Cliche down?

They always tell you to live life to the fullest

Like there's no tomorrow

Because you only live once

And you're young, and meant to make mistakes.

They say that you should take chances

That you should spread your wings and fly

That you should reach for the stars

Because life is fleeting and precious and you don't want to regret anything.

Maybe they're right

Maybe we take for granted our time here

Maybe we are too self-conscious, too thrifty, too blind

To the amazing world in front of us.

But maybe I like to fret over the small things sometimes.

Maybe I worry and scrimp and save and keep caution close

Because my life and the people in it matter

Maybe I play by my own rules.

I say it's okay to get tied up in knots

If you know how to loosen them now and again.

I say I will care for you and respect you and be honest and maybe even love you

Because you matter more to me than they do.

Thanks.

Chocolate Gold coins

Richness is

A handful of chocolate gold coins

Shared between two best friends 

Sitting on the floor 

Swapping stories of their secret crushes.

A whirlwind of ideas

Swirling, spinning, dancing

To the well tuned orchestra

That is your mind.

A love shared

In secret doorways or the plazas of Spain

Where sparks fly from eye to eye

Igniting the air with raw passion.

A firm hug

That aims, not to rid you of sorrow

But at least soak up your tears

Until you've no more.

A chocolate gold coin split in two

Because someone dropped their last on the floor

And you would rather share what you have

Than lose a precious future.

Shallows

Early in the afternoon,
When the tide glides out and the breeze is light,
A snail and a hermit crab linger
In a small pool amongst the baby sea grass.

Today they are knocking shell upon shell,
A battle to see whose will shatter first;
The victor looking on
As the homeless one is fried by the sun.

Slow and steady the tiny
Click-clack of shell on shell
Is deafening in the shallow pool,
But lost in the noise beyond.

The snail stubbornly stands firm
Waiting for blow upon blow
Until it gathers it strength and
Slams the thin-legged crab.

Though it may topple under the weight of its shell,
The hermit crab has but one speed,
And would rather ruin its home
Than concede to the likes of a snail.

On and on the battle rages,
Even as thin cracks appear in both shells;
They crash and clash, gnashing and thrashing
When, at last, they are left bare.

Tiny pieces of shell are accepted by the sea
As the tide rushes into the rocks.
The snail and the hermit crab trudge off, homeless;
Though their hearts are one.

Baby Steps

Tiptoeing down the endless boardwalk
being careful not to trod on open spaces
is exhausting work.

The dirt road may be dusty and gritty
But there is a freedom
in being able to jump and run without fearing cracks in the road.

There is beauty in having both.
One foot on the boardwalk, one on the road
Seeing the path, but not knowing the end.

Perhaps it is a dance, a balance of both
And those who chose one or the other are fortunate
To be so sure in the needs of their feet.