Fan Your Flames

You were born among blood and smoke and sparks and glory.
As your mother wept in awe at your arrival
Your family fell to reverence at her prayers over you.

You're a spark of fire, a spark of life;
Fan your flames for us now and hold us close
For we all grow colder when we're apart.

You took your fire in hand, cupping it around its glow.
You left and at night we could see your fire off in the distance,
We knew you had to leave but you let us know all was well.

You have grown old now,
Your proud embers have burned low but not out,
Signs of a life well lived and a fire well tended.

From your ashes rose a new fire, a new flame well tended.
It burns with your hue and burns with your intensity,
From fire to ashes and soon a fire rises again.

Long Road Up

Every kid growing up wants to be the hero,
Few are ever taught how.
We're handed visions of battle and change
And are told that we just have to show up.
No one ever tells you how you'll get your faced shoved in the dirt,
That the princess doesn't always want to be saved, that she will choose the dragon.
So where do you go from there, retreat and lock yourself in your castle?
If so, then soon the fog will spread, leaving you alone in it,
With only echoes and shadows left among the ruins.

This should not be your end.

So be strong and loyal and hold fast
Whether you must dig a grave or simply walk away.
You must rise, grit your teeth and hate yourself if you have to, but you must.
You will at times be bloodied and battered, lost and alone.
You will at times be burned and bruised, scarred and abandoned.
Still your steel, inlay it upon your bones and bind it around your knuckles.
Raise your fists and laugh when you stand;
This life looks to kill you kid, let it know you mean to endure.

Exile at Home

America the Great knows what to do with the poor, the tired, the hungry
But what should it do about the heartbroken generation dotting the landscape?
We were promised so much and handed even more than we could ever hold.
We wanted to dance in the streets with joy; that was before we feared outside.
And did you ever stop to wonder that perhaps the why in sexy
Begs us to ponder how we come to trade in love and relationships and risks?
How do we even discern between the people and the monsters
After we've chased the all monsters away and taken up their roles?
It was not a brave new world that we have woken up to,
We woke up to cinders and smoke and our childlike dreams away at sea.

Someday the seas will claim the shores,
The forests forsake their borders,
 And the mountains will move east.
America the beautiful indeed.

Going Home Now

No one ever teaches you how to be uncomfortable,
How to look intriguing while lining the walls at social events,
How to look good while scanning the host's books,
Or how to gracefully catch the eye of someone pretty.
No one gives lessons on how to survive being awkward.

How do you deal with that, that moment when...
You shift your drink back and forth between hands,
Struggling to recall the person's name you met just now.
Responding with "Fine, thank you." when people ask your name.
How long do I have to stay to be socially acceptable?