Dear Unsealers,

Being grateful is something that I don’t do enough 
especially when life is rough
but when the grateful spirit enters the mind
A great wave of gratitude gives me joy inside  

There are so many things I’m grateful for 
and have me eager to see what more
 life has in store

I’m grateful every day to have another chance
and to start a new dance
I’m grateful for another day to choose
even when I have the blues

I’m grateful that I was given the blessing of life 
even though it’s filled with constant strive
I’m grateful for the life experiences that I’ve had
Some happy and some deeply sad

I’m grateful that I’m in a different place
when years ago, my head was in a different space
I’m grateful for the many connections I’ve made
some connections remained, while others faded away

I’m grateful for the achievements I’ve accomplished so far
they make me feel that it’s possible to reach the stars
And I’m grateful to be in a position to be able
to express feeling grateful

Your fire is what I admire, what I desire. You light a fire in my soul and fill the bowl in my chest with passion my mind can’t even ration. I must be in a daze or maze, trying to run and hide but every corner I turn your fire still burns. I crash into wall after wall getting burned and even then I wouldn’t want to return. Because a life without passion is something most people lack in. Even if you burn me to ashes and leave me with unhealed gashes i would still run into your maze, even on my saddest of days. I hope you never lose your fire and allow it to burn bright even on the darkest of nights, when you wanna give up the fight. Because once you start to touch people with that flame it’ll catch like match, batch after batch and soon the whole world will be on fire just like the girl I’ve always admired.

I used to make a wish on 11:11. But now the time goes by and I don’t even bat an eye, because I used to wish for you and I. You are the shooting star I wished on when I was young , the birthday candles I blew out on my 23rd birthday, the penny I threw in the fountain, you are everything I asked for and more. How did I get so lucky ? Was it all the wishing and fishing in the sea of all the people I’ve ever met , I’d make a bet they’d think it’s luck. But the reality is I had to fight for you. Fight the demons at night that held me so tight. They told me I wasn’t worthy of love and that everyone else would be put above, that is until you showed up. Your green eyes and perfect smile just in time to drive me wild but somehow also make me feel calm and protected. All the times I went fishing in the sea of people when in reality you were the whole ocean and all I had to do was look up , and I guess that’s why they called it luck. I don’t know what to wish for on 11:11 because you already feel like heaven.

Dear, Unsealers:

I’m grateful to be on my own feet. Each day, I see them with all the scars and calluses as symbols of confronting the biggest struggle with having cerebral palsy.

Yet, they’ve carried me from the streets of NYC to sailing around the islands of Santorini. They wobble and tire out easily but they don’t give up on enjoying life.

It’s with that idea in mind that this poem came along:

I’m grateful for being on my own two feet

As I’m able to open my eyes
And see them in scarred, callused glory

It wasn’t always this way, though…

Years of being held back
By varying braces and orthopedics
A mentality that sunk into my mind

Of being helpless
When all I wanted to do was walk
With normalcy, like everyone else

Now, I treasure each step
Whether its out of my room, walking down the block or in a new destination

No matter the difficulty
On hills, boats and all uneven terrain
I step into my power

To be on my own two feet
A feeling that’s worth so much to me

Gratitude doesn’t do it enough justice
For the magic of walking on my own two feet

Hey Heru,
I write this for you as a tribute. When I am aware that my vision is acute and I can see the tapestry of this life outstretched like so many unpacked fibers lied upon the loom of my future, you are with me. When I stride forward without consideration for the would’ves and could’ves… when I see the traumas as skinned knees and the deaths as milestones, I am with you.
This is a letter to my future self that is now, this is prayer to the falconer of my soul. I am moving steadily from that small space where we were a hurt thing that hurt things, reciting the satanic verses of self-limitation under muffled breath. I am the kid that settled for a GED, and atoned with a JD, for the sake of what could be.
This is a letter for the one who saw far. When we were a meek scrappy thing in Mosul, and then in Fallujah, you gazed above the event horizon of all the violence to the place where we are now. You tilled the fields and turned them over with no promise of what the new season would yield. I was the stone that builder refused, and you were the level and the mortar by which each of our hurts could be affixed, brick by brick to a zenith befitting your vision.
This is a letter for one that now sits astride his wisdom, surrounded by beautiful progeny that he can send back to his daughters as grandfathers do, whenever he sees fit. This is for the etched lines around those eyes, and the deep marks around the mouth, emblematic of the smiling done long after the work had been done. This is written to you in tribute…
I used to see you in the mirror when I was scrawny enough to see my own heartbeat through my ribcage, muscular and tall. I only hoped I would be able to be you, and that hope did turn round (as hope does) and beckon to me through the pain and struggle until I realized in stalwart fashion that I had no choice…I am you. I look back from where you are even now and I see what must be done to be where you are, and I am grateful.
I thank you for being the one that looks at my scars and smiles at the memory of how they got there. I thank you for lording over me when I though about quitting, screaming frothy mouthed obscenities at me when I laid down to die. I thank you for letting me feel the sun on my face whenever I survived something that brought me close to death…my future self.
This letter really wasn’t as epiphanel as I had supposed it would be, and I am glad that you are there in the arc where the light hits the land. I am glad that I see further each day and disregard the things in my direct footfall, it assures me that I will be you some day…Heru.

Eternally you,
B

Endless Smiles
Heart unbroken
Life looking up for you
Looking at the girl of your dreams
Doing what you love
Writing more
It’s your passion
Spread your voice
Let them hear you
It’s okay
Don’t be scared anymore
To let it show how talented you are
Express
I’m sure it’ll have them impressed
But again you’re not doing it for them
You write for you
It brings such joy
Puts an instant smile on your face
Lets Embrace
No more hiding in the shadows
This is our year to show who we really are
Not what others want to believe
Protect your peace
Go with the flow
Let it be
We are truly smiling again

The moment i locked my eyes on yours
It felt like magic
An instant connection
All we did was smile at one another
We knew what it was
It was
Love at first sight
For the first time in my life
I felt a feeling i haven’t felt before
It’s not the same old saying
Oh i like her cause she’s different from the rest
No
It’s a feeling where my heart beats a million beats a minute
It’s pounding out my chest to the
Sound of your voice
By the way you look at me
Your intellectual mind
Your touching soul
Your glowing smile
How big you heart is
Mi amor i truly am thankful for you
And all you do
You show me you love me
That you care
You have my heart
I wish to not part
To this special woman i love
I’ve fallen in love
You make my life worth while
You take my away from my reality
Only you are not a dream my love
You are real and true
I get lost in you
I never thought it was gonna be like this
Such a bliss
You amaze me
This is true
Baby soon you’ll know it’s true
How grateful i am for you
I’ll express how i feel
To show you what i feel is real

My best self is truly joyful
Not letting the little things bother
Live with ease
Proceed with caution
Not everyone has pure intentions
Stop giving to those whom don’t give back
Don’t Stress on situations you can’t control
Be you
No matter what
Don’t let anyone change the woman you have become
You’ve come such a long way
Through pain in the past
To get you where you are now
You are Poet
You are a Singer
You are a true writer
Here’s to sharing your story with the world
Using your words and melody
Smiling even though you’re hurting
This growth i see
This Vision
Our Journey is here
It’s Ours
Patience is key
Persistence is needed
Be Consistent
You are no longer distant
You are me
We are one
Us as one will become
Everything we dreamed of
In time we will see
What it takes to
Express me