The long-time companion of frustration
Helps keep your dreams on the back burner
So you can remain a minimum wage earner

A trusted friend of self-doubt
Because, how could you actually figure things out
Get in line and just stick to the status quo
You ain’t gonna be one to go out and grow

An ally of stress
Ensuring life remains an unfinished mess
So we live in a state of overwhelm
With no competent leader at the helm

Through this process we live victimized
Feeling powerless and marginalized
Blaming our welfare on our mental health state
Like we have no choice and…

Hope is not something based on circumstance
Hope is never expectant
But it remains there
Ever present if a person
Is keen enough to listen

Hope is a feeling that connects all of life
It is interwoven in the very fabric of our existence
From the molecules in our smallest cells
To the infinite stars in the sky above

Nothing can change hope
Hope cannot be fabricated
Hope cannot be created or destroyed
For it is the very essence of life itself

Our realization of there being hope
Is not a discovery of something that was previously absent
But a tuning in…

Curiosity is the key
Following it you will see
The path to set yourself free

With so much you have to give
It’s the only way to truly live

So sit there an be still
Look through your window sill
Listen to your heart, use your free will

Make the choice to get up and go
No hesitation, you already know
The actions, the habits you must sow

You already have the gifts
But with self-doubt you’ve created rifts

In who you are
You’ve come so far

Stay curious to unite
Your divided self with light

Be kind and gentle…

Second guessing our true nature
To our own life we become a stranger
Who’s disconnected from our self and neighbor

We look for something external, greater
Living in a constant state of self-proclaimed failure
Living life as a waiter
Believing your current life is safer

To one’s true self we are a traitor
But in our life we are the maker
Life’s about making a bet, a wager

On this new path life will get stranger
But don’t be afraid of action’s perceived danger
It’s better now than later

You are your only life’s player
So break out of your self-imposed…

Break out of the cycle of seeking praise

It keeps you wanting more
Over time losing sight of your reason for

Seeking praise becomes about the other person
And so your mental health does worsen

You lose sight of what’s most essential
Your hopes and dreams; your true potential

To create solely for another’s adoration
Is a very ill-advised flirtation
Will only end in frustration
And you will lose your very foundation

To live to please
Most certainly guarantees
That you will become a slave
Always questioning how to behave

Because you must ensure
You’re in line with your observateur

…

Years have passed
Feelings amassed
Recalling our time
And it being quite fine

Emotion’s stirred
Eyes teary and blurred
As it seems forward movement
Is only prudent

In our current space
Could we have made it to a different place?
Was there a different choice?
So I could keep hearing your voice?

Words escape me
Is this what it means to be free?
Doubting the decision
That’s led to our division

Ripping apart my loyalty
Feels like stone cold sobriety
Feelings bringing me down
A sense of loneliness in any town

But through loss
There’s a void to cross
For I still…

I see him
I know him
His ploys
His maneuvers
His wishes
His secrets

I’ve known him
For as long as
I can remember
He knows me
Just as well
As I know
Myself

I’m fond of him
He’s familiar
As much as
He’s been a foe
He is my
Closest friend

I smile at him
He smiles back
At me
Honest, genuine
Love

Wherever I go
There he is
I wonder
I ask myself
Why have we
Never joined forces
Worked together

We remain separate
Two sides of
The same coin
The divide
Between us
Based on false
Assumptions of
Differing values
Differing goals
What if
We put our
Differences…