Grow with agony but not with soul

lumps that are uninvited

like pests that display unrest

where are you going tonight

to bed?

Coexist with frosty smile

does it exist within your eyes

this love that’s hidden

below the depths of knowing

where are you going tomorrow

too late?

Blessed peace grows wary

waiting for your lips to speak

kind words that tarry far too long

and far too late

where are you going next week

two few?

Finding you amidst the flowers

can they nurture such a promise

scented curfew leaves me

with no desire

where are you going next month

to choose?

Lure the heart with sweet temptation

capture love but not with me

though I stand ready

you grow old too quickly

where are you going next year

to die?

No matter where the sun's rays bend

No matter where the rainbow ends

No matter if I see your smile

No matter if you walk that mile

Listen well, my friend 

For I have 

Something to say

Listen well

No matter when true love begins,

No matter if your heart will sing

No matter if we kiss all night

No matter if you see the light

For it will all end one day,

The laughter, the tears, 

the gain,

the pain, 

the goals, the shares,

the stains, 

the rain 

All will vanish into the ground

We come from dust and leave at dusk

And then we'll float away

Leaving behind a trail of 

Sun-soaked memories and tears

If only I could turn 

The clock back

If only I could say 

I love you

If only I could say

Goodbye

When does rain end and tears begin?

When does death's fire freeze the soul?

When does love's laugh cry in pain?

When does the moon kiss the sun?

When you will return to me

Or when I come to you.

I stumbled down the flight of stairs

Suspended in the air like a bird.

Then there was darkness.

I opened my eyes, face down,

My face wet with blood,

"You" hovered over me,

Ready to take me with you.

“I pray to God, let me live!” I shouted.

“I want to live! Lord have mercy!”

I kept shouting this over and over again

Desperately wanting to live

To be given another chance

Just when I felt your arm pulling me

Back into darkness,

I heard the loveliest voice a person could ever hear.

“Honey, are you alright?”

It’s the nights that hurt the most

When I turn to reach for you

And find air instead.

It’s the days that hurt even more so,

As I keep busy, running here and there

So as not to remember the day you died.

So as not to remember how I held you in my arms.

So as not to remember how I babbled and cried.

So as not to remember the cemetery visits.

It’s the holidays that hurt the worst,

Especially Father’s Day, when our teenage son

Acts as if he’s alright, but I know better.

Keeping busy is the best remedy.

You don’t have time to think, or feel the pain.

Sometimes I do let down my guard,

I do feel that you are here, with us,

Drinking your coffee and laughing along,

As we play Scrabble or Chess, or watch a movie

I do feel that you are still alive

Even though you are far, far away.

The silence of a beating heart

Goes unnoticed in the absence

Of Love.

To be quiet means to die,

To vanish into the cosmos

To crumble into dust.

The silence of a bleeding heart

Gathers snapshots of memories

Of Love.

To be quiet means to suppress,

To delete all that exists,

To erase our very existence.

I stand before you, an American citizen of the United States, the greatest country on this earth. We Americans are a free people, a proud and strong people, and have earned this right, through our courage and convictions, through our passion and commitment, through our love for independence.

You wonder how it is that we celebrate this day, our day of Independence?

It is a day that speaks louder than words, that shouts to the far ends of the earth, that speaks for every man, woman and child living in the United States. Through the courage of our brave soldiers, we became an independent country over two hundreds years ago. We are a united people, from all walks of life, from all countries, from all faiths, from all lifestyles. We live together because of our love for independence.

To be independent means to be free from the shackles of oppression, free from the constrictions of a dictator, free from controlling governments. The people of the United States are law-abiding citizens, yet they are free to do whatever they want. They are free to make choices: they can vote, they can work, they can live wherever they want to, they can marry whomever they want to, they can say whatever they want to, they can have demonstrations, and run businesses, and basically live freely.

So we ask that you honor and respect our way of life. Do not challenge us, for we will defend our country and independence fiercely. For it has become a way of life that is worth living for and worth dying for.