Lit And On Fire

You cannot walk on until you take the first step You can't dive deep without first taking a breath You cannot set sail until you paddle and row You can't drive fast if you've nowhere to go You cannot climb heights if you're weighed down by fear You can't fully rejoice until you've shed some tears You cannot embrace until you've shaken the hand You can't have a harvest without working the land You cannot be free until you break off the chains You can't be familiar without facing the strange You cannot take a sip until you lift the cup You can't continue if you've not had enough You cannot fly kites without resisting the winds You can't truly lose until you know you can't win You cannot perspire without breaking a sweat You can't really bleed until you've got nothing left

Scribble, scribble Write and dribble Words constructed Thoughts to nibble Dancing, gliding Pattern-tracing Leaving footprints Letters racing Etching shadows Long and narrow Volumes spoken Deep and shallow Leave a little Jot and tittle Brittle concepts Form epistles Stash a mouthful Thoughtful, hopeful Lawful insights Awful, woeful Script a tenet Then it builds up Craft a sonnet Son, it adds up Sign a statement Statesmen state them List enlistments Troopers hate them Record details Wholesale, retail Bittersweet ales Potent telltales Compose in prose What no one knows With pen propose What says a rose To life you sprung Your ballpoint stung The scribbled ink Your strength unsung - - - - - Today's writing prompt was to describe an inanimate object coming to life and what it does after that.

There is a need for me to say "thank you" For things I've learned when I used to flank you I'll say them proudly, loudly and curtly I'm grateful for good times and those times you've hurt me Ms. Chief, we had some playful days together You stood by me for a season, in all sorts of weather The worst in me was game to you; the beast in me unchained We had to part ways or my life would in rudeness remain Ms. Take, I am grateful for every bit of correction Be it in word, in deed, or in secret affection I used to hate you sharply until you informed me Errors and failures -- they break me to form me Ms. Deed, we were thick as thieves when I was clueless I was naive; your immorality was newness You never told me my actions would bring aftermaths But I learned my lessons; had to leave you after that Ms. Nomer, enticed me to call things as they were not And urged me to label people without a second thought My love for words usurped and then corrupted Until frustratio...

I could be bitter But I want to be better I want to be still, abide Be left intact in Love's abode I could all your mistakes accent But you as mortal I accept I could begrudge your faulty quest But in my heart come be my guest I have in lowly tryst just waited Believing all my faith's not wasted I want to shout it in a whisper Because I need this woe to whimper I could exact in full revenge But I loathe hate as revenue I will in trust refuse the torment Because in comes a blessed torrent I will get by with smile and whistle Believing hostiles will somehow whittle I will protest in justice wordless But I in hope not be workless

Labels are fables that do not define Swagger and daggers, not fancies of mine Bludgeoned in dungeons, mistook for a swine All just because I was born as a guy "Swinger!" A ringer for my gender's sake Players and haters rub off their mistakes "Single, go mingle!" "Your smile must be fake." "It's 'cause you're a man!" Please give me a break! Tempests, the tempted go out on the prowl Hunting the hunted -- the damsels -- like fowl Using, abusing their strength with a scowl And I, a guy... should I throw in the towel? Handsome and then some: he must be a cad Silent and private: intentions are bad Friendly: he's deadly in deception clad This man wasn't raised that way by his dad! Yet truly and duly brothers have erred Eons of peons, and casual words Painted and tainted the masculine herd I am just a guy enlightened and stirred Paltry, a small tree of all the King's men Tepid, intrepid again and again Weighted, sedated no...

Numbers account for the things one can see People and structures and college degrees Hours of practice and money amassed Different metrics of one's own success Estates don't state what is of great import Property ventures and assets to sort Climbing the ladder society scales Fame is not character; pomp is for sale World, would you stop? Don't define me by stats Flow charts and pie graphs and ven diagrams Polls are just popular, not always right Figures disfigure the joy in one's life Status pursued, in a moment, will pass Treasures, like life, are just fleeting at best Glittering gold is not nearly as dear As years spent in peace, in absence of fear Not in the quantity, many, a lot But in the meaningful, few and less-sought Not hard to find but one does have to look All is laid out, it's inside the Good Book Faithful consistency measures the heart It's in the finish and not how one starts As you ke...

Numbers From the zeros to the ones Combine To become heroes and guns Fractions Are just morsels of the whole Slivers That need the sanction of souls Inches Are too close to see far away Slower Surely much better a rate Crevice Agape can chasms become Distance Just look how far we have come

One letter after another A jot and tittle here One glance, a moment to bother A lot, a little tear We put together sentences And structured all these words We build a life together now Create in one accord Ignited a conflagration Of paragraphs and prose Imaginations all ablaze Emotions, I suppose We do love words; we're enamored With meanings hid and seen And we do love each other, too Because of all that's been