Surrendering

It's not about the battle,

It's about the victory. 

It's not the destination,

It's about what you gain from the journey.

It's not about the money,

It's about the value of your soul;

It's not the diploma

It's about the experiences that help you grow.

It's not about the struggles,

It's the rewards they bring.

It's not about all the noise they make,

It's about the message in the words they sing.

It's not about the things you hear

From the voices that whisper in your ear,

It's about the truth taking root like a plant

Sprouting from the seed God sowed deep in your heart.

It's not about the circumstances,

Pay no attention to the things you see.

It's not about where you are today,

What matters is who you choose to be.

Expectancy

You said you'd be the ONE

To stand by me

When others turned tail

To flee.

You said you'd be there

When the going got tough;

That you'd have my back

When the world called my bluff.

You promised that you'd

Be my guide;

That when other lights went out,

You'd stay by my side.

Now it has come to the point.

Got my back to the wall;

I'm waiting on you 

Please answer my call!

Chicken

Jam the accelerator to the floor pad

Can you feel the adrenalin pumping through your body, man?

See my opponent in the rear view,

Next minute he's caught up with me from out of the blue.

Racing at top speed to the road's end;

Hear my co-pilot try to soothe his nerves by counting down from ten.

Thinking of the drop waiting for us at the edge,

I feel my pulse quicken and break into a sweat.

Do I have the stomach? Will my constitution fail?

Not knowing what the answer is, my heart begins to quail.

Rounding the final corner, as the precipice appears

I steady my hands, steel my nerve and send up frantic prayers.

Tightrope

How many times did I turn you 

away?

How many ways did you ask me to 

stay?

How long did it take me to come to my 

senses?

Too long, I daresay. Too long to 

mention.

How far back does this pattern go in your 

recollection?

How much will it cost us to maintain this high

tension?

Message in a Bottle

Hi there.

I've missed you

Very much.

All this time

I've been thinking about

Doing something about this

Silence that's grown between us.

It's just been so hard

Staying away.

Now, at last, I have

Overcome my feelings of shame

Toward you...and myself.

Do you think we could start

Everything over and turn

A new page, even though we can't 
Turn back the clock? 'Cause

Heaven knows, we've wasted enough time                                                          as it is.

Fantasy Finale

I used to watch you

From a distance

And wish I could 

Summon up the courage

To tell you that I would

Like to take you out

On a coffee date,

Or a long walk

Where we'd talk 

Until daybreak.

But no matter how hard I tried

To draw your attention

You never seemed to notice me,

Never gave me any mention.

I tried all kinds of strategies

To get you off my mind,

Short of going down to the local  pub

And drinking myself blind.

To no avail.

I couldn't keep my thoughts 

From straying back to you.

No matter what I said, or where I went 

Or what I tried to do,

I couldn't change the fact 

That what it always came down to

Was me wanting to love 

And be loved by you.

Today I've finally managed

To gather up my strength

At last I have discovered

The way to break your spell.
And for my emotional health

I learned how to cut off this obsession

Without betraying myself.

Today, I choose to let you go

Though you never asked a thing of me.

Today, I choose to give you up

With no hate or animosity.

I choose to leave this thing behind

That demands so much energy.
And take the time 
To occupy my life with things of necessity

These choices let me free myself 
From all this useless pain.

So I can learn, and heal and grow...

And, one day, 
Be free to love again.

Feel Good

Baby, I am 

So happy you're here.

Baby, you 

Give me joy when you are near.

Baby, I know 

Just how lucky I am.

Baby, I'm just so blessed,

Blessed to be your man.

Breaking the Cycle

A charmer.

That's what you are.

The way the words roll like diamonds

Off your silver tongue,

It's hard to trace the end

Back to where you begun.

All I know is 

You got a way about you

That makes it hard to even doubt you.

You walk with the confidence of one who knows up front

That their lips have the power 

To give them everything they want.

 You enchant all the women

And bedazzle the men

Everywhere you go,

From sunup to day's end.

It may sound like I'm jealous

But I ain't tryin to throw shade.

I know the road you walk has already been laid.

All this I've known 

And yet I've learnt more,

But at this point, one thing is for sure:

You did a lot of damage; 

Left me nothing but rage.

And today I realise that this cycle's gotta change.

So, I'm taking a time out and I'm not gonna pretend.

It'll be a little while til I'm back on the mend.

That's why I can never let you in again.

It's been a nice ride but this is the end.

Alone

Late nights spent on the phone,

Conversating til the break of dawn,

Telling each other about what's going on

And sharing thoughts we'd always hid from everyone.

Invited to a party, standing at the door.

Watching all the other people who came in by the score.

Feeling isolated, left out, some old bore.

Hand off the doorknob, back away real slow.

Turn around and then start running like you never have before.

Down in the metro, hopped on the first train.

Maybe it's my line but if not, it's all the same.

Wonder why you left the house; why you even came.

Didn't ya know they'd always hurt you?

All they do is cause you pain.

Looking out the window at the cold gray buildings, you see

All the happy families

Talking over dinner or curled up watching TV,

Oblivious to the fact that their homey aeries

Could sollicite so much unadulterated envy.

Walking down the busy streets and the crowded avenues,

Surrounded by a storm of sound and colourful views,

Jostled by the swarming masses of wannabes and their crews,

Blissfully impervious to the beggar singing the blues.

Last flight of stairs. You're finally home.

Shut your door to all sound save the one haunting tone

From the beggarman's song that left you chilled to the bone.

You've enjoyed the laughter; the waves of shame you rode.

Yes, you came through the battle 

Just to find you're alone.

Awakening

Key's in the ignition.

I give it a turn.

Been a long journey

But the lesson's been learned.

Now the motor's humming.

Letting it warm up.

I can feel my baby revving.

She's itching to run

Down the miles of highway

That still lie ahead.

Like a champion athlete,

Who done worked out the lead.

I've been under,

I've been misled

And now that I've surfaced

Ain't no getting in my head.

I've found my purpose-

A light in the dark

And now that it's shining

I'ma strive for the mark.

So if you not with me,

Get out of my way

'Cause baby,

I am back.

And I'm here to stay!

Wondering into Reality

Maybe there's a possibility

That you and I could be.

Maybe there's a way

That two "I"s can make a "we."

Maybe if I tried real hard,

The thought of you and me

Might pass from just a theory,

To come alive from day to day as my reality.

Maybe to you all this may sound quite freaky,

But I needed to put it out there

So you could know me truly. 

On Hold

A hollow drum, 

An empty shell, 

A chilly, numbing kind of hell

Where a shapeless nothing has come to dwell.

Lost the will to move or think,

And here suspended,

I feel myself sink

And realise that I teeter on the brink 

Of a gulf before which I cringe and shrink.

Deaf to ambition's strident call;

Lost to friends and family who scold and warn,

Far from feeling lonely and forlorn, 

I find I don't feel anything at all.

And from the depths of this new low,

I wonder how much further this will go.

There couldn't possibly be more below;

Nothing worse could ever follow.

If this is rock bottom,

Then surely, I soon will rise.

But if not, then what unsavoury surprise

Lays hidden past the scope of my eyes?

For now, I confess I'd rather not be told.

I wanna let it go and wait for things to unfold.

Just turn off the lights and get into bed;

Pull the covers over my head.

At this moment, I prefer not to know.

Good night world. We'll pick things up tomorrow.