"If- Not By Rudyard Kipling"

"If- Not By Rudyard Kipling"

If I were to die a million deaths,
(And still have a life to live),
I would still make mistakes
And forget to forgive.

If I were to live forever...
In centuries I might learn some,
But still, I may not be the person
I dream I might become.

If I could turn time back...
So I could fix my wrongs
I wouldn't take the chance-
Perfection doesn't belong.

If I could never make mistakes
And live a perfect life...
Life would be too boring-
Without the little strife.

But I make people smile,
And laugh at their little mistakes-
Laughter might heal wounds inside
So they no longer ache.

And I can write words so true,
I can make somebody cry-
I hope I'll make a million people
Laugh and weep before I die.

The tears and smiles may not last
They may fade in time....
But those million smiles would make
Every imperfection worth the time.

Sometimes I get so caught up in my future and my past that I forget about just being me. I hold on to things in my past. I worry about school, and what to do with the rest of my life, but I forget that I have a life, a calling, to hold on to- at least for now- to show people conviction and truth as I see them.

Sometimes it's easy to find yourself lost in a world where everybody seems not to care about their own lives, but to care about the lives of celebrities. It's so easy to get caught up in this simultaneously lethargic and energetic culture. I think that so many people lose their conviction because of peer pressure and ignorance, but more because our world doesn't profess a need for it, and some people think all too often that the silence speaks for itself, but it doesn't. If you don't make a stand, nobody will.

Sometimes my greatest boundary is that I get lost in the "but I'm just a kid" idea, and forget that I can have a voice. If you are out there, if you listen, I'd love to hear from you. Thank you for listening.


IDOMAD, 2008