Across the sea, a jungle green, A young man fought, a sight unseen. My father, there, in Vietnam’s hold, A story etched, a heart of gold.
The weight of war, a heavy pack, He carried burdens on his back. The sounds of fire, the cries of pain, Aching memories, etched like rain.
But courage bloomed where shadows fell, He faced his fears and fought them well. For comrades’ sake, for duty’s call, He stood his ground, he gave his all.
And when he came back home at last, The war’s grim toll, a shadowed past. Unspoken battles, burdens deep, Yet in his eyes, a love to keep.
He built a life, a world anew, The strength he bore, shone clear and true. My father, soldier, quiet, strong, In him, I see where I belong.
This ode to him, a whispered pride, For all he faced, for all he tried. A son’s respect, a heart’s embrace, For the hero’s journey, etched on his face.
The lines were drawn in quiet ink, A map of “yes” and “stay,” I feared the bridge would surely sink If I turned the other way. I held my breath to keep the peace, A ghost within the room, Fearing that my own release Would seal a friendship’s doom.
I thought the cost of being me Was more than they would pay, That if I spoke, they’d turn and flee And leave me in the gray. But then the weight began to gall, The “jokes” that left a sting, The way they made me feel so small While I gave everything.
So I stood up, a sudden flame, And watched the masks descend, I finally spoke my truth, my name, And waited for the end. They met my strength with cold disdain, With anger and with slight, They saw my joy as their own pain And walked into the night.
And in the silence left behind, The truth began to bloom: The friends I was so scared to find Were never in that room. For if a boundary breaks a bond, The bond was but a thread; Of people who are truly fond, There’s nothing left to dread.
If standing up meant losing them, I lost a heavy chain, A false and hollow stratagem That only offered pain. The ones who leave when you grow tall Were never yours to keep; It’s better that the shadows fall So you can finally leap.
I am utterly exhausted by this relentless play, The heavy curtain of performance drawn too long. I cannot hold the hollow smile another day, To mask the deep, the aching emptiness that’s wrong.
The burden of a self that isn’t mine to wear, To fit the mold you fashioned, cruel and tight, An agonizing stretch away from who I care To be—my own identity, eclipsed by your light. You see a project, a design that must be met, But tell me, why must the authentic me be cast aside?
I am finished fabricating reasons I have set, For every thought and every reaction I can’t hide. I’ve justified my nature to a vacant crowd, To people who, I now accept, simply don’t care.
The painful truth: my hope was spoken out loud, A unilateral effort lost on thin, cold air. I poured my heart to mend what broke between, But found no shared commitment, no reciprocal tide, A solitary swimmer in an apathetic scene.
The loneliness, a constant, heavy friend, A silent weight that settles on my weary chest. It is an awful life, but if this is the end— The price of being whole, of being finally blessed To be myself—then I will pay the cost, Choosing difficult solitude to rescue what was lost.
A burning, sharp anger now begins to rise, A desperate need to shatter this profound pain. But I know with bleak certainty in my own eyes, That fury would be wasted, dissipating like the rain.
This crushing truth has settled, stark and clear: Nothing I say, nothing I do or fail to be, Holds any weight for them, for those who stand so near. My voice is mute, my actions they refuse to see.
They are truly, utterly indifferent to my strife, They do not pause to question what my heart endures. My suffering, my struggle, the very pulse of life, Is an irrelevance that their coldness secures.
I feel the urge to weep the entire day away, To curl beneath the covers, let the sadness claim, But reason whispers of a temporary stay, No lasting remedy to solve this bitter game.
The torrent of resentment pleads to be set free, A physical demand I check with weary hand, Because the simple, crushing truth remains with me: It will not change a thing across this barren land.
A complete despair now chills me to the bone, In this cold context, in this life they have defined, The heartbreaking finality I stand upon alone, The truth that leaves no solace for the mind:
A flicker in the digital sea, A ripple in the ocean vast, Announced a message, unanticipated, free, A bridge to years and moments past. No expectation, no alarm, A serendipitous, sudden light, A warmth against the day’s long harm, Dispelling shadows of the night.
The sender’s name, a long-lost friend, Appeared upon the silent screen, A cherished sight without end, Recalling what had been. A powerful, unexpected force, Across the void of silent years, Washing away the quiet remorse, And vanquishing old, silent fears.
A wave of joy, a deep embrace, Surged through the heart, dissolving time, As memories rushed, swift in their chase, Like a rushing, vibrant tide sublime. Laughter shared, a youthful sound, Secrets told in hushed reply, A core of trust that could be found, A sturdy thread beneath the sky.
Across the miles that held them fast, The vital connection instantly made, The digital form, a vessel cast, Where friendship’s enduring flame was played. Passionately kindled, burning bright, Unafraid of intervening years, A testament to affection’s might, Dispelling all the rising tears.
The quick exchange of grateful hearts, A quiet acknowledgement of grace, The inner vision of eyes that starts, Smiling across time and space. This sudden reunion, taking flight, A potent reminder, clear and true, Some bonds are not defined by sight, But by a spirit time can’t undo.
The depth of my disappointment is immense, I truly thought you were a person of integrity, Whose every action would align, with no pretense, With the strong character you seemed to be. “I thought you were better” is too mild to say; I saw in you a loyalty I sought to find, A moral standard now just dust and clay, A shattered image of a perfect mind.
The thing you did, or failed to do, you see, Was not a simple letdown; “it crushed me” whole. It was a devastating blow to my reality, A chasm swallowing my trusting soul. I had invested trust and boundless hope, An extraordinary quantity of “faith in you,” To find it misplaced, I now must grope, A personal failure, though the fault is true.
Our bond, which I so dearly held and prized, Was based on a belief in shared pure light. “I thought we were actually friends,” I realized, Now every memory feels contaminated, blight. Each moment shared, each secret I confessed, Feels poisoned by the knowledge I now hold, That “that’s a lie, and it’s always been a lie,” unblessed. A friendship’s illusion, turning cold.
My estimation of you reached the stars, “Maybe I thought more highly of you than you think of yourself.” I held you past your self-imposed high bars, More than you were capable of from your shelf. I believed you held a goodness and a strength, A beautiful essence that does not exist. “Maybe I thought more of you than you truly are,” at length, The gap between the ideal and the actual persists.
My admiration wasn’t born from my own plight, For I appreciated what I thought you were. I never claimed perfection, or to be the light: “I don’t think I am special; I thought you were.” I know my faults; I am not so grand: “I don’t think I am great; I thought you were.” My self-regard is low, I understand: “I don’t think highly of myself, but I thought highly of you.”
The burden of this pain, in a dark way, Rests on my shoulders for this foolish crime. “I guess I was wrong to put that much faith in you,” I say. The name of “friend” was sacred, but I wasted time: “I guess I was wrong to call you a friend.” My error was this desperate, naive dream, That you would prove me right until the end: “I guess I was wrong; I wanted you to be better.”
And so I cycle through this self-inflicted doubt, Were my expectations too far out of reach? “I guess I was wrong, maybe it’s just me,” I shout. But the ultimate truth that the facts now preach: “I guess I was wrong; I put too much faith in you.” I took your potential for your very core: “I guess I was wrong, believing in you,” it’s true. I can’t believe in you anymore.
The desolate conclusion is the clear refrain: “I guess I was wrong.” A simple, crushing sound. For in your actions, truth gives way to pain: “I guess I meant nothing to you” that I have found. The end of my faith is the end of what we were.
I hide myself away, retreating from the world’s harsh light, To hide from those I fear, the shadows that invade the night. The whispers and the judging eyes, they pierce me to the core, So I draw the curtains closed, and lock the heavy door. I hide myself away, within this solitary keep, A silent farewell for now, while deeper secrets sleep.
The silence of this self-made cell becomes a heavy shroud, I cried myself to sleep, a soundless weeping in the crowd. To hide and weep, my body shaking with the strain, To hide and weep, to wash away the bitter, throbbing pain. Each tear a wasted moment, falling in the deep, As promises I couldn’t keep haunt me while I sleep.
A sharp regret now cuts the air: Why did I waste so much time? Consumed by baseless fear, an unforgivable, self-made crime. To fear what they say, the empty words that hold no weight, To let their careless judgments seal my solitary fate. I should have stood defiant, met their gaze with fiery pride, But cowardice took hold, and left me here to hide.
Again, the darkness calls me down, the cycle starts anew, I cried myself to sleep, until the morning filtered through. To hide and weep, a ritual of sorrow and despair, To hide and weep, a burden that my heart can barely bear. This isolation is a monster, feeding on my will, A self-imposed exile upon this lonely, silent hill.
But then a whisper rises, fragile yet defined, A voice that speaks of freedom, leaving fear behind. Open the doors, let sunlight flood the dust and gloom, And hide no more, escape this cold and empty room. Open the doors, the hinges squeak with long disuse, And hide no more, relinquish every weak excuse. The world awaits beyond the latch, vibrant and so vast, A future built on courage, leaving shadows in the past.
I cried myself to sleep, a memory that starts to fade, Wasting so much time, upon a path too long delayed. Wasting so much time, a treasure carelessly set free, But now the lock is broken, and the key belongs to me. The sun on my face is a promise, clear and bold, A new story beginning, waiting to unfold.
We stand together, a multitude wide, Our inherent worth cannot be denied. We are the many, strong and profound, On worthy, undeniable ground.
A powerful force, a presence complete, In every life’s aspect, we cannot retreat. We are the bedrock, the muse, and the light, The mothers who nurture, the wives who unite. Companions and partners, the friends tried and true, The unwavering support, seeing the world through.
Yet a flaw in our unity, a shadow we find, The support we give others, we leave behind. Hesitant to challenge, to push past the ease, To reach true potential that surely would please. And most painful of all, a failure to claim, The hard-won successes, and speak a sister’s name.
This must cease now, the passive days gone, We must seek out the moments, from dusk until dawn. To offer our praise, let our voices ring true, Each milestone a triumph, for me and for you. To consciously lift, giving momentum and grace, For every woman to find her true place. To challenge with love, with expectation’s firm hand, Demanding of excellence, across all the land. No criticism this is, but mutual rise, Reflected in sisterhood’s true, loving eyes.
Through this vow to support, and challenge we make, The success we can grasp, for goodness’ sake. Empowering each other, we’ll shift and transform, The women the world needs, weathering every storm. We’ll embody the purpose, we were meant to be, The women who changed the world, for all eyes to see.
To achieve this high goal, the toxins must fall, Excise the dark poisons that hold us in thrall. Shed the debilitating jealousy’s sting, That blinds us to triumphs the good moments bring.
Discard the destructive competition and strife, Focus energy outward, on a better world’s life. Not inward, against us, our battles are clear, Fighting for progress, not fueled by dark fear.
Cast off the petty, the soul-crushing hate, It consumes the bright light that seals our fate. The path forward is dimmed by this darkness within, We must clear out the shadows, and let light begin.
Let a new sacred covenant be firmly held fast, A mandate of love that is meant to last. Unconditional loving, and support burning bright, A sisterhood rising, with all of its might. Unbreakable, unstoppable, changing the world’s face, United in purpose, and filled with true grace.
The silent prisons of our own mind, Worry for the deeds we left behind, The chances lost, the paths we feared to roam, Our potential dormant, never brought home. This anchor heavy, second-guessing’s sting, Drags down the soul that was meant to sing.
To truly live, regret must be outrun, A risk embraced beneath the morning sun. The unknown holds the promise of our growth, A fertile ground for a pledged oath.
Take the chance at greatness, a choice for all, Be willing to reach, to answer the call. See what reserves within your spirit lie, Of strength and grace beneath the open sky. Commit to the dream, take the fearless flight, Forward with conviction, leaving behind the night.
Hesitation is the foe of every deed, By fearing failure, planting doubt’s cold seed. You’ll never know the heights you could attain, The monuments you’d build through sun and rain. The touch of courage, how it might inspire, A beacon lit by your own brave fire.
Embrace the call: Take the chance once more, See what you can do without a shore. Take the challenge, soar upon the breeze, Let past regrets dissolve with newfound ease. Don’t look behind; the future lies ahead, Just keep the onward path and be well-led.
Belief and grit define the way we go, The goals you set, the success you will know. Though failure whispers—part of learning’s art— Do not let that dark shadow break your heart. The glorious chance of victory is near, For this bright hope, dispel all doubt and fear.
Stop postponing the life you wish to lead, Write the unheard book, plant the needed seed. Learn the unlearned dance, let rhythm take hold, Sing out your heart, a story to unfold. Let nothing hold you back—no fear, no scorn, The time for your own greatness is this morn.
