Our Loved Ones Never Die

Our loved ones never die.

Their spirit transforms into

Birds chirping in the early morning,

A gentle breeze caressing your cheeks,

The serene warmth of the midday sun.

Our loved ones are all around us.

They're in the old song on the radio,

In the scent of their favorite flowers in bloom,

In the worn-out photos on your walls

Or a birthday gift you've treasured over the years.

Our loved ones still live through us.

They're in the stories you pass down to your children,

In silly jokes you've told a thousand times,

In the memorabilia on your side table,

And in the customs you've carried on.

You cannot touch them.

You cannot see them.

You cannot hear them.

But you can feel them.

Our loved ones will always live in our hearts.

A Young Dreamer

A gentle wind flows in through the trees

Carrying the scent of apples and pears.

I awaken under the sound of rustling leaves,

With flower petals in my hair.

I dreamed of flying with mighty dragons

And swimming at the bottom of the sea.

I write my dreams down as fast as I can

Before they scatter away from me.

My journal is filled with endless scribbles

Of ideas that stretch out towards the moon.

Stories, poems, an ode to my (soon to be) true love, 

And sometimes I draw silly cartoons.

The sun is setting, so I'll be back tomorrow

To dream and doodle away.

My time is my own, but not for long,

For all of us have to grow up someday. 

Resigned

Of all the errors I have made

The ones that are worst to me
Are those that raise doubt,
Giving room to flout,
Of my humanity.

These chimeras tend to linger
In the calm meadows of my mind,
And keep me awake
Until daybreak
When my confidence has resigned.

The Prize

My daughter cartwheels under the sunset sky,

Each flip squeezes my newborn heart.

I wonder, as she learns to fly,

Will I adequately supply

The foundation to give her a running start?

My daughter's smile is like a wild rose,

Captivating anyone with honest eyes.

I wonder, as she endlessly grows,

The mother that she currently knows,

Will she become, as much, her prize?

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Found this piece perusing old emails from my last corporate job.

Written back in 2005.

Natural Choices

Sometimes, unexpected winds of change
Uproot everything in your path
And force you down to your hands and knees.

You can stay low and still,
Surrender to your altered surroundings,
And hate the universe for cursing you.

Or

You can rise up from the ground,
Dust yourself off, adjust your goals,
And persevere in your new world.

The choice is yours.