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Max’s poem Desiderata that always hits home
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann
Reserved Seating
The water’s rising quickly, but don’t worry.
I’ve saved you a spot at the bottom, love.
So, hold your mouth on mine one last time.
I want to steal that final breath from your lips.
Your trembling and gasping is beautiful, love.
I want to feel my hands close around your throat as I help the waves put you to sleep.
I want one last chance to run my fingers through your hair as the current swallows you whole.
Don’t worry, love.
I’ve saved you a lovely, cold bed right at the bottom to say good night.
I’ve saved you the tide to tuck you in.
Illusions.
Why are we afraid of the dark?
In the absence of light,
I can always feel -
A sinister presence,
That eats up at -
My conscious.
Associated,
With the devil,
And all,
Negative things -
Pure evil and horror.
Like all Symbols,
Of things dark -
I feel an,
Ominous and,
Alarming,
Presence.
My vision is,
Obscured -
Vulnerable,
I am left bare.
Daughter-of-the-Wind
I am a daughter-of-the-wind. The sky is my home; the clouds are my refuge.
The wind, though frigid and piercing to land-walker-two-legs, is my catalyst. The frosty invisible force shifts gloriously upwards, catching my outstretched leather limbs, and I begin to climb. One pump, two pumps, three pumps, soar. The sky becomes closer than it has ever been. Up, up, and up. Higher. Until I finally pierce through the clouds and the two-leg-tent-city below is masked by damp-white-floating-water all around me. I look upward and my eyes close as I continue to climb, reveling in the triumphant feeling that pulses through my body, searing every fiber of my illustrious being with that which I have craved for so long.
Freedom.
I am Queen-of-the-air. She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Restrained. With my Rider on my back and the wind under my wings,
I am unstoppable.
Written as a homage to Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance series.