Let this be a time

 Let this be a time, when

you remember who you 

hoped to be, and brought

together in mind, all the

best that you as a human

and your own unique self

could become. It is a sharp

and scrambling task, which

will drag you beyond the 

known, through sad valleys,

across cold mountains, into

raging seas to breathe the

solemn air of hope, taste 

the salted tang of freedom, 

and set you a course to

the stars where being

resides, and beckons

always, even when dim

from fear and diluted 

by lies: let this be a time

when you demand to 

find the best of yourself,

knowing that no-one 

else can complete such

a journey of becoming. 

For it is yours and yours

alone, and is the diadem

which crowns your life,

if you reach out and

take it from the fates.

When life hurts

 When life hurts, which it so often

does, how do we find meaning and

purpose to go on? Is there not some

thing twisted in believing or needing

to believe, that pain can be positive,

that hurting can heal, that suffering

can be not just necessary but good?

In this dance of reason, rage and 

grief, for all walk hand in hand

with pain, can we remember the

steps and remain faithful to their 

execution, telling ourselves that

it is all, in its own way, beautiful?

And is there anything else to do,

or which can be done, to soften 

the hard edges of life, to smooth

the jagged jaws of reality, so that

we can, just for a moment, breathe?