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Grace James Oct 2020
An enemy.
Someone from childhood
I barely knew.

A time
where egos rise
and people lie
behind a smile.

But she
was stuck
inside her misery.

Never permitted
the world to see.

All of this
unknown to me.
As I fought
my own world of grief.

Hating.
Spiting.
Sneering.
Prying.

Wishing for her
to fall from grace.
So I could rise
to take her place.

Yes, we were young.
Lost in our thoughts.
Unaware
of any costs.

Yet still we grow.
Change.
And the universe
drives forward.

Making a fool of us all.
And our anger
for our enemies
feels so small.

We are all just cracks
in an endless
night sky
trying to find the light.

So I sent her grace
and wished to the stars
that she find peace
and be at ease.

And an enemy
she was
no more.
Grace James Aug 2020
Another year older.
Another year ahead.
21.

Time to drink, celebrate.
Be in your prime.
Chase your dreams.
Be reckless.

Be fearless!
Think of what you can do,
for everything is on the table.
Nothing is off limits.

But learn your lessons.
You've been around the block now
once or twice.
You've been hit hard.

Now is the time
to be smart.
Let the past be a teacher,
a reminder,
an old guide.

Let the future be a new,
mysterious friend.
A path to more,
to beyond,
to better.

It's in your hands now.
Happy birthday.
21.
Grace James Aug 2020
I hope heaven is a blue sky
that shines with crystals at night,
with clear water surrounded by forest
and a waterfall that tumbles down.

I hope to hear voices singing
a soft, sweet melody.
As a warm light holds me
in the warm, summer air.

I hope at night,
heaven is quiet,
as a chorus of crickets sing.

I hope there are flowers in heaven,
of every color.
And I can run in a field full of them,
and feel no pain.

I hope heaven is
where I'll see my loved ones again.
Where they'll greet me with a smile
and open arms.

"Come here, kid,"
they'll say.
And I will smile from ear to ear.

I hope heaven is
where we'll all be together,
free from worry,
and at peace.

And I hope the Lord will care for us,
His children,
in our eternal home.
Where we can look back on those
who are still on Earth.

I hope we may watch over them
and feel pride as they grow.
That we may be there
when they need someone to lift them
out of the darkness they face.

I hope heaven is
free from hate,
filled with love,
brimming with joy.

And I hope we can create
a little of this heaven
here on Earth
for the living who need it most.
Grace James Aug 2023
I see strangers on the Internet
talk about healing their inner child.
It made me go inward.
Think
and think
and think.

About little me.
Three, five, seven years old.
What she wore
what she ate
what she watched on TV.

How she danced,
twirled on and on
without a care in the world.

And as I saw her in my mind's eye
and felt her in my soul,
my heart was filled with a Great and Terrible Sadness.

Oh, how I've failed her!
I've abandoned her laugh
her warmth
her light.

I traded her valiance for fear,
her voice for silence.
Her smile and bright green eyes
for a dull film over too-pale features.

Oh, my poor, sweet child.
I am endlessly sorry.
I have failed you.
Failed you.
Failed you.

Those strangers on the Internet
want to heal their inner child.

But now
I wonder...
Can my inner child heal me?
Grace James Aug 2023
Magic already exists
plain as day
known by another name.
We call it music.
Grace James Mar 2021
Fifteen.
Seems like a lifetime ago.
Or maybe yesterday.
When I think of you,
time stands still.

Oh, how I wish
I could tell you
just how I felt.
Those days when
you held my hand
would stop my heart.

I know I was silent
'cause I just couldn't speak.
Now I have my voice,
and it's only you I seek.

Seventeen.
You were older, wiser,
bigger, braver.
You were everything to me
and more.

Oh, how I wish
you spoke when
you had the chance.
Those days when
you smiled at me
would light the stars.

I know I was silent
'cause I just couldn't speak.
Now I have my voice,
and it's only you I seek.

Too late.
That's all I hear,
it's too late.
You're a million miles away.
It was just fate
that said you'd be
a memory.

I know I was silent
'cause I just couldn't speak.
Now I have my voice,
and it's only you I seek.

It's only you I seek.
Grace James Aug 2020
She walks toward the sea
afraid of the deep,
but excited to see
what lies ahead.

She runs through the forest,
sun streaming through the tall
green trees.

She finds a meadow
where flowers abound.
She smiles
and basks in the quiet.

But it is not quiet for long.

She stumbles and falls,
and fear rushes in.
Threatening.
Piercing.
Gripping.
Pulling.

She fights
as hard as she can.
She wants to go on.
She wants to open her eyes
and feel the warmth again.

So slowly
but surely,
she picks up
the pieces.

And she goes on.
Grace James Aug 2020
Somewhere beyond the deep
is a place to which I journey
when I am asleep.

This place is neither cold nor hot,
big nor small,
near nor far,
beneath the stars.

It is a place to which I go
when I must run far, far away.
Far, far away.

Away from the circus,
away from the fear.
Away from the chaos,
away from the tears.

This place is my beckoning,
my caller, my finder.
My reminder that everything is alright
in the end.

My haven.
My truest and dearest friend.

The house by the lake
was nestled among the woods.
A crack in the winding road,
red and white and quiet.

Its windows reflected
the sparkling stream.
Like crystals dancing
in the midst of a dream.

The sounds are loud and soft
all at once.
Chickens, rowers, fishermen.
Silence, wind, sunlight
lapping at the shore.

I close my eyes to see it now.
How bright it is in my mind's eye.
Hello, my friend.
I'll be back again.

With water so blue,
the lake I knew.

— The End —