Perfect
As amazing as that word may sound,
No one truly lives up to it—
Except one person:
Him.

With his clever jokes,
His nerdy facts,
His endless stickers—

He’s unapologetically himself.
So perfect.
So him.
Good at everything.

Ask a question—he’ll know the answer.
Drawing? He can do it.
Music taste?
Uniquely out of the blue—
A song you’ve never heard,
But suddenly love.

He walks into a room,
And somehow, the world gets quieter.
Not because he demands attention—
But because he deserves it.
A calm confidence.
A gentle strength.

He doesn’t try to be impressive—
He just is.
The way he laughs,
Like he means it.

The way he listens,
Like he cares.
Him.
Sweet.
Charming.
Kind.
Gentle.
Smart.
Steady.
Warm.
Real.
Perfect.

And if he ever doubts it—
If he ever wonders who he is to others—
He should know:
To me,
He’s everything.
He’s my perfect boy.

Words were spoken so smoothly.
Conversation was flowing graciously.
Attraction was arousing so maturely.

Until Casper flew in –
Turned the lights out.
Erased every word spoke.
Deleted from existence.

One there lived a town of angel, each one born with their own beautiful pair of wings. However, one of them was different, this angel had wings of gold, each of her feathers were long, fragile, and the light shinned on them as bright as the star in the night sky. Out of admiration, many of the other angel would attack her and rip the wings off her back leaving empty spots and scars where the feathers once were. Although blood would run from these freshly made wounds for a moment and the angle would sear in pain, the others didn’t care for they were too consumed by their own greed and envy. She did fight back but she was only ever able to hold a few of them back at a time.
The poor angel longed for a peace and joy in her life that she feared she may never find. She found herself living for those rare occasions when she could sneak off, slowly flying through the sky’s looking out all places that she could fly to and never return. Most of her years were spent dreaming of leaving but despite her circumstance fear of the unknown kept her from leaving the only home she ever knew. One day after her dreams where haunted by all the bad days, and the countless faces of those who caused her pain and made her bleed. The next morning when the sun rose the angel quickly packed her thinks and hurried to leave her home forever.
With her wings spread wide, the angel jumped as high as she could and see slowly began to fly into the sky. For a few sweet tender moments, the angel began to fell freedom rain, and all her nightmare were coming to an end. The next moment, she felt a large metal chain rape around her neck, choke her and drag her down. She struggled as hard as she could, but four more chains surrounded her, and she becomes overwhelmed. Seconds later she is on the ground and bound down, unable to move.
Her back crushed by the weight of two different people holding her back, a third holding her legs and the fourth one with a sharp rope and proceeded to slice the golden wings clean off the angels back. Everything went black and this poor angel, would become another story of an innocent life shattered over mans twisted greed. While she was left on the ground broken and bleeding, she wasn’t dead, instead she was changed. The angels’ dreams of peace quickly turned into dreams of vengeance and blood-soaked fury. With tears in her eyes and unimaginable pain in her back and arms the angel made her way into an unknown land.
The angel was beaten down, angry, and full of stinging tears. After wondering around for several hours, the angels body gave way and there she fell the ground once more. This time, she had no fight or will power left, so she laid there waiting to die. Suddenly, a shadow came over her, it was a man with eyes white as snow and hair of wool. The man took the broken angel in his and brought her to his home to treat her wounds.
Several days have passed and the angel still finds herself with thoughts of revenge, but she knew she could never return to her home the same way she was before, so asked her hero for his aid once more. “Why do you seek revenge?”, the man asked. The angel sat across from the man and proceed to tell her story. The man was so enraged and hurt for the angel’s pain that he agreed not only to teach her to fight but to give her new wings. The angel was lost by what the man said and stated, “You can’t make me new wings. Once they are cut off, there is no getting them back.”
The man smiled at her saying, “You have so much to learn little one.” From that day on, the man would work teaching the girl fighting skills and how to work on land by day and forging her wings by night. This would go on for almost a year until the girl became fierce enough to take on army alone. On that day, the man ushered her inside his workshop. As the man unveiled the gift to her, the angel stood still with anticipation and curiosity for what was to come next. She didn’t think this was possible.
New wings of silver and steal. Each feather made of blades and were as sharp as the ones she had been training with. These would not only help her fly but serve as her tools for justice. It was a painful process of attacking them to her back as well as learning to control them, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. When the time came for her to return to the sky, angle swore to the man that she would return his kindness and love someday. For it was with him that she would give her last act of kindness she would ever show.
The broken angel slammed onto the ground to the place she once called home, and her mind became filled with the memories and faces of everyone who caused her pain. All of them would soon pay.

A sudden need to cry—
It overwhelms you,
Rips you apart,
Bleeds you dry,
Breaks your heart.

You fall to the ground.
But it’s the suddenness—
That’s what makes it worse.
It grips your soul,
Won’t let go.

Minutes. Hours. Days.
It hurts.
It’s random.
Relentless.

But you rise.
A support system near.
You break its chains,
Leave it behind—
Alone,
The way it made you feel
All along.

My Greatest What If

I wish I could write to you.
I wish I could tell you the things I’ve done lately—
the small victories, the quiet moments, the ways I’ve grown.
I wish I could talk to you,
just to hear your voice,
even if it came with that fake enthusiasm you used to give me.

In another life, I would’ve taken the risk.
I would’ve chosen you.
Shared my thoughts, my fears, my dreams.
But this world keeps spinning,
and I still can’t spin you out of my mind.

We are connected.
By what, I don’t know.
Maybe our souls just recognize each other.
Maybe we are star-crossed lovers,
meant to feel it,
but never touch it.

I long to reach out to you—
but it’s dangerous.
I long to share my accomplishments,
but I can’t.
It’s as if I serve a life sentence—
one where the silence protects everything and destroys something too.

No matter what happens in this life,
a piece of me will always love you.
You are my greatest what if.

As I lie among the sighs,
Gnats swarm and flash before my eyes.
Beside me, my cat, a quiet sage,
Absorbing life without a wage.

Humidity wanes as evening falls,
I ponder what the kitchen calls.
“Shall I cook or seek a quick delight?
Avoid the heat, embrace the night?”

How lovely it must be to be
A pet, with meals provided free.
Only giving love, those “motorboat” purrs,
A life of ease, amidst the stir.

The screen glows bright, a familiar sight,
Yet in its glow, there’s little light.
Replaying moments, over again,
Can joy be found in the mundane?

I watch the air conditioner hum,
Working hard, day after day, it’s come.
To shield us from the flames that rise,
I wonder, if it spoke, what wisdom lies?

Who knows the thoughts of one that cools,
Amidst the heat, a silent jewel.
A life like this, a curious blend—
In purrs and sighs, perhaps we mend.

Dear Life,

I feel that I’m about to cry, and no one seems to mind. I know that I’m trying to give it my all, but at what cost? I’ve never had to deal with these things before, but now everything is sinking in more and more. The depression won’t leave, no matter how much I try to escape it. No one wants to listen; no one wants to help. I feel that I can’t stand it anymore—battles back and forth, games being tossed around and no way to prevent them. The pressure builds up inside my head, and there’s no way of ignoring it because it always finds a way of coming back to me when I least expect it. Why are you letting us go through this over and over again? I know you would probably blame my heart, but you are supposed to be protecting me through these difficult situations. Haven’t you been watching, or are you ignoring me too, just like everyone else? I go day by day, waiting for a miracle to happen, but sometimes I wonder if you just want to watch us fail at everything. I must ask: what kind of life is that for us? You see, I’m trying to make it every day, but I feel like I have to stay this way all the time, and you are probably waiting to see when I’m finally going to crash, aren’t you?

Well, I’m sorry you may feel disappointed, but I’m trying to hang in there every day. I’m running out of support, friends, time—you name it. I hardly hear from anyone anymore, just to simply check on me. It feels like everyone has forgotten about me and moved on. Have I been tossed away? Give me a sign—something showing that there is still someone out there who cares about what happens to us. The more you and life close in on me, the more I fear that the skull and crossbones will come soon enough if that’s where we’re heading. I pray that sooner or later you will finally get out of your box and try to make it known that we need help. Please find better people up there who can run our lives better instead of shutting us down, where everything falls apart every time something goes wrong. Unless you are trying to tell us to finally give up and let it go.

Signed,
Your Operator.

I am down on my luck without a chip in hand.
Searching for answers in this shifting sand.
Settling troubles piece by piece,
Yearning for a way out, a moment of peace.

Hanging on pins, feeling the strain,
Sorting through categories, wrestling with pain.
Hope seems to fade, like shadows at dusk,
Gazing at my clock, as time builds rust.

Why must the hole be so deep and wide?
Why does the meter run out, no matter my stride?
Yet still, I cling to the flicker of light,
Holding on tight as I search for what’s right.

In slumber’s sound upon the table,
My guardians watch, ever stable.
A magical screen, their silent gaze,
While nourishment fills the bowl in a haze.
With a velcro tongue, I reach for the drink,
In this cozy realm, my thoughts drift and sink.
My language spills forth, a chorus of tunes,
Echoing gently beneath the bright moons.
Through my kingdom, I wander with grace,
Leaving behind whispers of where I embrace.
Clues trace my journey, scattered with care,
In the heart of my haven, my spirit laid bare.
Travelers gather, tales to share,
While I stake my claim with flair in the air.
In this enchanted space, I’m never alone,
For in my domain, every corner is home.

Once upon a time, a woman was facing challenges between her fear, her schooling, and her career choices. She encountered massive obstacles that she managed to overcome, except for one enemy she didn’t want to face: Mr. Math. At first, she thought, “Man, this is a breeze! What’s next you want to throw my way?” However, being overconfident, Mr. Math kept throwing harder numbers at her, trying to get her to crack. In time, she thought she had Mr. Math figured out, until the day of the test arrived.

The fears began to make her sweat and shake. She kept thinking to herself, “Am I going to pass? Is everyone going to be happy for me?” As she glanced at the clock, panic set in, but she managed to finish the test in time. She felt relieved to have completed it, but that’s when the fear really sank in. Twiddling her thumbs, she waited for the results to come back, but there was no word yet. As the days went by, she began to devise a backup plan in case things didn’t work out as she hoped. She brainstormed some job ideas to pass the time and got a few bites, but nothing much was going her way at her age.

Two weeks later, her phone rang awkwardly during a job interview, and it was her teacher letting her know how she had done. Her teacher humorously mentioned, “I’m sorry, but you did pass everything with flying colors, except for one.” She braced herself, asking, “Let me guess, it was the math, right?” He looked at her with a knowing glance and asked, “How did you know? Did you assume you weren’t going to pass? Did you not even try, or did you just breeze by it?” The woman glanced back in a daze, trying to defend herself. “No, I tried my best! You remember that when Mr. Math gives me the basics, I can breeze through that like it’s nothing. But he decided to throw harder material at me, and my brain just froze.”

He mentioned what she could do next, but her fear clouded her mind, and she was exhausted from trying yet continually failing. Before hanging up, the teacher asked, “Are you going to return to class and face Mr. Math again?” After contemplating for a moment, she replied that she wasn’t sure if she would be able to return with everything going on in her life.

After discussing her next steps with her mother, she decided to focus on her career instead. She chose to pursue another form of education through job training classes, believing that learning more career skills could help her overcome her fear and eventually find a job she loved. She found a place called Mountain State Centers of Independent Living. The course was a three-month program focused on different career choices, job skills in the workplace, and the knowledge needed to navigate the hiring process.

Thanks to the program, she graduated in three months and had a clear understanding of what she could handle in the work world. Her family was so proud and thrilled that she dedicated herself to something else and was grateful that, even though she hadn’t finished her prior studies, she didn’t let that affect her. She thanked the center for becoming part of the Mountain State family. Since then, she has developed her skills in retail and money management. Although she has memories she wishes she could revisit, she has finally accepted that she has her family’s support and feels comfortable with the new path she has chosen.