Give Praise to the world,
To all those who'd been here before
Who made this world so much more
Than it had been.

For each tiny change, 
If it took years, months or days, 
Was all part of the way
From nothing to everything,

So let's Give Praise to the world,
To all those who'd been here before
And maybe do one thing more
Because we share their dream

To make this world a better pla...

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There are places I’ve been so low
Places I would not want to go
But there’s one thing it taught me to know
And that’s how to climb

There are times I have felt so weak
Times I forgot how to move, how to speak
But there’s one thing it taught me to see
The power of my mind.

I don’t think I’m stronger than I might have been,
But I’m surely strong enough.
I’ve come so far through so many ...

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Alternative Title : Ordinary Song

These words I sing
Are nothing special
Just like me

But they’ve a passion
And a beauty
And an urge to fly free.

These words that you hear
They’re not worth listening to
I fear

But I’ll sing them
Give them wings and
Let them go where they please.

These words, so alone
They may not find a good home
But they exist
And they persist
And they’...

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Is it because we live in a nuclear family
That we can conscience this nuclear world
As if somehow all those other people
are less significant
being them.

What if I did not know my mother or father
Did not know my aunt or uncle
What if they could be any one of the billions and billions 
of people anywhere in this world

And maybe my ancestors have returned again
In Burma or Sudan or Ne...

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The universe doesn't care about anything, because it doesn't mind about anything.
It doesn't care what it is, because it cannot see what it is, or be seen by anything.
Outside the universe is no eye or mind or mirror, no rules or responsibilities.
And inside the universe nothing matters at all,
Because everything is part of the universe
and none of it has to stay the same
and none of it has ...

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I've got to spring clean my brain
dust off the memories
It's time to rearrange
and tidy up the mantlepiece
I'll puff up the pillows
and air out the blankets
Find new places to sit and reminisce.

I'll throw a few things out
that I'm not going to need again
I've got way too much
of sadness and pain anyway
I'd better get started
There's so much to do
Spring cleaning's way over due

I...

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If there was a shop selling skeins
Of all the emotions people need,
All at different prices to reflect
The value these things usually collect...

Then Joy and Laughter would be prized,
There'd be lots in stock to entice
Customers into the store
Of that we can be sure.

And Hope and Ambition, in various conditions,
All to be there for those who need,
Amongst the store of many other thin...

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Close the door to all the pain
It will not help you.

Shut out all the rage
It will exhaust you.

Think your thoughts again
But try not to descend
Into turmoil.

Because you've so much to do
To ease your mind.

And how you'll do it
To decide.

And if you're going to begin
You can only do it
One thought at a time. 
 

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I want to wake up in a cosy moment
Near the start of a brand new day.
I want to have the time to see what happens
I don’t want to get up straight away.

I want to feel as if I’ve got the energy
For whatever I think lies ahead
Or not be sure and not care either
I want to know I’ll manage anything.

I want to set off on a cool adventure
I want to go to somewhere I haven’t been.
I want to...

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The sun doesn't know that I'm different
The sun doesn't notice I'm here
The air doesn't know that I'm special
The air doesn't care that I'm there
The moon glows on me just the same
The moon doesn't care who I am
And time has never stopped for anyone
Since time began.

No, my dust won't be any different
Than dust has ever been
My bones won't seem more magnificent
Than bones have ever se...

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If where you are is terrible
Only think of where you want to be
If what surrounds you is awful
Only think of what you want to see

If emotions are painful
Only think of what you want to feel
It is OK to step into fantasy
And make it real.

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The story of my life is not mine to tell,
For it does not matter
What I thought that I might be
And how can I remember
With total accuracy
Anything from the past?

The story of my life is not mine to tell,
For I am so wound around
Other people's lives
And how have I the right
To expose them to the light
And to the world?

The story of my life is not mine to tell,
For it hasn't ended
...

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Alphabet soup was too expensive
Instead, I have spent my life
Making poetry
Out of ordinary spaghetti
 

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I once was as the limber branch
but now become the torpid trunk.
I sparkled under summer suns,
but now in dusky shadows hide.

Spring leaf has turned an autumn hue
The autumn scene borne frosted ice.
As winter grips in burning cold,
Comes next the springtime of the soul.

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I am at the station
but there won't be a train coming.
Not yet.

I am looking into the distance
searching for any movement
in any direction
wishing for a train
wanting the journey
needing a destination.

I remember the blur of motion
the thrum of sound
the rush of wind
the satisfying halt.

Even before the train comes
you can imagine getting in
finding a seat
settling down
wond...

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We invest ourselves
in our actions
for a dividend
of posterity.
Whomever we affect
carries us on
so that we do not die.

We cannot be entirely
any one
when we owe so much
to so many
who themselves the same,
and we
in turn
more than ourselves
will be whomever we've supported

So hoarding all
is the only way
to end up with nothing.
 

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Happiness is victory
Though I won't win every battle
I will win the war.

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Fear cannot hold where it is shrugged off
With my smile I am ready for life’s hardships
Other things may come and go
But my smile remains
 

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Death is the end of all things
Death is the end of pain and blame and shame,
of sun, of rain, of work, of play
Death is the end of night and day
It brings each one of us, the same,
to the end of everything.

I say Death is the end of all things
So we need to know that's where we go
Whether we want to, yea or no,
It is what existence always shows
No matter what else life may bring,
Deat...

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We are at peace
when we stop wanting
We are happy
when we accept ourselves

Maybe we went wrong
when we thought we should be trying
to achieve anything else.

No doubt
there are many people hurting
And we hear about
many people getting hurt

Maybe we went wrong
when we thought life had a purpose
to struggle for.

Or is it life
can't contain true peace and happiness
Or not unles...

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Whatever my body, my soul is beautiful
Whatever my wealth, my soul is rich
Whatever the chaos, my soul is tranquil

Whatever the burden, my soul supports me
Whatever I lose, my soul will stay
 

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Fear is such a desperate thing
It tells you many lies
It tells you that you are not strong enough
It says you shall not win, cannot survive.

Fear claims you will not cope
Feeds you despair
It tells you words that you should never trust
It says that you will break beyond repair.

But if you've ever been afraid and heard
It whispering or shrieking in your ear
Then learn from your own pa...

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(This breathing technique turned into a meditation practice masquerades as a poem.)

< In In In In In
> Out Out Out Out Out Out Out

< In In In In In
> Out Out Out Out Out Out Out

< In In In In In
> Out Out Out Out Out Out Out

Calm In In In In In
Stress Out Out Out Out Out Out Out

Joy In In In In In
Sad Out Out Out Out Out Out Out

Hope In In In In In
Fear Out Out Out Out...

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Imagine all the paths that we
Might take from where we are.
Those that keep us local.
Those that take us far.

Imagine going round in circles
Or off tangentially.
Think of trekking to a mountain
Or travelling overseas.

Imagine all the sights and sounds,
The people we might find.
The things we haven't done yet.
The places left behind.

Imagine now the path of air
From breathing in ...

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For the successes that we have
Are as the land,
And all our hopes and plans
As trees and flowers,
But our failings are the droplets
Of the sea and rain
And all our fears and worries - 
Winds and storms.

And I am so adrift, so far, so floundering
Though there's most a lifetime learning how to swim,
Till I have thought me too far gone
Or that the raging sky and sea might never ease agai...

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The person that I want to be
dies every day.
I never know exactly when, or how.
Sometimes it is sudden,
Sometimes lingering,
I often struggle, I often cling,
Sometimes, fatalistically, I just give in
But the person I want to be dies every day
Sometimes many times.
 

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And so what if I'm empty inside!
Happiness still has a place here
There's certainly plenty of space here
for Joy to reside
That's what, if I'm empty inside.

And so what if I've nothing to lose!
With little worth keeping
There's more time for sleeping
Or whatever I choose
That's what if I've nothing to lose.

And so what if I've nothing to gain!
That's hardly an onus
Seems more like ...

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The roads where we walk, the houses and cars
Are hiding this planet
We forget who we are.

The shops and possessions, our jobs and our greed
Are hiding our purpose
We forget what we need

It all happens so quickly, there’s no time to think
But where are we rushing
At such a great speed?
 

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How come it can be this hard
To climb these mountains in my path
And just a small mistake 
Is all it takes to slide back down?

How come it can be this tough
To climb the steps in this building?
And just a little fail
Brings me straight back down.

How come it's never quite enough
And the journey's never easy?
Could it be because
Joy keeps falling out of reach?

How come although I ...

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Still practicing life
Determined. Will get it right
Given enough time.
 

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They some expecting happy times.
They some only hoping.
They some o' them writing rhymes.
They some barely coping.

They some doing very well.
They some not too badly.
They some wonderin' how to tell.
They some struggling sadly.

They some joyful where they are.
They some not delighted.
They some long to travel far.
They some trapped and frightened.

They some goin' to change the ...

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1 
 What we have may be decided by many things
 But we alone control what we will be.
 We are how we act.
 If the power to affect what we are and what we do exists at all
 It comes from us alone, and is given and taken wherever we choose.

2
 I am not magnetic, 
 Money shall have no power over me.

 I am not eternal. 
 Time shall have no power over me.

 I am not blind to the wo...

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It is going to come
 as some surprise
To those who think
 that I am wise

But I hardly know
 what's right to do
And I've probably done
 far less than you

I'm nothing much
 make nothing different
I'm usually stuck
 so much for wisdom

It makes me sad
 to fall so short
Not what I hoped
 I'd be at all.

But this is not
 the final me
I can be more
 than what I've been

And in...

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The winds of chance blow harsh
The sands of time run fast
Caress it whilst you can
While life is in your grasp.
 

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I am
so much
in the middle
of being
on the edge
of things.

I am 
I am so much
so much
so much in the middle
the middle of being
of being on the edge
the edge of things.

And I think
These are the worst
places to be
The middle and the edge
Or is it?
Or is it 
knowing where we are
is the wrong kind of knowing?

I am
so much
in the middle
of being alive
on the edge
...

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Now that all my dreams are gone
There's nothing to do 
but carry on?
Dreams are as necessary to the mind
as blood is to the heart.
And what do we do if we are short of blood?
Surely I need a transfusion of dreams!

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I have rebuilt myself before
Because life often pulls me down.
I get gradually unhinged
I end up scattered on the ground.

I have rebuilt myself before
Well enough to carry on
Only to find
   Never firm against everything.
   Never resilient as I'd need,
But life has taught me many things,

So rather than be afraid
That this world might leave me battered,
Or this world might leave me...

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Today's blog is another in which there are two versions of the same poem. This time we have a short and a long version. If I were to keep only one I would probably keep the long version but since they are meditations I feel like it is OK for there to be two versions of the poem. 

Version 1 – Long

In Death I cannot cling to who I am or was,
I will not know or see or hear or think,
...

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Whatever I have done 
I might have done worse, and might have done better.
Whatever I have chosen 
I might have chosen worse, and might have chosen better.

Whatever I have tried to say, 
I might have said worse, and might have said better.
Whatever I might be, 
I might have been worse, and might have been better.

But maybe judgement at all isn’t necessary
For better or worse, perhaps ...

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The words that tell my story
To the depth it should be told
Have buried deep inside of me
And spread through flesh and bone.

I cannot catch a single thread
That isn't so firmly tied
Around my mind and lungs and heart
That if I pulled it out I'd die.

That's why forming sentences
Is ripping me apart
And as for explaining anything
Will I ever get the chance?

But just as does the lio...

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Today's blog is a poem (well, two poems actually) where there are two versions of the poem and I have not yet been able to settle my feelings about which version 'wins'. I feel like there should stay two versions of it.

Version 1 – Personal

If Life will be what it has to be,
And Death will come when it comes,
And all the moments that I breathe
Happiness still is mine to give myself...

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Oh......     another day  .... thrown away
                another pain .... nothing gained

       Stride on - to the sunlight
       Stride on - through the shadows
       Stride on - even though it's night
       Stride on - to the 'morrow  
              (to the sunlight)

    
But Oh..    another day  .... thrown away
                 another pain .... nothing changed

 
     ...

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There is no winning or losing possible
Only what we let go of and what we keep,
Because we don't know the final outcome
Or the purpose of anything.

And positivity and negativity are as good as each other
When nothing much matters,
So it all comes down to not what we want to be or have
But what we want to feel.
 

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Oh you are stranded on a mountain
you are deep down in a cave
you are in a burning building
you are threatened by big waves

There's a hurricane surrounding
The earth is quaking underfoot
you're marooned and you are drowning
you are in amongst the wolves

And you are paralysed and voiceless
you're exhausted and in shock
you're bewildered and defeated
you are hopeless and you're lost

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We've been underground now,
We've been travelling tunnels rarely trod.
We've been with our torches and beacons
And our memories of light.

But it is getting darker
The further that we get.
Will you go on with me, into the depths?
Will you keep company with me, 
Until there's nothing left to light our way?
Till we've found all we can find, said all we can say.

But you don't need to ans...

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The natural order of things isn't always in our favour.
A pre-historic and historic truth much harder to see in modern times
When all the obvious imperative threats are gone or tamed.
But imperative threats are healthy, 
Preventing our mind from twisting around a thousand minor matters
Which it never was designed to do and never should
Unless we can evolve our minds or methods.

The natura...

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I am the real deal, and so are you.
But what is the real deal?

Is it all of the cards we're given
Or the purpose of absolutely everything?
Or is it the sum of both?

We are the real deal
And we are finding out what that is.
 

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I may not have so many dreams as I once had,
Some have been taken
Some have collapsed.
Some blew away
Some would not stay
Some started well, then turned bad.

But 
There's a precious few that I can never lose, they go too deep, 
I'd still have them till my very end, even if I forget how to sleep.

I dream that I would never cause another harm
I dream that I will always try my best
I d...

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Below these clouds I wonder when I'm going to see the sun again.
I heard a rumour it might not be there... anymore.
But come the rain, and come the wind...
Come storm, come thunder, come lightning...
Come every single shoddy thing the world can throw…
They'll find me no downtrodden sod,
No trembling leaf, no breaking clod,
For I, and the wandering sun, do not so quickly pass. 
 

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When I had children
My life became theirs
Creating their joys
Removing their cares
Being the ground 
On which they can stand
Sharing their path
Holding their hand.

And I set out with dreams
That our lives would be good
When it broke at the seams
I did all that I could
And as I faced down our demons
And I set them to flee
I thought of protecting them
Not of damaging me.

Once you...

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Somewhere in your mind are all the strengths you seek
But say not into your mind 'Do I have strength?'
For only the laughing strength will answer 'Yes'
And only the teasing strength will answer 'No'
And all others will be silent, or will stay asleep.

Somewhere in your mind are all the strengths you need
Not always in the moment you expect.
But in the moment that matters.

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Don't want to be waiting to live,
Don't want to be waiting for death.
Though the tide repeats outward and back,
Take a stand on the sand as it shifts.
Look around and be thankful 
For this 
May be all that there is.

Then the sun is the jewel that I own,
And it's greater than all that I don't,
And the moon is the pearl that surpasses
All others wherever they be,
And the water that sust...

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If you don't like it how it is
Stop complaining.

Stop praying, start living
Stop hoarding, start giving
Stop wanting, start enjoying
Stop waiting, start playing
Stop asking, start finding
Start hoping, stop minding

Stop whatever you are doing
Start changing
 

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Hmm-mmm-mmm
Humming along with the breeze
La la-la-la
Singing a song with the birds in the trees
Oh Oh-Oh-Oh
Floating along with the clouds
Ahh Ah-Ah-Ah
Feeling peaceful now.

Oooo Ooo-Ooo-Ooo
Seeing the beautiful sky
Tra la-la-la
Watching the birds as they fly by

Happiness is as easy as this
Nature’s hug, Nature’s kiss.
All, all of life, as easy as this.
 

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Part One
        Though your day is full
        There’s so much to do
        It’s a busy life
        So hard being You

        Make a space in your heart
        Open out your mind
        Take a moment apart
        To see what you’ll find

Part Two
        Because the world – has so many places
        And in this world – there are so many faces
        Waiting for a smile
 ...

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I stood beneath a whispering tree
Upon a windy day
Singing into the careless breeze
My cares they blew away.
Then finally I clearly heard
What nature did avow
And I could see the sun at last
Beyond the leafy boughs.

Yes, finally I clearly hear
What nature does avow
And I can see the sun at last
Beyond the leafy boughs.

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Don't we all see our speciality
as the central truth?
My sister, the mathematician, thinks the world
is ruled by numbers
and defined by them.
She would say that without maths
the world is nothing
then start to prove it.

The medic or the tailor
the banker or the lawyer
the chef or farmer
all
the centre of the universe,
but most of all
I think
the poet.

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As the years go on, and the beauty fades
They are arm in arm, like nothing has changed
And as he hovers close, I can hear what she says
She says - just as sweetly as the very first day...
 
 "Paint me with your love 
  make me shiny and new
  give me all your colours
  it's what I dream of
  I'll be painted, sated
  in layers of love."

And as he hears her words, I can see he smiles
L...

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Just for a moment think.
Just for a moment dream.
What if this world were different,
If it isn’t as it seems?

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We are all of us children
grown up and making our own
way in the world
still children
for all of that.

We are all of us dreamers
woken up to our own
reality
still dreaming
for all of that.

We are all of us lovers
in love with making our own
love love
still loving
for all of that.

We are all of us seekers
stretching up to find our own
place in this world
still seeking
for a...

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It took me so many years to find myself, and I got lost along the way,
And now I don't know where I am or where I'm going,
But at least I know it doesn't matter.
   
So yes I'm wandering round this pointless universe,
But I'll just be myself,
Wherever, Whatever.
 
And if I'm changing every moment into something else
Who even cares what I am today?
 
It took me all these years to find my...

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You'd be surprised how rarely we think
About what we want to say.

This world barely gives the time
To do more than think
We are thinking, 
Anyway.

Not the everyday chatter,
Though even that sometimes slips out
Unchecked.

It is our inner message to the world,
Our message to ourselves
That we neglect.

Whereas, a blank page challenges the poet
To do more than merely spill the sou...

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I've been burned
And risen again
Proud of my new coat
Of feathers
I've been burned again
And risen
Proud of my new coat of feathers
And unafraid of fire.
 

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In films
they always have music
for all their moments.
I've wished I could.

If I had
my own song playing,
my own vibrant tune 
to live by,
I could dance
through life.

In films
you always know
the dramatic moments;
programs us to think
our own lives are empty,
or that we cannot dance
without a tune.

When the truth is
that we are full
with the power to create;
our own rhyth...

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The trick of the phoenix
Is that he didn't burn.
He flew away while your eyes
Were blinded by the fire,
And back again while smoke
Obscured your vision,
Leaving you searching for explanation
Amongst the ashes.
 

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From the spirit to the soul
From the soul to the heart 
From the heart to the brain 
From the brain to the throat

From the throat to the mouth
From one mouth to the next
From one language to another

Through the experiences
The perceptions
The assumptions
And the emotions of each listener
Changing

The original message
Is ever and forever
Lost in translation

And only if only
...

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I am from prose into poetry
I am from madness into sanity
I am from doubt into belief

I am from anguish into ecstasy
I am from isolation into company
I am from hatred into peace

I am from discord into harmony
I am from solo into symphony
I am from restraint into release

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We die a million deaths each day.
The death of all those other ways
we could have taken.

The death of dreams each moment we
discard the possibility
we could have made them.

If we stopped breathing every time
another aspect of us died,
there'd be no breathing.

All we can do to justify
this situation, make it right,
is be a phoenix.

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