Chapter 1

The night, this cool and breezy night,
While in the vast unclouded sky
Stars stand lonely vigils, bright

The sea, the sea which rushes gently to the shore,
Reflects the starry light
Into the coral’s distant roar

The wind, this wind that softly stirs the trees,
Blows soundless ’cross the sand
On its journey o’re the seas

The sand, the sand which softly sinks beneath my feet,
Lies damp twixt quiet waves
And a silent jungle, deep

Lord,
I give you the desires of my heart,
May my life be used for your service.

Lord,
I give you my mind,
May it overflow with knowledge of you.

Lord,
I give you my mouth,
May the words that come out of it be pleasing to you.

Lord,
I give you my hands,
May you use them to reach out to others.

Lord,
I give you my feet,
May they follow only after you.

Lord,
I give you my eyes,
May they see your amazing plan.

Where do daydreams
go when they retire?
Do they nap upon my feet
waiting until I stumble over them
disguised as a russian spy,
a princess bride,
a heroine of yesterday?

Ageless and timeless
the dreams do not wither
but as of yet remain
chubby-cheeked and cheerful.

Going down is pretty easy,
Going up will take some time.
We can take the curves around this hill,
But go down in a straight line.

Going down is pretty easy,
It only takes a shove.
Going up will take some effort,
And we’ll need to learn to love.

I remember where we were before,
And how suddenly we fell.
How we’ll get that high again,
Is really hard to tell.

Looking up from where we stand,
The top does not look near.
We’d better take each other’s hand,
And start again from here.

There are trees near the side of the road...

Strong and starkly beautiful.
They are filled with gentle strength.
Reaching upwards, dark against
The clear, blue sky.

Straight and true,
The stand curving upwards.
Waiting patiently for spring
They grow strong together.

Holding secrets, memories
and hiding places.
Deeply rooted in the ground,
Firm and unmoving.

Towering above me,
Gnarled and time worn.
All waiting to unfold, to spring forth
In a new beginning, with new life.

Chapter the Tenth

Late autumn, just after Aria’s nineteenth birthday

Sometimes dreaming is what keeps me alive
but sometimes I wonder if it's worth the fight
when all it appears to do is fill my mind, with
something that seems impossible for this life.

And I don't mind this world in its essence
it's the outcome I don't understand
when everything's viewed to be broken
and no one will just take a stand.

Well, I'll not lose myself in this depth, unfathomable;
a world and humanity. It's a surface smile,
a shallow love that lasts to strike, and
the match goes out, giving way to the night.