sometimes late at night

Reality hits

Like a ton of bricks

As sadness overtakes you

I will not leave you

When you are suffering

I will not leave you

When your heart is wrecked

I will not leave you

When you are gravely ill

I will not leave you

When you are devastated

When you are shattered

When you are on the brink

Of a permanent exit

I will never leave you

As human beings

I believe

We are here

To help

One another

Stay alive

If we stitched together

All our tears and fears

What a small swatch of fabric

We would hold in our hands

From all the overlapping

Our human hearts beat

For the same reason

To love and live

For as long as we can

There is a hurt inside of us all

Every person who you see

Is somewhere on the path

Of dealing with their pain

A wound finally healed

A heart recently broken

A trauma triggered

An illness resurfaced

A letting go of grief

An acceptance of a loss

A relatively okay day

A tentative sigh of relief

A return to nearly normal days

Whoever’s eyes you meet

Stranger, friend, or foe

You have the shared experience

Of surviving pain alone

Cheers to The brave hearts

The sweethearts

The sensitive souls

Wiser than their years

Kinder than they know

If you see their light dim

Grab their hand

With all the love you have

An empathy recharge

Will bring your hero back

Look for the light

In the daily darkness

If you cannot find it

Create the light

Lots of us are short on strength

If anyone out there

Has any strength to spare

Lend it to a friend

Offer it up in kind words

Pick up the phone and call

Send a thoughtful card

Say thank you

To the someones

Who have shaped your life

For the better

Given it meaning

Made you a better you

Amidst the daily horrors

I promise you they have forgotten

Take the strength you have

Suit up for a rescue

They need you out there