Sonnet

What do you do when you learn you are wrong

When the words you believed

Were lies all along

And now that you know, are you trapped or free

How do you act when your thoughts turn around

And who you are is no longer the same

All you wanted was solid ground

But that’s not what you get when you play this game

You learn to live with what you’re not

But what happens when what you’re not becomes what you are

You learn to deal with what you’ve got

But what if you decide to raise that bar

Time won’t stop and things won’t stay the same

We always have to adjust as fluid beings

Us

Where does love come from?

And what does it do?

Does it make us feel?

Or is that simply a side effect of it?

Does it make us act?

Or is that just another biproduct?

Maybe love isn’t a matter of what it is

Where it comes from

Or what it does

Because we are love

Love is in us

And love is us

The search for it is endless

Because we’re searching for ourselves

The desire for it is everlasting

Because we are desiring ourselves

Love is

Was

And always will be

Who we are

Seasons

Were taught that there are seasons

Like winter

Summer

Fall

And spring

We’re told that we should love them

Because of the wonders that they bring

Winter brings cold

With snow that gleams and shines

While Summer brings the heat

From a sun that feels so fine

Fall brings cozy sweaters

And kids in costume on Halloween

Then spring brings a breath of life

And opens our eyes to the beauty that should be seen

There are seasons of our life

Like there are seasons of the earth

The seasons of our lives

Are unpredictable from birth

We can only guess

What season we’re in

Be it winter, summer, spring, or fall

But they each bring some clarity

To help us understand

The purpose behind our call

I do not know

What season I’m in

And I could probably never tell you

When it started or when it will end

But I have learned to laugh

And I have learned to dream

I have learned to appreciate

The little things

But after all I have learned

Be it good or bad

Learning to love

Is a skill that I lack

I know what Love is

And I know that it’s there

And I know my heart is full of it

Ready to be shared

But perhaps I am in winter

Or maybe even fall

A season where life is waiting

And beauty will soon cover all

I am not sad about this

Because I know the breath will come

And just like the warmer season

Life will flourish under the sun

I feel the heat already

And I can see the beauty coming near

But for now I will enjoy the season I’m in

Because I know God’s timing will be clear

To you, with love

To you,

I hope you do not feel discouraged on days where love is put in the spotlight. I hope that seeing heart-shaped everything and couples going the extra mile does not put a damper in your mood or cause you to scrunch your nose and walk away. I hope the bright pinks and reds do not cause you to shade your eyes and turn towards the shadows. I know it’s days like today where everything becomes a constant reminder of all that you don’t have. And I know that reminder feels more like a hit than a hint, but I hope you do not feel hurt. I hope you never use your lack to feel bitter towards someone else’s gain.

It seems to me that this world is full so much negative that a day dedicated to love itself can’t even be appreciated. The everyday mumbles are no longer shushed and the groans grow louder because as more love is shown, more hatred is shown with it. The holiday becomes too “commercialized” as it picks at our every insecurity and fills the lonely with a sense of dread and the not-so-lonely with a sense of urgency to do more. But if we could take this holiday, commercialized or not, for what it’s worth and just simply love, maybe people on both ends would be better off.

MLK Jr. said that only love can drive out hate, so why is it that on the day where love shines the brightest, the darkest shadows are formed? The sooner we stop feeling sorry for ourselves and happy for others, the sooner light can spread until it’s filling every nook and cranny that plagues this world with shadows. Even if your heart is broken or you have never known a love that has defined love itself, let the love that you do know or the love that you do have pour out of you. You get out of life what you put into it, so if you put in light and love, you will receive exactly that.

I tell you this with love.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

audacity

You ask how I have the audacity to think I matter when there are 7 billion people on this earth

But you would never take the sea and deny its wonder

You would never take a rose and deny its beauty

And you would never take a dollar bill and deny its worth

You ask how I have the audacity to think I matter

When you listen to the rain and feel peace as each drop hits the ground and you lose track of time

You ask how I have the audacity to think I matter

When there are more dollar bills

More roses

More stars

And more rain than there are people and yet

Every day you find beauty in the littlest of things

But somehow

You have the audacity to think none of us matter

When we all have something to give

Something to love

Something to change

So I ask you

How can you have the audacity to think none of us matter

When there are 7 billion people on this earth

And 5 quadrillion square feet of earth to change?