TAKING A RISK TO DARE

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To believe is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The people who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing, and are nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes, they are salves; they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.



You look at me and see the girl
who lives inside the golden world,
but don't believe thats all there is to see,
you'll never know the real me.
She smiles through a thousand tears
and harbours adolescent fears.
She dreams of all that she can never be,
she wades in insecurity and hides herself inside of me.
Don't say she takes it all for granted,
I'm well aware of all I have.
Well here I am for them to bleed,
but they can't take my heart from me.
And they can't bring me to my knees.
They'll never know the real me.



Being Hurt
by Jennie Carpenter

Forgetting how to be happy
Living for the day
Making the right decision
But not knowing what to say

Hoping to break the silence
With something meaningful instead
Speaking for the moment
Kicking yourself for what you said

Getting left for following your heart
Because you can't be understood
Taking it in the very best way
That anyone ever could

Crushing on being crushed
Living just for the one
Letting them break your heart
And loving them when they're done

Needing to give up
But it's hard to let go
Getting hurt and rejected
Just because you said no

WHAT IS SUCCESS?
What is Success?To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation or honest critics and endure the betrayl of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patchor a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
---Ralph *grins at Kar* Waldo Emerson



DEATH OF AN INNOCENT

I went to a party, Mom, I remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink, Mom, so I drank soda instead.
I really felt proud inside, Mom, the way you said I would.
I didn't drink and drive, Mom, even though others said I should.
I know I did the right thing, Mom, I know you are always right.
Now the party is finally ending, Mom, as everyone is driving out of sight.
As I got into my car, Mom, I knew I'd get home in one piece.
Because of the way you raised me, so responsible and sweet.
I started to drive away, Mom, but as I pulled out into the road, the other car didn't see me, Mom, and hit me like a load.
As I lay there on the pavement, Mom, I hear the policeman say, the other guy is drunk, Mom, and now I'm the one who will pay.
I'm lying here dying, Mom. I wish you'd get here soon...
How could this happen to me, Mom? My life just burst like a balloon.
There is blood all around me, Mom, and most of it is mine.
I hear the medic say, Mom, I'll die in a short time.
I just wanted to tell you, Mom, I swear I didn't drink.
It was the others, Mom. The others didn't think.
He was probably at the same party as I.
The only difference is, he drank and I will die.
Why do people drink, Mom? It can ruin your whole life.
I'm feeling sharp pains now. Pains just like a knife.
The guy who hit me is walking, Mom, and I don't think it's fair.
I'm lying here dying and all he can do is stare.
Tell my brother not to cry, Mom. Tell Daddy to be brave.
And when I go to heaven, Mom, put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave.
Someone should have told him, Mom, not to drink and drive.
If only they had told him, Mom, I would still be alive.
My breath is getting shorter, Mom. I'm becoming very scared.
Please don't cry for me, Mom. When I needed you, you were always there.
I have one last question, Mom, before I say goodbye.
I didn't drink and drive, so why am I the one to die?
---Author Unknown.

All poems are by me and copyrighted to me, Cori Vanbalen unless otherwise noted.