**Laughter and tears,** **You tell them your fears.** **They see you grow,** **They watch you fall—** **But stand by your side** **Through it all.** **It’s not always easy—** **The tantrums, the glares—** **But friends never flinch** **At truths or dares.** **They hold all your secrets,** **They laugh at your flaws,** **They cheer when you win,** **And fight for your cause.** **Through seasons of change,** **Their hearts beat near—** **A voice in your darkness,** **A hand for your fear.** **When the world feels heavy,** **They lighten the load—** **A shelter in storms,** **A home on the road.** **Some friendships will fade,** **Some promises break,** **But the ones who remain** **Are the hearts that don’t shake.** **And when life is a mess** **And dreams fall apart,** **A true friend’s still there** **With a wide-open heart.** **For friends are forever—** **A bond, a refrain,** **A love stitched in laughter,** **A balm for the pain.** **So treasure each moment,** **Each smile, every glance,** **For friendship, like love,** **Is life’s greatest chance.**

The day will end, as it does, and the world will go to sleep, People coming home to rest, from the daily lives they lead, They may be good or bad or both, but all will seek reprieve, I sometimes think if the world should end, I hope it’s in peace, Let us all just disappear, and fade out in endless dream, Let cities fall to lidded eyes, and earth return to trees, Send people to bed, and let us crumble into the sea, Know on that day, the dawn still rises slowly, stubbornly

Devil takes his chance, In the night's deceptive dance, Truth hides in plain sight. Eyes betray the heart, In darkness, judgment departs, No safe place to hide. Lost within the maze, Of the mind's intricate phase, Sanity's thin ice. Yet, through the despair, A faint whisper in the air, Promises the light. Our father above, Blesses us, Eternal love, Washes sin away. Demons in hiding, Eternally abiding, The Almighty one. God knows what we need, If ever the darkness leads, Us to temptation. Evil disguises, Thank God, The Dawn still rises, Slowly, stubbornly.

In the depths of night, where darkness eludes, Where restless thoughts and emotions intrude, Perhaps peace will find her, in solitude, Slowly, stubbornly. Amidst the chaos, where shadows bend, It’s much more difficult to pretend. Perhaps her broken heart will mend, Slowly, stubbornly. But she dries her eyes and hardens her stare, A weary soul, with burdens to bear. Because hope still burns, a flicker in the air, Slowly, stubbornly. In the quiet moments, when all is still, A resilient spirit, against all will. She knows her dreams will be fulfilled, Slowly, stubbornly. As morning approaches, with its golden hue, A new beginning, clear and true. Soon enough, she’ll be over you. For in the end, Don still rises, Slowly, stubbornly.

Figures dance, only visible to me. Shapes bring vivid colors, images of different worlds. This little slip of paper, a portal past two pages. It was only a matter of time… Imagination shocks me, seizes hold, shakes me. Words surrounded my life, Art foremost among my priorities. It couldn’t last… Bills stacked up, the red words much more foreboding. The said I wasn’t focused but I was… Just not on the right things… “Words aren’t work, No matter how much you think, Words aren’t life.” It’s okay to dream when your little, You can be anything you want to be! But when you grow up Your burdened by decisions. A doctor or a director? “A director doesn’t pay the bills here!” You have to wake up from the dreams Because dawn still rises, slowly, stubbornly…

The day your heart shatters, dawn still rises, slowly, stubbornly as it if has no idea your world had stopped. The day your heart shatters, night still falls, swiftly, sternly as if it does not know how quickly the dark eats away at you. The day your heart shatters, the sun rises, beating, burning. Then, the moon rises, hastily, hauntingly. The day your heart shatters time keeps turning until you catch up.

to survive is to sleep, wake and eat to eat at least twice each day to sleep for hours on end to survive is to take no risks protect the body and mind survival makes viciousness gentle it’s all you can do to see another day but to live to live is to sing, dance and scream to eat when you want something good to sleep when you want to dream to live is to take risks everyday from saying hello to a beautiful stranger to reading a book you’ve never read living makes humanity graspable it’s all you can do to leave without regrets no matter which you choose the moon will still pull the tides stars will continue to implode and die and you, you get a choice to live or to survive because either way dawn still rises, slowly, stubbornly

The winter draws closer and darker, Colder in the fray comes, The covers so warm and comforting, Just like the dark, No one can see you in the dark, Shrouded in the shadows, Enveloped by the blanket, But we must still emerge, From the warm and the dark, For dawn still rises, slowly, stubbornly.

Darkness envelops the room. As she sits wide awake unable to close her eyes. Will the new day come? Where I am new to start fresh. Become something more than who I am in this moment. Fear grips her deep, like a hand grasping at her heart. Not allowing it to beat. Grasping her lungs not allowing a deep breath. Then, she sees a distant glow. Coming low from the East. Is it the sun? The new day, the new me? She craves that new beginning. Betting her life on it. It grows brighter by the minute until hope arises. Like everyday, the dawn still rises, slowly, stubbornly.

Who would dare to chase away the night sky When there are so many stories, old as time, that call to us in these traces of mystic light? Who could they be? How do they live? What makes their hearts soar …Or their hearts sore? Will we ever know their faces? Their voices? Will we ever know their love or rage, Or if they yield to their grief or age? Yet, as we weave our dreams Of who peers back at us From the opposite and ancient end of eternity, Dawn still rises, slowly, stubbornly, Locking away her deepest secret.