OUT OF TIME.

You have the rest of your life to play,
You have the rest of your life to love.

You have to learn now,
And get it out of the way,
So you can peacefully age,
And love and play.

You have to study now,
The test is today.
The work of great novelists,
Can inspire your way.

Being open to learning
Can improve your quality of life.
Reading can lead to research,
Which can lead to knowledge,
Which can imagination inspire.

My imagination can make life wonderful,
Or dreadful, it's my choosing.

With thinking,
Learning and loving,
Comes understanding,
Of self, others, and purpose.

Ruminating is my curse, so I've read,
In articles written by critics who don't create,
But simply review and bash the talented.
But in this case they are right.

Though it is a heavy burden upon my mind,
I'm grateful for every minute of pain,
I might have subjected my mind to,
Ruminating.

A writer creates his world,
He lives in his own time-zone.
There are no rules,
Inspiration runs free.
Ideas become journals,
Journals become stories,
Stories become lessons,
And lessons heal readers.

You have to wonder,
You have to doubt,
Or the answers wont come out.

You can live without knowing.
Sometimes I imagine how wonderful it must be,
To go through life completely unaware.
I suppose it would be splendid.

But whether you're sleeping or awake,
You must be sensitive.
Whether you're in a self-made dream
Or part of the harsh realities of war and casualties,
You have to be compassionate.

Whether you're rich or poor,
Mentally gifted or struggling to add two and two,
You have to learn to care for those around you.

Or else you're a leech,
Feeding on the blood of your peers,
Sucking the life of your friends and family,
Stealing light from those who love you,
Draining the ones you love the most.

Don't take love if you can't give love.

If you can't learn to love yourself,
To respect the world,
To appreciate life,
You won't be able
To compassionately love,
To passionately dream,
To unselfishly desire.

These things may sound far fetched to you,
Maybe you can't even imagine what I just described.
But someday you will wish for peace of mind.
And when you do I hope you remember,
Peace is acquired through love.

Invest in your health,
Remain aware at every moment,
Treat your body as it deserves.
Flourish your mind, for it needs to aspire,
To experience and understand,
Love-unconditional.

A.M