Tragic Endings, uncertain beginnings

How long should I wait?
How long should I suffer with doubt and fear
I must find a way to move on
Discover how to let all of this pain go

My new life will be over
Cast into a sea of uncertainty
Hoping to find another soulmate
The odds are heavily against me

Tossed and thrown by the whims of the tide
The pieces of my perceived existence are peeled away
Revealing the core of my being
Bruised and battered, broken and black

A soul that still clings to lost love
Trying to reach beyond the injuries
Injuries left open and festering
Hope of healing drives me away

The beginning is unclear
Hard to comprehend
My unanswered faith in humanity
It shall remain steadfast, my anchor

Even alone, I have worth, value
I will hold myself up
Believing in my ability to persevere
I can make it through this, I must

Why do we let this happen over and over again?

Am I going to feel like this forever?

Will my loneliness ever subside?

He has been taken from be by ignorant laws

Strangers have ripped him from our home

Will they ever understand what they are doing to us?

Will they ever have their rights trampled on like this?

I don't care who knows anymore

He is the man I love, the man I want to spend the rest of my life with

I will no longer sit idly by and let their hate and ignorance rule our lives

I will become a force to be reckoned with

I will channel this loneliness, use it to impact our lives for the better

Help those ignorant people understand that love must win, rights must prevail

If we lose this fight, they will be next

If one population can be oppressed without the others raising up against it

Then one by one, the dominoes will fall, one population at a time

If they only understood, it's not a question of if; it's a question of when

Didn't civil rights teach us anything?

Before the civil rights movement, another population was denied all of these rights

They too suffered under the oppression of the bigoted majority

They were forced to live as second-class citizens

Keep going back in time, and the same pattern repeats itself

The majority targets a small population and legally oppresses them

No other groups come to their defense

Not until enough of them have also suffered, but by then it's too late

Wake up people; stop the bigotry, hate and ignorance before it knocks on your door

We are depending on you; we need you to join this fight

Alone we may win this battle, together we cannot lose

We must fight for EVERYONE'S rights, not just our own

I want him to be able to come home

I want to make a life with him

Together we are so much more than the sum of two people

Please, join us against the oppression and help me bring him home

Location Unknown

Where is my life?
Has it slipped by without anyone noticing?

What has my impact been?
Will I leave anything behind of lasting human value?

Whose life have I made better?
Did I help at least one person become better than they thought  they could?

These are still unanswered questions
Blank spaces in my mind that I have overlooked
When my time is done, how will I have answered these questions?
More important, how will others have answered them for me?

Promises made, Promises broken

Repair and reconstruction of a broken relationship
The possibilities were endless
It existed, the hope of a new beginning
All the right words were said

Actions are more forceful than simple words
Saying and doing are two parts of the same thing
Making promises only to forget them causes even more damage
Breaking down the last vestiges of hope

Pretending everything is fine does not make it true
Work was required, needed to seal the cracks
Forgiveness was a crucial piece on which to build
Without it vitriol would rule the day and crack the foundation

Forgiveness came with the demand to reconcile
Admit to the mistakes of the past, both known and unknown
Search within to find the reasons and motivations
Finding out what was missing

Together they then work to avoid the same mistakes
Meeting each others' needs equally
Sharing the burdens and the joys of everyday life
Supporting each other, even when no one else will

Is this too much to base a relationship on?
Is it expecting too much to share everything equally?
Their worlds and cultures collided
Their values will never coexist equally

The burden is to heavy for any one man to bear alone

Time and Priority

Time slips by at the speed of light

Slipping through my fingers

Like trying to hold water in my hand

It seeps through everything

Time forces me to prioritize my life

Focus on those who prioritize me

Everything in my life wants to be first

Like runners in a race, who will win?

Will I have time for it all?

How do I decide what to do first?

So many important people and things

I don't want to lose any of them

Time is finite, preset to limit my life

I am allotted only so much

I am forced to choose

How will my choices impact my future?

Decisions made now will reverberate throughout my existence

Like ripples in the water, forever moving

Do I base them on others, subjugating my own needs?

Do I base them on my own happiness, a life of selfishness?

There has to be a balance, a way to have them coexist

Decisions must be made to satisfy both of these human needs

Without balance, I become a simple organic being, an animal

I choose to have humanity, to belong to a higher order

My priorities will be centered on those who do the same

I will use my limited time to love those who love me in return

I will focus my energy on helping others

Others who I hope will help even more people if they can

I will not neglect those in my life who mean the most to me

I will cherish them; keep them close

I will honor my commitments and promises

None to be made in haste; without thought

Time is too valuable to waste on those who would hurt me

Those who will not honor their promises and commitments

Their motivation in question, selfish and uncaring

Like a cancer to the soul, they will be cut out, exercised

Hold on to me, and I will hold on to you

Let me go, and I will move on

Like my decisions about priority and time

People in my life will be forced to choose, prioritize

Basing my decisions on love and humanity

I see a future filled with possibilities

People of like minds will be drawn to me

They will enrich my life in unexpected ways

I will invest my limited time in seeking them out

No longer will I idly waste this precious resource

The seconds are ticking by, unstoppable, relentless

I will move with the rhythm and stop fighting against it

Doubt and Faith

My faith has been shaken

But is has not been destroyed

Like a ship battered against the rocks

It still floats as I am cast into a sea of uncertainty

Doubt swirls around me

The waves sloshing against my face

It burns through my consciousness, clouding my vision

Like salt water stinging my eyes

Has anyone seen me?

Are they too busy with their own problems?

Will they even notice that I am missing?

If so, would they even care?

I cling to my faith in others

Because it has helped me through

I hope someone yells out, throws a lifeline

I hope someone notices I'm gone

I must hold tightly to my faith

Dig my hands into it

Without faith there is no purpose

Without purpose there is no point in going on

Is a rope in the water, will I find it?

Will my doubts resign me to sink beneath the waves of despair

I must fight for survival

To my last breath I will have faith

Doubt creeps in like a numbing cold

I feel the rope brush against my hand

Frantically I reach for it

Grasping another chance at life

Someone is at the other end of the line

Trying to pull me to safety

He is faceless but I can feel his compassion

Someone who cares enough to hold fast the line

Is it someone I have wronged in the past

Is it someone I have used for my own selfishness

It doesn't matter to the man holding the rope

He is concerned with saving me, not who I am

Please God let this be true

Let my faith be rewarded

Let it override my doubts and fears

Please let it be him

Only time will remove all of my doubts

Only true faith in him will be the end of this hard journey

Please help him know that I want him to save me

Only he can save me from the turmoil of the sea

I am cold, scared

I feel alone in my struggle to survive

My emotions are real, justified

Heartfelt and desperate for his understanding

Don't let me drown

Don't sacrifice me to the sea