My father always told me
“Never refuse a challenge.
Take each opportunity
To broaden your horizon.”
And, all through life, I’ve tried my best to follow his advice.
However hard the task may have been, so far I’ve never said never.
Last month I was persuaded,
Against my better judgement,
To jump out of an aircraft
And parachute to the ground.
I wish now I’d said, “Never,”
The parachute malfunctioned.
And that’s why I’m sending this final poem
From six feet below the earth.
Scrolling for hours...
"What to do next?"
"I'm bored."
"Life's a mess."
How can that be true?
They call life no fun.
They experience boredom
when the journey has just begun.
Just ask the dreamer,
the thirst to fly.
He sees a lot in bed,
wants to see all of it
before his soul's dead.
It's hard for many
to lock their legs,
'cause the magnetic world
tries hard to attract.
Some eyes broaden
when they hear "boredom."
In this magical world,
it still exists—
they find that dumb.
How are you relaxed?
Don't you see yourselves enjoying everything
ten years ahead?
Why don't you try hard?
Live the world with fun—
the ultimate MasterCard.
Everyone needs a little hope....
let there be light
let it be bright
even through the night
even in great heights
a star is in our sight
I watch in delight
As i make my wish i say...
give me strength and hope
to broaden my scope
and help people cope
show them how to survive
without being deprived
give them the drive
to be revived
all they need is a guide
so they can stand with pride
it just takes a nudge
to get people to budge
Oh God save me
From the substance
That are dangerous
But I think they are pleasurable
Liberate me from poisonous substances.
Oh God save my soul
From the things
That are wrong
But I think they are right
Broaden my awareness
Sharpen my intuition
Guild and lead me to glory.
Oh God restore me
Restore my lost glory
So, I won't be telling old story
That I was once on top
Just to feel among
I want to light up
Any room I enter.
In a world fraught with sadness and anger…when it’s often hard to cope
Easter arrives to remind us…there is always room for hope.
Hope for a better world than the one, today, we see.
Hope that our goodness, not our cruelty, will shape our destiny.
It’s a reminder how each morning from the EAST…hope rises with the sun.
it’s believing there is light somewhere in the darkness
that one day we’ll look back and goodness will have done.
There is a reason on Easter morning we hear the robins sing…
They’re reminding us through nature’s song…the hope that Easter brings.
So as this Easter comes around…
my hope is for a world where everyone is free
where we can finally live together….in peace an harmony.
Where each and every one of us live a life…
so we will be remembered affectionately..
having left behind in everyone we touched…a treasured memory
So Happy Easter everyone…may this day broaden in it’s scope…
to include every day…as a time for love…a time for peace,
a time for understanding…
and…a time for hope.
Christmas 2025
2025.12.25
Monkey, monkey sits on the desk,
Do you witness him still surfing on the internet.
Ask him out to get some sun light,
Walk on the beach or wade in the sea.
There are so many things to see.
Broaden his mind and enjoy the sunshine.
This Christmas, the presents
Were much less than last year
Not because of being stingy,
Or love him less than what was used to be.
It was purely because ......
Strangely this year,
There was no Christmas lights,
Decorated in front of his house.
What has happened to him,
No celebration nor decoration?
Did he know that,
Everyday for the past six months,
His favourite song was the first
And the last piece of music
I play at the piano.
He was the person who introduced me,
To the world of music and encourage me to play,
Yet, he never knew nor had a chance to hear
What I play everyday.
Faith, that was all about faith.
Merry Christmas and Happy New my dear.
Good bye and good luck to you.
A poet exposes scenes to explore new horizons
unfolding under expansive or confining domes
We slow it down, decelerate, discern
unveiling are a fable's morals and concerns
taking pause to commune with fauna and elm
serenely does nature speak throughout her realm
our phrases linger with new colors
hues vibrant encompass as skylines
our dimensions broaden anew
sentences chosen carefully carry more import
with words nuanced, renewed
with a more sentient bite
with emotions more candid
abashedly bare, a despair founded
with paroxysm of catharsis we quill
weeping of our dormant essence shaken to life
confessions deepening, plunging in thought
letting the afflatus of passion flow
I Am Anaya
quill & inkwell love
11/14/25
Each day holds countless possibilities
only imagination can sets boundaries and barriers
~ break free from your cage
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Their love of our fear will be starved
We will transcend their want of our complacency
We have a need to be unified
All we must do is broaden our definition of acceptance
It is not our desire to stay uninformed for long
Nor to willingly stay blind to our path
No sides of any faction deserves our shadowed devotion
There is a need to be a light to the people that sets us free from all tyranny
It's quite a vague choice for beauty
As no two are the same.
Over time society has dictated
The "norms" of life's game.
Sadly the result is insult
Of "abnormal" types of personality,
A tick or how some dress
Or even clear disability...
But the beauty of those different
Is how, without a word,
They improve the outlook of society
And ensure others like them are heard.
Just tell the disadvantaged
That something, by them, can't be done
And watch how their determination
Transcends the doubts of everyone!
The different can leave a defining mark
Penned in to human history.
They can broaden horizons, soften hearts
Unravel complex mystery.
It's strange how difference is attractive
Yet still rejected or looked down upon.
If the so called "normal" stop embracing the different
Then humanity will have gone.
.
viewing life
through the fingers
of a facepalm
an unhealthy
obsession
to broaden the mind
with the
help from social media
jumbled up in jargon
no more useful than a Word of the Day:
excire: (n) meaning exhilaration and desire
—or—
whenever …
bombarded with unrelated
f.a.c.t.s
as pertinent as
school level algebra
the mind’s ‘nothing box’
teaming with possibilities
inexpressible
visions dancing to an inaudible jukebox
a child’s
toy
kaleidoscope
charting the stars
given way to ‘Stars Foretell’
how we should feel
and think
nowadays
by naming the planets
the stardust
the very essence of existence
we escape categorisation
life views back at me
through the cosmic lens
of perceptions:
starlight eyes
of
hope
shines …
Crimson tide, Amber tears. Bones of gold, blood of iron
Hold me close to the fire
I seek my fathers aide
Warning, faithful to truth
Silver spirit, Orange soul
Broaden the scope
Trace down the shadows
Snowfall of blood
Marching to peace
Feathers bound up in leather
Kept from the flames
Made warm and safe
Words minted in bone
Zooming toward my own destruction
Powerful introduction to silence
Still alive, awake, aware, centered
Scorpions devour the stars
Don’t refuse the muse, she might not come again,
Though if she does, you’ll know not how or when.
As flighty as they come, here once, but too soon gone,
You must embrace the muse, however long she’s come.
Know the muse might stutter with her wily words,
All many-winged and flying, like the birds,
But what she says you must obey, you must take heed.
Respect the muse and she’ll inspire you at your need.
She comes and goes to open eyes and broaden thought,
Inspiring every artist with the spell she’s wrought.
Her beauty might be missed, though, by the untrained eye;
However hard it works, take notice, lest work die.
With open eyes and only then the muse you’ll see,
Though she might make you chase her, fleeing fleetingly.
If you ignore the muse when she runs through the fire,
She might not ever come again, there to inspire.
Don’t refuse the muse, her stay won’t last too long;
However sweet and good, short is her song.
But when she comes, with open arms welcome her back
And she’ll provide the inspiration you so lack.
Inspiration is something
That can be hard to sought.
But motivation it shall bring
When it is caught in thought.
Endless sources of it there
To broaden up your mind.
They are out there everywhere
Waiting for you to find.
Mindset is a primary factor...
Is yours willing to
Be open and play the extractor?
This is up to you.
What you know plays special forces
On this battlefield.
Imagination in its courses...
Make it unconcealed.
What are you into? What moves you?
What is it you desire?
Anything certain proves to
Be something to inspire.
People leading by example...
Places you have been.
Objects plentiful and ample...
All that you have seen.
Experience can play a role
And also what you learn.
Progressing towards a goal
As well as what you yearn.
These are just to name a few
Sources which do exist.
Everything comes down to you
And your will to persist.
Meant to say, "I miss you." No, it won't take long. The longing kept going and going; it's
gone.
Is there a reason I see you in song? The song remains the same except when stations
change.
Instances of tempted moments held in my head, forgot how it felt to roam on our old
homestead.
When thinking, sat sleeping for mere moments just to spend.
Up ahead, inside a booth, perhaps it'll contain you.
The day repeats; this place is the same.
To think that I'll see you again.
I have not before. Perhaps today's different; please
broaden my perspective.
I've been daydreaming of red lips and Cleopatra's eyes.
I plead to the god of romance, let me please spend me this time dreaming of red lips
and Cleopatra's eyes.
I ask for too much; this, yes, I know.
Happy and go-lucky, Independence freed.
Don't let this toll toil and dream of taking from me.
Written on Dec-1-2023
© William Paul-Eric Rodriguez
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