I regret to inform you
That the reality you subscribe to
Is currently offline
As reality has no power switch
There is no way to reset the system
Please accept my apologies
For the extreme inconvenience
Such is the risk of sentient life
I never promised you life would be easy
-gws
I loved blanket forts as a child
I would live in a blanket fort
For as long as I could get away with it
Inside was my temple
Soft, dark, warm and safe
Outside was an adventure
Sometimes the real world
More often, though, anything else
Other worlds filled with
Villains and friends
Hazards and wonders
Mischief and magic
Infinite possibilities
Stood beyond my blanket walls
My plush sanctuary
Existing in two places at once
A world within the world
Transporting away from and rooting me to
Home
-gws
I wrote you a box of postcards
I never sent
I could not set the stamp
In place
I could not address it
To that space
You weren't there anyway
You never really were
-gws
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity
Trust yourself
In the midst of chaos, find your calm
Embrace the unknown
Everyday is a second chance
Keep going
-gws
Patience is hard
Growing
Becoming
Evolving
All require patience
In a world where instant gratification
Rewards us at the tap of a button
Practicing patience can feel like torture
Patience demands of us
To stay tethered to this moment
Preventing any full escape into distraction
Being present is trying
It feels hard
Abrasive
Affronting
We are uncomfortable
Patience requires us to
Embrace the discomfort
That often comes from
Being wholly present
Patience presents the opportunity
To practice experiencing the now
To practice being curious
About our being
About our feelings
So that we may learn
To know ourselves better
So that we may learn to be
More comfortable
In our own skin
In our own spirit
In our own life
-gws
I see the grief in your eyes
As the carefully crafted reality you made
Starts to fracture into a cascade of spiderwebs
The part of me that still loves you
Wants to comfort you
Tell you that everything will be ok
But I cannot do that
This disillusionment is necessary
And being trapped inside your bell jar
Has nearly ended me
I will not forge you a new one with false hope
That I am still your refuge
Because this all must end
You must face the world
On the other side of the looking glass
The real world where the damage you have wrought
Lays exposed before you
A cold world where you are finally alone
My heart breaks because it didn't need to be this
I wanted to love you
I tried to
But you didn't know how to accept love
And you didn't know how to give love
Because you don't know how to love yourself
You don't know what healthy love feels like
I feel the grief in my heart as I watch you
Watch your world unravel
I mourn for both of us
For the future that will never be
For the past so full of pain
For the love we both deserved but
That couldn't survive your demons
I did love you
I loved you so much, so hard
I forgot how to love myself
I grieve for all we are letting go of
I grieve along side you
As my hand slips from yours
And we learn to say goodbye
-gws
I tried to love you
In spite of yourself
I couldn’t know
That I’d forget
To love me
In the process
-gws
Everything's become about
Wants and needs
So much so
That we forgot
How to just
Be
-gws
Tell no one your deepest dreams
Those valuable things
That manifest in the heart's nebula
The burning factory of creation
Tucked securely in your soul
They are precious treasures
Composed of ether and moonlight
Not fit for just anyone's consumption
-gws
'Twas a week before midterm, when all through the house
One student was cramming -
Eek Gods! There's a mouse!!
Relief! Not a mouse
Just my eyes playing tricks
Now, I guess I can put down this giant beef stick
"Why do you hold a beef stick?" you ask
It's fuel for my brain while I'm cramming for class
Drat! I have drifted from the tale to be told
I blame the coffee 
I think it's grown mold
Now nestle yourself down for a time
I'll put on fresh coffee and tell you a rhyme
I'll tell you a tale of a student you've got...
No more digression!
Now back to the plot!
So yes, she was cramming
I started to say
So that by her efforts she'd earn her an "A"
An "A"! Yes, I said it
Do not be surprised
This tale was created by one who's quite wise
An "A" is impressive
A well worthy grade
But what had she done that she an "A" made?
A very good question, my pondering friend
But settle yourself and don't jump to the end
Now confidence often eluded her grasp
Writing, however, was her favorite task
Poetry, prose, and free verse pleased her best
Then writing on topics of interest next
The projects that tore at her brain in the night
Were things she found boring or just did not like
But wordsmith, she was, and was up to the challenge
To muster her will and from her head scavenge
The words and ideas, and like clay in her hands
Shape them and mold them to topic and plans
With thesaurus and dictionary at her side
On her word crafting skills, she did hang her pride
So with effort and skill - and talent there, too
She crafted her papers 'til ready to view
With knots in her stomach that came with the trade
She waited for feedback
But mostly her grade
The feedback she loved since it helped or assured
But although it helped it lacked the allure
That a high ranking paper - yes! Better than the last
Served as her marker to push her through class
Neither science nor math held place in her heart
The crafting of language was her favorite art
Like brush strokes on canvas
With her words she could paint
An ominous sky or a barren landscape
The sorrowful wilting of summer's last leaf
Or the rising sun blanching the sand with its heat
An insignificant sliver of silver moonlight
That with its dull beam, still pierces the night
This was her art, her joy, and her passion
She only needed a pen to take action
And so she does cram her mind with the best
That literature's scholars hold close to their breast
Taking examples from word choice and plot
She studies the masters with every thought
She hopes that one day she, too, might be read
In a book by some students, long after she's dead
And now to the end of my tale, I have come
A few more smart lines, and then I am done
An "A" she did earn, and now you see why
This student was good, I will not belie
She was not perfect
Of course not!
No way!
But if she keeps writing
Perhaps so one day
So home with yourself now, it's late and I'm tired
The page, now, will wait 'til I'm next inspired
There is one last wish as I show you out
To Teacher from the student that this is about
Happy grading to you, as red pens take their flight
And to you I do wish a very good write!
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 