Signs that a man has truly grown
Is when he’s able to see life through eyes not his own
When he stops chasing after the foolish things he seeks
And knows when to bridle his tongue and when to speak
When he is able to quiet his soul
Walking in temperance and self control
When he’s willing to forsake his pride and make himself low
Making himself not a spectacle or show
When he sees others as greater value than he
When his hands are shackled, yet his heart remains free
When he’s able to overcome fear
And willing to let go of his own life and well being, which many hold dear
When the desire of his heart is to give
So that those around him may live
When regardless of his position
He never forgets the art of submission
When in the face of adversity he stands
But to his enemies he’s still willing to bestow a caring hand
When nothing is able to quench his love
That he may mirror the God in heaven above
When he seeks after the truth of Christ divine
For the fruit of a man’s growth, these are the signs

Simply Me
Marli Wright

If only, if only, this little ol’ me
Could inspire just one, how wondrous that’d be.
I could win the lottery, share my great wealth,
Buy homes for veterans, grant them good health.
Adopt all their pets, and feed children in need,
Clothe them and house them, fulfill every need.
But how can I, just small me, spread cheer?
As Buddy the Elf says, “Sing loud for all to hear.”
Yet that’s not my vibe, not these days, I find,
So I’ll do it the old-fashioned way, kind.
By being myself, with a caring heart,
Sharing a smile, a hug, a heartfelt start.
Being there for the grieving, a comforting hand,
Kissing the boo-boos, helping them stand.
It’s not much to boast, it’s not grand or new,
But to inspire, I’ll simply be true.
This is all I know, the way I can be,
To inspire with love—just letting me be.

Broke my limbs and tore my spirit
As I walked and smelled debris
I could barely talk
Was hard of hearing
Even lost feeling in some places
Some places still looked nice
But they were broken
Why am I the chosen
To see these things
To be unfazed after the truth
After the storm and troops
Everyone is gone
No sound but mine
Where do I go and be fine
Limping on distraught knees
Existing with little breathing
I continue…
Down the wary roads
As I see the smoke
As the rain provokes
My will elopes
And I continue…
Through the Hurricane

What is the point of holding a grudge?
To carry along a heart full of hate?
To stand firm in wrath, and not budge
For it is but a burdensome weight
One must learn to forgive
To let streams of mercy flow
For their own spirit to live
One must learn to let go
Why must one torment their own soul?
Why must one harden their heart like slate?
For vengeance is but an empty hole
And it’s endless cycle shall be one’s fate
It has been said, an eye for an eye
But I simply ask why?
Life is short, and one day we die
So why is mercy something that we deny?
Harken unto this decree
Forgive and be free
Looking back you will see
Bitterness only holds you back from all you can be
Like venom in your veins
Circulating through your blood
When hatred reigns
One may as well be laid to rest in the mud
Living but not alive
Overcome by offense
Forward on they’ll strive
Until they get recompense
Consumed
Hurt ever looming
Never healing
Internally reeling
The torment won’t cease..
Forgive…
Release…
Live…
Find peace

Girl, you better get ready, and hold on tight! You, my dear, are in for the ride if your life! You will be surprised, stunned, scared, and more. You will wonder at the beauty life has in store. When the time comes you will cry as never before, but fret not love, for they will be tears of joy. And though you will live through the darkest of days, in the end, you will be okay. So remember this as you walk bravely through time: God has his reasons, and you shall be just fine.

I want to give you all of me.
But i see what you’ll do
I wish 1+1 could = 2.

Our greatest fear confirmed what we already know
That we will grow close and then have to let go

I want to be what you need
But, your void is hungry and hard to feed

I’m starting to pick myself apart.
I try to reach your head, but go straight for your heart.

You probably are realizing that I’m just a dream
Idealized goddess I’m not what I seem

I’m sorry that you thought that I was all you need
I tried to tell you that this was a dream

Typos are a common everyday problem. Not only does it reflect poor grammar but, it causes miscommunication. It starts to rain and writers get abused and lazy. The critical experiences were unheard. It all goes against all the hatin. The root of all evil decides to get a little greater when dealing with typos. And it shows how things can be harsh. The future ain’t as bright as the day before the night is out. Even with the highs and lows of grammar. Me being the underdog of the herb. But aint done dirt when your next move is heard. They all consider this lyrical jerk.

The truth becomes hard to understand. My enemy of publishers is the upper hand. Some things are out of our control as far as what “they” look for and what “their” target audience is. We can do less about our jobs and our selves. All we can do is express ourselves. We can’t hold back in fear because of typos and let it consume us out of guilt. Sometimes I stay in the same lane but, I don’t know what I’ll find. Writers conduct with a conscience and purpose in mind. I have often have remained ashamed of the time we lost our label.

As if we were education and a lot of tough crimes could be so blind. If we understand the consequences of our existence. Theres no reason to have any resistance. We have the kind of knowledge that will destroy the people in the world. But because we have no confidence of our own we are afraid of the careless movement of typos. We don’t have a problem because we don’t care about anything because of the obvious present stubble. Everybody knows we are untouchable. You cant just throw your cards on the corner. So, we re-create our image. We are the writers of the future with our inner self.

Dear Unsealers,
Time- can have a frame
Within it, many things can be contained
Time- can never be restrained
It runs within seconds of its domain
Every minute is within it
It stops or its infinite
There are clocks of all kinds
Catch up or get left behind
But beware of father time
Some things remain some things never last
But what do you think about these little grains of sand
Flowing In the hourglass
Time- will be a part of your future, present, and past
You can have so little
You can have too much
I have never seen time on my hands
Because it is something I can’t touch
Time- can have an effect In many different ways
24 hours In a day
It can be a part of your healing, grief, or pain
Should I go or should I stay
There’s a Time for everything
But never a wrong time to pray
Over Time there’s nurturing and growth
Destruction or decay
Sun up or sundown
The only thing that matters
Is that the world keeps turning to circle back around
This makes It worth my while
Another way to tell Time is by looking at a sundial
Time can be used wisely or wasted
Once it’s gone you can never replace It
Maybe Time doesn’t even exist
And life just is what it is
Now this got me thinking
That the present is the gift
This thing ticks and it toks
It’s a tower or a wristwatch
Time-is needed to evolve
The cicada to do its mating call
Someone else’s Time is not parallel to mine
But we make connections
To see who’s on the other line
One thing is for certain either you do
Or you don’t have the Time
Better late than never
Watch the moon and stars appear
Time- is of the essence in our atmosphere
This could be your last ticket
Or your last shot
Either way sometimes
Time- is all we got.

A lot of guys get lost in your eyes
But I found myself in those depths that galaxies rest in
Your eyes hug stars and sprinkle glitter for their shimmer when the sun wants to shine
I didn’t know it then but when momma would sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star it was a love song
Because I’m one of the dots to your constellation and the others are the children
Our love is so good it should be a sin
God forgive me, I know I’m not supposed to look directly at you
But your daughter has your eyes, and I can’t stop staring
She helps me stay centered with you when I get full of myself
Seeing my reflection in her eyes is one of my favorite things because it’s a moment of Trinity
God eyes saying straighten up son
Your eyes whisper I love you
My eyes catch us with His hands and say I’ll hold your heart
Followed by, I love you too
Our eyes share an embrace that never let’s go in silence
But anyone who sees the way I look at you hears the softness of a love song
They covet the way my eyes hold you like I hold the hand of our child
Their eyes have never seen a sight that sounded so pure
And anyone who sees the way your eyes reply to me, listens to that unforgettable poem on repeat
Then they get lost trying to find your gaze under my sunset
So, the closest thing to feeling that poem, is to hit repeat on this memory
I can’t help but smile when I see your eyes talk about us
p.s. your eyes make the best ASMR…

~The Light ✨

Every so often,
I fall into a hole
It’s dark and lovely
A haunting under control

It’s peaceful
And it’s quiet
But I easily get lost
When I’m too weak to fight it

Because sometimes I can’t see
Just feeling my way through
While at other times, my hope
Flashes the way back to you

I go searching, hoping to find
What wants to remain hidden
Sometimes I catch a glimpse
And wish to be forgiven

Often I sit and wonder
With the darkness closing in
How do I embrace what I can’t see?
And where do I even begin?

I guess that I’m doing it
Bleeding out pain for you to see
But the words that are forming,
Are the driving force guiding me

And even when I can’t find the light
Your presence, a silent knowing
You sit with me in the dark
Until the light in me is showing.

©️ Melinda Stone ✍🏼🖤🪽 #TheLight

This morning, I woke up and we were out of juice. Juice that was meant for my kids. Juice that I had to get from the Christian help center because I had no money and no other way to get my kids juice myself. I got it yesterday and this morning, it was gone. And my boys didn’t even get a glass. It’s been a daily struggle to ensure the kids stay fed and hydrated, and my pops drank all their juice without a shred of concern for them, his grandkids. I woke up and there was no juice. And this same day I yelled in my 5-year-old autistic nonverbal son’s face that I wanted to die. It’s the day I cry all day, randomly, and I can’t stop them. I don’t even remember the last time I cried, and cried like THIS.. Something has changed in me. I’m not sure what triggered it, where it came from, or why it happened, but all day I’ve felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. Making it harder to take breaths and it was so heavy that it was just squeezing out everything in my life that contributed to traumatizing me or hurting me to my core. And as I talked to Jehovah off and on, I kept having epiphanies for my life. I told Him I could handle it, I just wanted to be able to heal but how do I heal if I don’t face it? How do I face it if I can’t see it clearly?

I like to think I’m strong but I’m not. I’m just unfeeling. Empty. A void so deep I can’t see my way through it.

Yesterday I wanted to die. Today I’m thinking about life with me gone.

All my life I’ve been raised and conditioned to avoid emotion. And I was the golden child because I did it so well.

Maybe if I’m gone, they’ll start having a conversation. Maybe they’ll realize I was a person who was never really strong; just somebody who needed someone to stay. Someone who showed up for ME.

I feel like I don’t have a real place in THIS world. What am I passing to my kids but more of the same? A quiet, passive emotionless, existence all because I don’t know better how to teach them any different.

Don’t they deserve better than that?

I mean every person I have ever loved has turned away from me to something better, someone else. They must know I’m empty and have nothing to offer. I guess it’s caught up to me because now that’s all I see.

I can barely feed my kids, or buy a pack of diapers for my son. I yelled in his face that I wanted to die. He doesn’t know any better. He is the purest, most innocent being and I am ashamed of myself. He deserves so much more. So much better than me. They all do.

Ever wonder how different your life would be if just one person in your life wasn’t scared to love you; if just one person didn’t walk out?

Ever wonder why you couldn’t just be like everyone else who’s blind to the truth and didn’t have to walk around with your head hung in shame?

Ever wonder what really makes you special as a human being?

Who am I when I’m not a mother, a daughter, or a friend; what if when you answer that question you realize there’s nothing that defines you?

(I just want you all to know that I am not suicidal, and I am in therapy. These are just thoughts that I believe many people have but do not voice in fear of other’s judgments.)

I write this so others know you are not alone and I love you!

Facebook Facebook,
Here we go again…
“Like if you agree!”
“Share and tag your friends!”

It’s all the same stuff,
just on a different day.
“I never make posts like this…”
“So I just wanna say…”

No one really cares,
this isn’t even real.
“Click the link below!”
“What a great deal!”

Scrolling and scrolling,
the hours fly by.
“Someone liked your post!”
“Someone went live!”

But we’re all missing out,
on a little thing called “life”.
A husband stares at his phone,
and ignores his lonely wife.

No one raises their kids,
it’s easier it seems…
Children don’t make noise,
when they stare at the screen.

I worry what it’s doing,
to our world and our minds.
It’s become a way of life,
or a sign of the times.

I feel like a prisoner,
and I know I’m not alone.
We’re all prisoners now,
that’s why it’s called a “cell” phone.

My nephew messed up
On his “Chrome Book”…
So it was given to me.
Now it is mine to look and see,
Only the things that are clean.
A great opportunity to prove,
That worldly lust will loose!
An opportunity to share with all
Of the One able-to stop every fall!
A possible chance to be promoted
By the One to Whom-my life is devoted!
A very great way to get in touch
Of the ones in time past-
Of whom I may not have said enough!

A great time to learn and grow
Improving more on things I ought to know.
May I even be going back to school,
With this little computer-that’s pretty cool!

Greatest of all, a way to overcome
The traps set up for me-I’ve fallen through some.
But I trust in the Great Grace of God…
That I’m an Overcomer-through His Word I trod!
By that same sweet Grace-
He always lets me know,
He is my heart-monitor…
Wherever I go!!!

What is a “perfect day?” I sit and find myself wondering.
In all honesty, I have to think about it.
My life has been filled with more “bad days” than “good.”
It’s okay though, I’m used to questioning.
That’s my superpower. Always questioning everything. Double and triple checking my answers to ensure they are correct.
Today is just another question that finds itself stagnant waiting for an answer.
It’s something I’m used to.
Nothing that’s new.
I find myself breaking down with tears as I question “has any day been truly “good” let alone “perfect.”
No…I guess not.
That’s okay though, my life isn’t over.
I still have time to find the answer.
Although, it may seem like I’m full of despair. That part is actually over.
So, I might find that “perfect” answer, but for now I’m left with blankness surrounding all of my questions.
Which is okay I guess.
It takes time to recover from survival mode and move onto being just a survivor.
However, if I had to answer the question point blank, I would probably say a “perfect day” to me would be if I had the ability to fully rest and restore my body.
Maybe watch the sunrise and drink some coffee, while I reminisce on all the things life should’ve been.
Not to change anything that happened, because what’s done, is done.
The past is nothing to be tampered with.
The past is nothing to focus on.
The future is where I’ll find my peace, and hopefully my inner child will be pleased, by all of our progress and needs finally being met.