"I've discovered that I'm worth it. I've dealt with thoughts of 'you're not good enough' my whole life; they have this way of flooding back when someone walks out of your life. Nonetheless, I am one of a kind, limited edition, only-one-ever, I'm valuable."

Me/ Devon/ Garden of Blair

For: @chainedinshadow

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#writer #poet #writing #poetry #feels #insecurity #valued #loved #strength

To be human is to experience life to the fullest. Laugh, cry, smile. Dare to things you never thought you would do. Skip a class, go on a date with someone completely wrong, stay up late and get up early. Dance the night away and suffer consequences in the morning. Travel the world, or just to the city next to yours. Life isn't supposed to be monotonous, live like tomorrow is your last day.

Life isn't what others say it is.

Life is what you make it to be.

-Me

"The world is filled with possibilities. Without them we have nothing. With possibilities, we have everything."

... and if I may, one other favorite of mine.

"We shall see what we shall see, when we shall see it."

Every day, someone writes about love, talks about love, angry about love, even frightened of love. Love is a concept of entwining emotions we can neither physically see, hear, taste, touch, or smell, but it sure does know how to heighten a person’s senses and awareness when with someone they are attracted to.

When I was thinking about this, I remembered something I wrote a long time back. I dug around my stacks of papers and finally unearthed it.

I am no road scholar when it comes to love but over the years I have come to understand what you will read are only a few of the many principles love holds.

Consider this what you will. Conception. Perception. Perspective.

Enjoy.

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What Is Love

Defining love, and its concept isn’t as easy as it sounds. Love is, has, and always will be the one word in the English language (or any language), that is defined by adjectives and adverbs laid onto paper, and words which roll off the tongue.

For countless centuries, “Love” has been a prime force of every novel written, be it romance, gothic, westerns, horror, drama, mystery, adventure, and comedy. Love has told the story of some of the greatest love relationships throughout history. From Adam and Eve to Jesus Christ. Cleopatra and Antony, to Romeo and Juliet.

But, in using words to describe love with such words as: beautiful, dear, darling, sweetheart, and of course, I love you. It isn’t the telling that defines love, rather more the showing; the expression of that love which becomes the main focus or central ingredient.

You can say, “I love you,” twenty-four hours a day, and it wouldn’t mean a thing if you cannot express yourself—and the ways are many.

A simple hug or smile, holding a hand, giving a card for no other reason than you care (and it shows what he/she means to you in doing so), sending/giving flowers, planning a getaway for a few days, sharing responsibilities, such as cleaning or painting a room or working on all that “stuff” in the attic. For men: cook for her for a change of pace, and don’t forget to put the toilet-seat down (and for as funny as that may seem, it isn’t funny to her), and put the cap back on the toothpaste when finished. In the long run, all it is doing is showing simple respect when due, in the form of love.

Being able to see your partner’s abilities and talents as a person is vital as it is important. Notice the little, as well as the bigger things during the course of the day. Ignorance may be bliss but being ignorant means too much is being missed. Again, respect what is done, how it was done, is another sign of love. It shows how much you value your partner, even when away from him/her.

Another way and this is important; is communication. Listen to what is being said, as well as what is not being said. Listen to problems or ideas. By hearing, listening, and not pretending; take a real interest in thoughts expressed, allows you to be even closer.

Yet, the reverse holds true as well. You can communicate without words. There is that certain look in the eye, or that curving smile. The way hands are held and fingers interlock. The playing around to have each other laugh, to stroking a cheek, to a simple short kiss. All of these things are a form of love … better known as understanding.

When deeply troubled by sadness, scared, confused, your partner or you, should be there to share the burden and help ease the pain and sadness, and perhaps even fear. There will always be times when the weight of any pain will be too heavy for one person to carry alone. That weight should be, has to be, carried by two people. This is love. This is also known as being a friend when a friend is needed most.

Physically, making love is perhaps one of the least forms to express love. No two people can make love around the clock the rest of their lives and survive on that love. Of course making love is the closest two people can be to express love, but it’s really a small slice of the pie in the relationship when you look at love on a larger scale.

And yet, making love is an internal act of expression. The art or act of love, must or should be pleasurable. That feeling where making love should feel never-ending (though it will and does) and go beyond forever. Both you and your partner should shudder with the most intense, satisfied feeling ever experienced. Complete fulfillment.

With fulfillment as with other things considered, we have to come back to the important issues: laughter, and communication. Laughter, because lovemaking should be fun as well as passionate (and not like a job you dread). Communication is a given, but when the conversation becomes one-sided, that is where love begins to fade as does the sun to darkness, or the moon to morning light. As with everything mentioned, tenderness needs, privately demands to be felt. Holding, touching one another as if to say, “I care deeply and will never let go.”

In a sense, love is like a general giving orders to his men. Each man plays an important part in what has to be done, otherwise, there is only failure. So goes the way of love.

Emotion, understanding, respect, trust, honor, truth, passion, communication, humor, thoughts, and friendship are a direct path leading to love.

Three aspects round this out. The heart holding all the feelings of expression, and the mind for realizing what is truly wanted. As long as you keep your mind straight and your heart true, there will always be love.

Were you to go blind, you can still see the person you love because you have your mind. If you could no longer speak, you can still feel the love because of the emotions you carry in your heart.

The third aspect to consider, is sacrifice.

If, or when you do fall out of love, don’t stand in the way of that person’s happiness. To do so, would put your own future happiness out of sight. Bitterness and hate chews away at a human soul and clouds thoughts. Hate is like a cancer. So is fear. They too can eat away at the very person you are until both physically and emotionally you destroy yourself. With love, comes pain, but the pain becomes a lesson learned.

But cast away hate, fear and pain. In or out of love, because of all that was shared, you should remain a friend when needed most.

This is the part that is hard to understand. Betrayal. Even when you have been cheated and lied to, once the love is over, if nothing else, erase the hate. The pain will take time to heal the inner you. But remove the hate, and possibly, over time, you could be simply a friend once more. Hard for many to do, but it is doable.

Call it human nature, but you do have feelings like everyone else. You breathe, bleed red, laugh and cry like anyone else. You need to be loved every bit as much as the next person.

If it is so wrong to feel this way and you already do, then I say, don’t change. If you have never felt this way, perhaps your need for a change starts now. Love is also accepting change.

Know what is important. The choice is yours alone to make.

Love is about making choices.

6/14/1995

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(The first two lines of the poem in the picture, you cannot see)

I am not always right

I am not always here

There’s nothing more painful than being yourself.

It’s easy to be an imitation of others. They already provided you a map and instruction. All you have to do is follow it.

It’s harder to be yourself because you have no idea who you are. You have to dig into yourself, into the influences and thoughts of others that injected into the your very being to find it. And they come in fragments, which gives you another job of piecing them together.

But it’s better and more worth it. Because nobody is just like you.

It is not like the stories.

It is not fire and brimstone

and burning flesh.

It is not cold, dank depths.

Endless darkness.

Endless terror.

It is not what you thought.

It is a warm room,

your favourite room.

You sit between all the ones you love,

touch their flesh

and they will touch back.

You can talk and laugh,

it is always light,

it is always warm

and you are never, ever tired.

It is not what you thought.

Time doesn’t move slowly,

or quickly,

or at all it seems.

You do not change.

Your lover never leaves.

Your mother always smiles.

But somewhere,

it could be years

or a few minutes

into that warmth,

somewhere you start to wonder.

It could be fast,

like blinking while the light changes.

It could be a like a stone hitting your back.

Or it could be like poison.

Slowly, so slowly you do not remember

when you first notice,

everyone begins to repeat themselves.

Not like playback, not like puppets,

but like a child who has not read past the first chapter

of a book you wrote.

And they are all agreeing with you,

all the time.

You may try to test this-

shout obscenities and curses-

but they will only smile.

It is not what you thought.

There is warmth here,

and you are never tired,

but those around you have no depth

and you cannot leave

or sleep

or hide.

A smile is a smile is a smile,

is now just lips pulled over teeth.

You may try slap it from their faces,

the faces you love,

but they will only laugh.

Finally, you are in a world

where everything is comfort and safety,

and a friend who always laughs,

and a lover who will never leave you,

and a mother who is always smiling

but are they happy?

Can it be love if they have no other option?

No option

no standard

no meaning.

It is not what you thought.

It is not hot iron,

burning flesh.

It is the ache of never knowing,

of endless doubt in those around you,

the ones you love most.

It is your fear,

and your love for them,

and the emptiness of their servitude.

It is not what you thought.

The room will always be warm,

they will always smile,

and you will spend forever wondering;

can it be real

can it be good

if it never ends?

#wetpetals