Yet until now

This life we promised never came to life

Yet we never gave up

We pushed on

I reach out

I grasp

And come up with just air

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Grimy hands and dirty boots

The courageous men who do the work

They keep us safe and give us life

They may not be give us artwork

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The scary season comes to a wrap

We're ready for the next great adventure

The presents and candy and holly jolly cheer

We skip past the moment where we all give thanks

And jump right the the cookies and presents and jolly Old Saint Nick.

The sun still shines

Amongst the broken hearted

We all all still live

In a land that gives us blessings

A grateful attitude for what we do have

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I’m thinking of starting a novel, but I could really use some help brainstorming ideas and themes. Here’s a quick summary of what I have in mind. If you have any suggestions on how to take this story further, I’d love to hear them! It’s going to be a sci-fi adventure about a professor who’s on a quest to uncover the secrets of the universe. But guess what? He’s not alone! A dark force is trying to show him what the universe really means, and it’s not going to be easy. He’ll have to face an ancient battle to learn the lessons he needs to find the answers he’s been searching for.

We come and go

We have chores we must do

We all have things to outgrow

We all know it's true

We spend our time thinking

We wonder if we're enough

We spend our time thinking

We wonder if we are loved

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A tooth

A taste

A candy paste

/

Keep Reading…

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Awake

Staying Awake

Living life Awake

Being Awake

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We all want the happy ending. The prince in shiny armor. The dragon slayer. The beautiful princess awaiting to be saved. The magic. The fantasy. The dreams. This is what we desire our lives to be like. To open our stories find our pages and read them outloud. We want a fantasy. But unfortunately that’s what all that is, a fantasy.

Ice Cream

The sweet cold sensation in your mouth

The radiant flavors pouring over your tongue

Keep Reading …

We are all bound by that ring of numbers

All constrained to 24 hours

Will we use it all or let it waste away

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The rain was spitting from the sky

The chilly wind pushing through the air

Hoodies and flannels are in the trends

Warm fireplaces in our minds

The creeping of the ceiling

The floors chill to the touch

Footprints appearing in place you know you’re never walked

The whispers and chills creeping up your spine

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The pain in your gut

The rumbles of your stomach

The dizzy feeling you get when you stand up

Feeling like you’re outside looking in

At your own life.

As the days get shorter

And the air gets cooler

We miss the glowing ball in the sky.

As time goes on the cold pours in

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We all search for the greatest trends on the internet. We race to be the first to catch that wave. We want to jump on the bandwagon and hope we catch some of the wind of the latest fad or trend. We love trends and popularity. We set our eyes on the goal of being famous or trendy. We want to fit in with the rest of the internet. We do the most ridiculous things just to say we did the latest trend. Have you ever randomly seen people dancing in public to catch that next video trend on TikTok. It's quite the sight right

That funny feeling we all get

That foggy brain that won’t remember

A thing you felt or a thing you said

You feel so far away

Keep Reading…

We strive to be our best

We push through the challenges life throws our way

We take the road less travels

We push through the sweat and tears

We put in the hard work and don't give up

We find the end to be rewarding

Because of the work it took to get there

Sometimes life can be full of many challenges. It's not always the easiest for us to navigate. It has it's ups and downs and it's storms that want to blow us over. We live through them, sometimes it feels like we are living them everyday. As the wind picks up it tries it's hardest to knock us down to the floor. It's an unforgiving force that could care less about our feelings or what we want. How we face these storms defines who we are. It shapes our character and helps to develop us as humans.

We rush around

Hoping to do it all

To accomplish our list

To accomplish our tasks

Words can’t express what we feel

Words can’t paint a picture of our grief

Words can’t explain the pain we have

Words can’t relieve when we can’t believe

Words. Pain. Grief. Relief.

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Apple Crisp in a pan

Ideas older than the age of man

Baking food takes a plan

You would hate to ruin the perfect dish

Keep Reading...

The world spins and our lives move forward

We need to find a place where we can be us

We need to find a place where we can grow

Together in community is the only way forward

Keep Reading …

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We all have them

They come and go

Gently floating like the breeze

Waiting until we know

Whether or not they’ll come true.

It’s crazy it’s been a month already. It doesn’t seem possible how quickly time can fly. It seems like just a moment ago I was watching you walk down the isle gasping at how beautiful you were. Looking into your eyes as we danced for the first time as Mr. & Mrs. Terry.  It’s crazy how in life you blink and things have changed. Sometimes for the bad but in this case for the best.  This has been the craziest but happiest month of my life. I couldn’t dream or even wish for anything better. This is a dream come true.

Keep Reading…

The years have past

And the fear has ceased

The memory is lost

As we move on with our lives.

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Make me into a masterpiece

Shape me into what I could never be

Flatten me out to remove the crease

That keeps me from finding perfection

We’ve waited all year for this moment

The big day has finally arrived

The taste of fall is here

Running across our tastebuds

As time moves on

We’ve come to expect

The fact that everything changes

It’s not unusual for us to watch as the tress change from green to red

We all have a passion or something we want to work hard for to achieve. We are motivated by something or someone. We have tasks we know that we must complete. Things that are on our todo lists that we must do everyday. Whether it’s starting your own business or working a 9 to 5 just to put food on the table we all must work hard to survive.

Sterile surfaces.

Bright burning lights.

Shiny tools scattered about.

The sounds of drills and screams coming from the room next door.

Life.

We all want to collect

We all want processions.

We climb the ladder of wealth hoping to find success.

We all need one.

A place to stay.

A place to lay at night.

A place to escape the rain.

The overwhelming fear of the process about to partake

Hope to God that you will like the final outcome

Not knowing what you’ll see when you finally look in the mirror

Will it match your dreams or make your heart sink deep inside your chest

It happens to all of us at one point or another

It may happen quick or we will have time to recover

Change

A six letter word that terrifies us all

The empty chair

The waiting lines

Always living up to the very best

Hoping to achieve

Hoping to deceive

Taking time to be away.

The hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Allowing the emotions to be at bay.

PERFECT DREAM.

We all have this picture perfect dream of what our lives should look like. We want everything to line up the way we want and nothing to set us back. We want our lives to check all the boxes of success, happiness and popularity. We want to be seen.

Foggy days

Hazy life

A metaphor to the destruction of life.

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Journey.

A word representing what we are all on.

Life.

A journey in itself.

Love.

What we all hope we find on our journey of life.

Landscapes new and old.

Life giving breath in every step.

The peace and calm of the mild breeze.

Walking past the things unknown.

Allowing your thoughts to start to flow.

Never ending peaceful dreams.

As you walk along the path leaving behind your past life.

We all want a place to call ours. We all want to feel like we are apart of something and fit in. It’s part of our nature. It’s an instinct to survive because without someone around it used to be the chances of survival were not very high. Now we are at less risk of dying from lack of heat or food if we are alone. But we are at just a great of risk of dying from mental health because we are along.

Another story for another day

Putting my best foot forward

My best words down on the page

Looking out into the unknown.

The great abyss of the water.

The mystery that lies beneath

And the beauty that sits on top.

Do you ever wonder where time has gone? Do you look back and think what have I even done with my life? We all ask these questions or at least I think we all do because I know I have at points in my life. We can get so caught up in the 9 to 5 life that we forget to actually live. We do tasks everyday that keep us busy but what does that even do for us? We wonder what have we even accomplished. We look at our accomplishments and think how much greater they could of been and compare ourselves to people who have done more.

We live is a world of comparison and likes and comparison in comments. We base our worth on what the world says about us and how popular we look on social media. We have grown our influence to a global reach and stepped out of a handful of close friends. We are getting influence and feedback on our lives from people who don't even know who we are.

I feel lost

I feel stuck

I don't feel at all.

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When things get tough what do you do?

Sit around and complain hoping someone will hear your cries?

Waiting around listening to everyone's lies

Knowing you will never be great.

Living in the era of motivation speakers.

We struggle to find the motivation.

We struggle to be inspired.

What is left for us to do to find inspiration.

You know that feeling

That rests deep inside you soul.

That feeling you have

When you know you were wrong.

Time is constantly ticking. We are always moving forward although it can feel like we are on a slippery slide backwards in life. But no matter how difficult things seem time only has a single direction and that is forward.

We are constantly hurdling through time dodging and weaving in an out of everything that is trying to slow us down. We don't always know how to process the things that are happening and find ourselves questioning whether things in life are good or bad. Should we or should we not do certain things? We wonder and we ponder every little detail of our life. We let these ideas spin freely in our mind taking up precious space in our memories.

I feel stuck.

I know what is good for me and what is good for my business to grow and I'm afraid they are different things. I want to say I have control but is there a way for me to say no? It's like a drug deal happening every day. It must happen if I am going to make money and gain followers. But they say dealers don't participate in their drugs. Is this true? Do those behind this new addiction know how bad it is and sell it to us anyway?

I feel trapped.

Time is a funny thing

It flies by

But the days we wish for never seem to come.

The gifts.

The hugs.

The time spent.

...

Colors painting in the night sky.

Dogs barking and babies crying.

The chaos and beauty surrounding the night.

We wait for this moment and dread it all at once.

We live in a place where freedom is taken for granted

We want everything to happen in our timing

And want our lives to come out feeling enchanted

We celebrate in the night and wait while the fireworks are priming

Boom! Bang!

Explosions of the celebration to remind us of our freedoms!

"Rain Rain, Go away"

Chanting in my mind.

Driving home, I can't see the road

through the rain falling from the sky.

We wonder why we have troubling feeling.

But when we do we wish we wouldn't.

The endless cycle of ups and downs.

Leaves us wondering if we're ever enough.

Simplicity > Money

We all strive to have the most in life.

We want to gather our possessions

And stack up our wealth.

We desire to be safe and comfortable.

We hide from the unknown.

We all have goals and places to go.

We are all on a journey, one that only we can take.

We may bring others along but the choices are ours.

Do we ever really arrive? Or is each destination just a stop on our journey of life?

~

If you like this piece please click here and go like and follow over on vocal.media.

The quiet wrestling of the pages.

The soft whispers of the storyteller.

Pages turn and words fill the air.

With the warm love of the teacher.

The peaceful twinkle of the of the stars.

Ashes floating to the sky.

The quiet whisper of the wind.

As we sit around the roaring fire.

The sparks we feel the first time we meet. Life is full of firsts and the feelings are overwhelming and ecstatic. We're lost in the feelings, we fall heel overhead for our lover. We can't escape it but they don't seem to last forever. We say, "I love, you". We say, "I'll never leave you". We put everything on the line for the love we feel and then one day it just fades. We wake up and say, "We fell out of love". We say "It's just not going to work."

Humanity is something we sometimes lose sight of. We forget who we are and what we were created to be. We forget our ideas have meaning and impact in this world we call home.

What is it to be human? What is humanity? Is it important that we find our humanity and live it out? What does that look like?

* Vocal Media Top Story

He knows is a spoken word piece I helped produce and did the vocal edit for. It was written and recorded by Patrick Freels. This is the begininng of a new chapter of music he wants to create. The simplicity of just having his spoken word released is a part of how he wants to tell his story.

The churning waters of the raging sea.

Our lives are in chaos searching for foundations.

A place to rest our feet; a place to be free.

Free from all our temptations and our shortcomings.

Another day another task.

We all have a job or a task or something to complete.

We are all on a mission.

Whether it's ours or a company's vision.

Imagine not worrying if people would listen to your music. Imagine knowing they will listen as long as you provide. This is not something that happens overnight. It took years of building trust and loyalty with their fans. Years of building a product that is interesting and speaks to people. It's more than just selling a product to their fans it's adding value to their lives.

You have no rival.

Nothing stands against.

My mind is consumed by you.

My thoughts can't escape your face.

Dear Future or Dear Future me.

I don't have the words to say

Or the things to plea.

I know I need change but I don't wanna change.

Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow

Time is a strange thing

It's literal but make believe

We struggle not to feel the sorrow

We are enslaves to the hands on the clock

But what do they even mean?

The first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting it is there. You can't overcome an obstacle that you refuse to believe exists. I'll admit to you my addiction has become caffeine. I struggled with needing a cup of joe every morning before I would become alive.

We are all a slave to something.

We can't stand that word but it's life.

We give our allegiance to something or someone.

What we choose to give our life to is our choice.

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We all have different life experiences. Some of us were born and raised in the same town and have no desire to leave. Then others of us can't seem to stay in one place for more than a year or two. They are always looking for the next adventure or the next thrill.

We all want what we want now.

Nobody wants to wait.

We all hate long lines and long waits.

We want it so fast we're okay eating without a plate.

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We live in a very strange time. Technology is constantly changing at a quick pace and is evolving quicker than we know how to handle it. People are beginning to wonder when they will lose their jobs to AI. People are even beginning to wonder how long until AI takes over and comes after us. I for one don't think we are going to be entering into the Terminator anytime soon but I can see the dangers of AI if not used carefully.

Living in the land of the unpredictable.

Never knowing what the day may bring.

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Thank you to everyone who read each chapter of my first short story. This is a piece that is made up but contains things that are very real to some people. We live in a broken world where pain and suffering are very real. People struggle with many different things whether that be social anxiety, drugs and alcohol, sexual sins, or abuse. You name it and someone has struggled with it. It breaks my heart to know what people have had to go through. I wrote this story to try to shed light on what people have had to go through in life. I want to show that there can be light on the other side of the darkness. Even if it’s hard to see it is there. Some people are looking up to you and need you even if you are unaware of it. Just because you feel lost or like you don’t matter that is far from the truth. You are a beautiful rose, don't ever forget that.

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Daisies.

A wonder to the eyes.

The beauty of the earth.

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We wake up to another challenge.

We push through and try to make it.

We don't stop and never give up.

This life we live is all we need.

Never stop believing in who you can be.

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Cam was confused. He was in his room alone crying tears like he had never cried before. How long had he been there? Time seemed to stand still and nothing was making sense to him. He was alone, his best friend and his sister was gone. It hadn’t fully dawned on him how he would never see her again. She was just gone. She had taken her own life before he could have done anything to save her. He felt completely helpless at this moment.

We did it! We hit 100 stories here on Vocal! It's been a journey that has come with its ups and downs.

We all have something that makes us smile.

A secret desire that makes our day.

A pleasure that no one else could know.

A guilty pleasure that satisfies.

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The long winding path where there's no end in sight.

No destination we're trying to achieve.

Just the peaceful songs of the animals in the trees.

It was another normal day at EastSide High. It was getting close to the end of his freshman year and Cam couldn't wait for summer to start. Cam was excited to hang out with his friends on the basketball court after school. The sun shone brightly in the sky, making it the perfect day to shoot hoops with the boys. He was a very competitive person and always would play to win. There was no let's play a quick game for fun with Cam. He was not very good at losing and would break ankles to be sure he would come out on top. He had a solid group of friends who would play a few basketball games on the courts every day after school and everyone who played had the same competitive mentality as Cam.

You say you love another.

You say you want to love.

Yet when someone is different.

You choose to turn your back.

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I was created for beauty.

I've been protected by thorns.

I'm the gift of a lover.

I'm the beauty of life.

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Ellie's head was pounding. Her body hurt from head to toe and her mind was throbbing terribly. Every part of her body ached and she felt like she had just gotten out of the boxing ring with some world champ UFC fighter and she had lost miserably. She was miserable and the world was still spinning in circles in her mind. Thinking back, she was determined to remember what had happened the night before but everything seemed so out of focus for her.

We've waited patiently for what is now before us.

Now we hope for what is to come.

Never content with what is here.

Always wishing for what is next.

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It's Spring but we can still talk about fall.

The words to this song inspire me more than your thoughts.

You're my autumn breeze.

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The excitement of the night got the girls rushing to get ready! As they were getting ready they were excitedly telling each other all the things they hoped would come from tonight! Ellie knew if only she could keep up with everyone then she would finally fit in and have all the friends she had been hoping for.

~ Rain Rain

~ Go Away

~ Come back no other day

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Have you ever just wondered what the next thing to say would be

Being in the path of such great power
Looking up into the vast sky
Knowing without that firey ball in the sky we would be doomed

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It had been a few weeks of being back in the school routine. Ellie’s excitement for the new year was slowly diminishing as the piles of homework and writing assignments that needed to be completed began to pile up on her desk. Through all of the business of life, she had begun to hang out with her friends less and less. She had such high hopes for the year but those quickly began to fade. Every day seemed to be the same, she would wake up go to school, then come home just to have homework pile up that needed to be completed. She would sulk in her room at night, alone in silence. Her thoughts were all that seemed to keep her company these days. She would get the occasional text from a friend with the typical, “Hey! How are you” or “How was your day?” Yet none of these conversations went any deeper, none of them scratched the surface which made her wonder if anyone cared. She didn’t care anymore about the random “hi, (smiley emoji)” texts. What she needed was a phone call and a real conversation that went past just small talk. She wanted someone to know her for who she is and care about every part of her emotions and thoughts.

Your voice is like a melody.
Floating through the breeze.
The gentle chirp of the birds in the cool morning air.

The madness is over
March has finally come to an end
We struggle to fit in and can't understand the trend
The hype and the fans

A song written and recorded by the Lifepoint Collective student team. I helped with the engineering and recording of the live takes of the song.