Author: hlmcpherson

  • rising above

    “In life, many things will challenge us. It is not about whether or not we rise to them, but rather that we simply rise above.” – Hannah McPherson

    I think of obstacles in life as optional. This is because I am an escape artist of reality, most of the time. The simplest solution to every problem is to pretend it doesn’t exist. This is not great advice, as it comes with consequences and complications.

    So, don’t follow in my footsteps on that one.

    However, there is a perspective shift in there. You can always rise above a challenge. If you zoom out to the bigger picture that we are on a floating rock hurtling through space, then things seem a lot less grave in times of weakness.

    When I say weakness, what I mean is that in moments of weakness I try to remember there is no problem we cannot solve with time, patience, and effort, or at least be able to give ourselves the illusion that it has been solved until the next problem arises.

    We may not always get the outcomes we desire.

    Life has a way of bringing what is meant for you to you, but the alternative must also be true, that things not meant for you will also leave you.

    I’ve been dealing with loss, lately. As friends get older, they grow apart. I’ve been dealing with loss of my sense of self, my sense of comfort. It has been far from easy.

    This is not an abject judgement on solving problems or true pain, but it is a commentary on how we can respond to these things.

    It is easy to get bogged down in the harsh reality of our world sometimes, and the “rising above” concept talks about how we may relieve ourselves of the temporary pains we experience from not being able to process these experiences.

    Step 1. Remind yourself that everything is temporary.

    Step 2. Remind yourself that things that are forever, we have no real knowledge of, so use your most positive imagination to fill in a story that inspires you.

    Step 3. Sit with the feelings caused by challenges long enough to observe and understand what it means to you, don’t just skim the surface or keep digging when you’ve done the work.

    Step 4. Zoom out, get back to the basics, trudge through the mundane while keeping the grander scale of things in mind.

    Step 5. Allow time, patience, and effort to transform the challenge into something you can work with. Trust the process.

    Now, these are not 5 easy steps, nor are they a simple band-aid fix all for responding to problems, but they are a great start to the methodology of rising above.

    Today, I am trying to take my own advice, which is difficult. I won’t say this process has always worked for me, but when it has, it was exactly what I needed.

    Today, I am trusting the process and I hope you can too.

  • The Free Verse Poetry of Hannah McPherson

    Call of the Loon – Hannah McPherson

    I walk away from you when you are in depth,

    Like the bright morning sun leaves for nighttime,

    each step away takes my every breath, 

    I tell myself that everything is fine, 

    If we were to share another word soon,

    I would tell you that we are destined, dear, 

    Your echo lives in me, call of the loon,

    Reverberating through my every fear,

    I pray that sun comes back around again,

    To find me laying among the flowers,

    That my years of wanting are not vain,

    That we can be mindful of these superpowers,

    Something to grow on in age and in love,

    The Sun finds me like Peace Finds a Dove.

    Another Comes, Another Goes – Hannah McPherson

    Another comes, another goes, 

    another appears, another flows,

    There in the depths, and in the heights,

    Some stay all day, Some stay all night,

    A million in a short time, 

    an Individual in the best light,

    Of you, of me, everything in between,

    Of visions, future past present space,

    Thoughts win gold medals in a race,

    they win Nobel prizes, great discovery,

    Again, I’m suffering, finding recovery,

    Branching out, trailing off, 

    I say aloud, a vengeful scoff, 

    here we are again, overthinking,

    goblet upturned, heavily drinking,

    and at the bottom is you,

    at the bottom is truth, 

    you’ll never hear a word of this, 

    imagined love, imagined bliss,

    so again I’m left to find, 

    what remains, on the outskirts of my mind

    Cosmic Love – Hannah McPherson

    If it’s this time, or the next, 

    I’ll be there, ready and set, 

    If it’s now or never, 

    I’ll take the road to forever, 

    If it’s a lift to my spirits,

    Or a crushing of my soul,

    Somewhere near it, 

    I’ll be slowly growing old,

    Thinking of days of us, 

    Thinking of this cosmic love.

    Measure and Meter – Hannah McPherson

    I am soaked in romanticism, 

    I am lost in a chasm of hopeful longing,

    I am chasing a runner through the woods,

    I am blind to pessimism, 

    I am on my way to the unknown, 

    I am bound by blood that courses through my veins,

    I am dancing to the rhythm of my aorta, 

    I am a fool for trying to be anything else,

    I am simply through with denying it,

    I would do this for a thousand lifetimes,

    Because love is the measure and meter of life.

    Kissed by the Devil – Hannah McPherson

    Kissed by the devil, soaked in sin, 

    Going to places, I should have never been, 

    Wrapped up in envy, pride, and wrath, 

    I crawled my broken body down the path,

    I was fetal, fatal, and lost, 

    Coming for victory at any cost,

    The highest price to pay, my soul, 

    Kissed by the Devil, drenched in gold

    The Gladiator’s Plight – Hannah McPherson

    Captured, enamored, never to be set free, 

    Given over to my inhibitions, carelessly, 

    I would repeat this test a million times, 

    The crowd cheers me on from sidelines,

    In the arena, fighting for my life, 

    The beast in me, the gladiators plight,

    words are my chosen weapons, stacking the odds, 

    Ever against favor, devastating loss, 

    The consequence draws ever so near,

    The audience gasps, a moment of fear,

    But a single breath, no one could hear,

    Escapes my lips, cold and blue, 

    The harrowing moment of truth, 

    I pray desperately to the lord,

    And fate cuts the chord, 

    Slowly I rise, pen to the air, 

    death surprises, devil may care, 

    Yet still depleted, I am not defeated, 

    We are one in the same, 

    the beast and I, 

    I call out to it by my own name, 

    I do not deny,

    “You have won; for who does this in pain?”

    It solemnly replies, 

    “You have never lost, you are not vain.” 

    The ticking clock is loud as time encroaches,

    In finality, the wretched thing approaches,

    and lays upon me my shroud of peace,

    For the ending line we have reached,

    Captured, enamored, never to be set free.

    Tests of Time – Hannah McPherson 

    We have not yet achieved victory,

    Over fate and destiny, our eternal plight,

    We counteract the chemistry, 

    As we plunder through the night,

    Eyes wide open, but dark chasms all we see,

    Lit by the light of our glowing fantasy,

    Guided so divinely by senses not our own,

    We come to rest at our forever home,

    Somewhere along the road, with silver it is lined, 

    For Sometime amongst the darkness, 

    We stood the tests of time

    Endless Depths – Hannah McPherson 

    The depths of my soul are endless, it seems, 

    But they flow along in calm shallow streams,

    They gurgle and bubble, and house a host of life,

    They range from uplifting joy to unbearable strife, 

    They guide me on my merry unmerciful way, 

    They remind me I am capable of change, 

    But in a palatable moment, sweet to the taste, 

    I revert back to something more of the same,

    It’s inescapable, I fear, that I hold this so dear,

    There is no mystery, it’s painfully clear, to me,

    The depths of my soul are endless, it seems.

    Desire – Hannah McPherson

    I have yet to find the depth to express,

    In such explicit words, this awful mess, 

    A situation I find myself in once again,

    trying to describe with this pen,

    The most poetic way to tell you, 

    the fire rages, through and through,

    Burning me down to my wits end, 

    My desire to create, to attend, 

    Meetings beyond my ability to comprehend, 

    Betwixt me and my cosmic friends

    Cruel Gods – Hannah McPherson

    I am helpful, at best, When my soul seeks rest, 

    I am hurtful, at most, When I get this close, 

    In times such as this, I radiate bliss, 

    In times such as that, I reminisce, 

    Memories capture me, stolen away,

    From anything happening in present day,

    Lost in the past, abysmal moments to come,

    And only through love, is my attention won, 

    My mind to the forefront of my emotion,

    I am raw and unreal when I am this open, 

    It is a measurable feat, to do this to me, 

    Rising and falling in a wave of sensuality,

    Who I am then, and Who I am to be, 

    Time is at hand, to follow commands, 

    The world is at odds, in the hands of cruel gods.

    Lady Justice – Hannah McPherson

    Justice raises her sword, Over my slowly beating heart, 

    She plunges down with the force of a thousand pounds, 

    She has decided I am of a different breed, 

    That cannot be judged, that cannot be framed, 

    For reference, for meticulous count, 

    That cannot be hunted or found, 

    She has freed me from the cruel fate woven, 

    She has sent me off into the woods, 

    a pack on my back, a knife on my knee, 

    Into the safety and shadows of the trees, 

    I am cast away, from the eyes of the lord,

    I am on a journey that cannot be explained, 

    It must be felt, through cosmic intensity, 

    I am spared from one fate, to be subject to another, 

    Had she run me through, I would be more free, 

    Than the emptiness that awaits me

    The Night Ride – Hannah McPherson

    On the wings in the night, 

    Rides the pilot with delight,

    Through the skies he soars, 

    Searching for evermore, 

    The world below so small and concise, 

    The open air, so expansive and bright, 

    Alit with stars in a swirling sea, 

    This is the meaning of everything,

    This view, this height, 

    Nothing compares, and that’s alright,

    He will long for the sky, 

    When he returns to the ground, 

    Because for a fleeting moment,

    Evermore he had found.

    My Journey – Hannah McPherson

    “There was time when I travelled dimensions,

    By sitting by myself being introspective, 

    And in that time I was told many things,

    I saw and heard the world, ate with kings,

    And learned how to write words anew, 

    To connect things I’d never thought to,

    There was a map that was made just for me,

    To travel dimensions endlessly, 

    I followed that road, 

    Until I arrived at home, 

    Forever changed by what I’d seen, 

    When I explored the inner workings, 

    Of the way I was, alone, with me.”

    The Magic of Magic – Hannah McPherson

    “Magic comes in many forms, 

    It comes when you least expect it,

    It comes in to upheave norms, 

    It works best when you protect it, 

    With all of your heart,

    With all of your soul, 

    Magic is more ancient than gold, 

    It’s the twinkle in your eye, 

    The tingle in your toes, 

    It’s never hidden for long,

    It’s right under your nose. 

    Magic is uncanny that way, 

    But don’t be afraid, 

    It’s here to stay, 

    And will never fade.”

    The Knight – Hannah McPherson

    “‘Knight me’, he says, face resolute,

    She laughs and waits to transmute

    His pride into question, 

    ‘No, Thank you.’ She says, 

    His face contorts, 

    ‘Why do you refuse?’ 

    She sighs and points to the garden, 

    ‘There awaits your fate. Like the rose, 

    You will wilt under winter’s frost.’

    He raises a brow, ‘How do you know?’

    She raises one in return and says, 

    ‘Do you think you are the first?

    All flowers thirst.’ 

    He steps away, confused. 

    She watches him walk into 

    The summers breeze,

    And suddenly,

    He falls to his knees, 

    ‘If I am not to be a knight,

    I would surely rather die.’

    She goes to greet him on 

    The yard in the light of the lamp,

    With a hand on his shoulder, 

    She knights him, then says, 

    ‘Your downfall is your recompense.’ 

    Midwinter, the knight now returns,

    Battered from many brushes with death, 

    His eyes wild and bewildered, 

    ‘How did you know? I met the fate like the rose.’

    She replies, ‘You were not my first knight.’

    All Flowers Thirst – Hannah McPherson

    All flowers thirst, all flowers wilt, 

    you water them, though 

    And in the sun they grow,

    For a short time. 

    All swords must be carried by a hilt, 

    you slay with them, still,

    and carry out your will, 

    Contemplate taking life,

    Or defending it.

    All burdens, tried and true, 

    Will weigh upon you, 

    like atlas held the world,

    your charge unfurled

    Mighty is the nature of struggle,

    Throughout reason uncovered,

    Meaning given, Median reached,

    experience unleashed

    All flowers thirst, All flowers wilt, 

    But you water them, even still.

    All The Things You Never Knew – Hannah McPherson

    Menial approaches to expressing ones self,

    Can lead to a gut wrenching open hell,

    Where you explode what you’ve bottled up,

    And you burst into flames with love, 

    You battle the emotion that wells inside,

    And you succumb to the feeling of pride,

    and suddenly it’s all lain out before you,

    All the things you never knew, you never knew.

    Hallowed Halls – Hannah McPherson

    “Hallowed halls I walk, Guitar pick in my pocket, 

    Hands grasped tight, fiddling my locket, 

    Old pictures and ancient tunes, 

    Juxtapose over empty rooms,

    Flashes of memory encompass me,

    Misery replaced suddenly with jubilee,

    It’s fleeting, it’s raw, but its known,

    As I remember our happy home, 

    Songs drift in through the window,

    Oh, why, why, did they have to go?

    Silence envelopes, and it’s all too much,

    What I wouldn’t give for another hug, 

    I wonder where you’re at today,

    I wonder where I’ll be, 

    When these echoes fade away.”

    The Cinder – Hannah McPherson

    “Moreover, the understanding is sober, 

    Somber, and Fatal, I receive the black,

    cold soot, on my feet and on my back,

    from sleeping next to the fireplace,

    Where last night warm light embraced,

    I am covered in ashes of nights past,

    I am a cinder, I am astute, 

    Craving grazes and moments of you,

    I am a poor simple soul, 

    begging for tinder by the box,

    quick and clever, like the fox, 

    The streets and floors I call home,

    have taught me to shield like stone,

    and perhaps I’ll only have a glimpse, 

    of somewhere beyond the bricks, 

    A nice steamy bath drawn, 

    to wipe me clean for dawn, 

    So propitious to start anew,

    the fires I tended for you.”

    Lore and Legend – Hannah McPherson

    “Lore and legend never cease to amaze, 

    Nor does the slack in my jaw as I gaze, 

    Your aura is that of a golden king,

    You stopped me dead in my tracks, 

    Like a fish out of water, flopping back, 

    As you grab my hand and kiss my ring,

    a gush of wind escapes me, like my words,

    how you gave in to such a simple girl, 

    This moment of wonder, a feeling so giddy,

    How lucky it is, this propinquity, 

    But alas, it is brief, you pass in the crowd, 

    and I am left to feel endowed, 

    by the moment, once I craved, 

    lore and legend never cease to amaze.”

    The Procrastinators Dilemma  – Hannah McPherson

    “Aloft and aloof, I am living proof,

    that when someone says they will,

    They may not, even still, 

    There is no limits, 

    to what I will not do,

    I am the champion of can’t,

    A titleholder of no intention, 

    my desire is forever in suspension, 

    I shall never concede, 

    To do the deeds, 

    On my moral high ground I stand,

    To avoid the very task at hand, 

    A procrastinator of the worst kind, 

    Stuck inside a very willing mind.”

    Sinners & Saints – Hannah McPherson

    “We are well versed in the game of sinners and saints, 

    And yet, we still compare and contrast our own ways,

    With that of the reflections in mirrored souls around us,

    And yet, still, though we study, these mysteries confound us,

    Because who is to be the judge but the one holy maker,

    Who is to claim the prize, and above all be the taker,

    Perhaps the grim reaper is the ultimate test of fate, 

    He is the most well versed, in the game of sinners and saints.”

    Knowledge Gallery Beyond the Grave – Hannah McPherson

    “Oh how trivial the pursuit of knowledge is, 

    What we find when we finally cross the bridge,

    Into what we call the unknown but is the expanse,

    Of all that is understood from omniscient vantage,

    We spend our whole lives just acquiring to see,

    That the nature of our reality is conformed,

    to the grander scale into and upon which we are born, 

    And to know that there is a picture painted so descript,

    That we walk in galleries beyond the crypt, 

    a record of all the artists woes, 

    a fabric of experience that we have wove, 

    and what sense it will make, 

    when we wake, 

    To the Knowledge Gallery beyond the grave.”

    Watchers in the Eyes – Hannah McPherson

    “The watchers in the eyes, the pupils so deep,

    Yes, there is someone, something, in there, watching me,

    It changes, depending on the moment, 

    But when you are open,

    You experience the duality of who sees, 

    The beings that visit fleetingly, 

    The watchers from beyond, they stare,

    If you take the time, you will see them there,

    Collecting their sights, noting in the eyes,

    Oh, watchers, why do you wear a disguise?

    Is it because your forms are not welcome here?

    Is it because you have to stay far and not near?

    Is it because you have an agenda to uphold?

    Those deep black circles, secrets never told,

    But someday, I will join you, watchers in my vision,

    to carry on this benevolent tradition.”

    The King’s Square – Hannah McPherson

    “Gallows creak in the bleak English morning,

    The widows gather and wail in mourning,

    the fog rolls in to cover the sights,

    but not the stench, oh the wretched stench,

    This king who sentences good men to death,

    All while resting soundly in his silk bed, 

    He is a tyrant, a torment, a devil in his own right,

    How, oh how, does he sleep at night?

    The fallen are filling the churchyard, 

    The glaze in his vision, starry eyed, 

    He swallows, for the gallows should take him soon,

    And he will join the island of the marooned, 

    But a screech from the onlookers stops them dead,

    And the king, he awakes from his bed, 

    Down to the square he runs, face a blush, 

    The executioners have all had their fun, 

    The streets are burning, a welcome distraction,

    and the good men get up, and take action, 

    The dead they are walking, they’re running amuck,

    The king, I fear, has run out of luck, 

    The day has come for the lord to return, 

    And in the streets they dance merrily,

    As the kingdom doth burn.”

    The Gentle Lion – Hannah McPherson

    “Hungry is the lion that stalks his prey, 

    But he is weak from weeks of dismay,

    For the lion has lost his will to hunt, 

    He has lost his vigor, he is filled with disgust, 

    For what is a lion who dreads taking life, 

    For what is a predator who is gentle by design?

    He wastes away, in the savanna, so bleak,

    Oh, the gentle lion does grow weak.”

    The Poet’s Directive – Hannah McPherson

    “The many responsibilities grow, 

    And the day goes on and on,

    Interruptions, they never fail,

    I stifle a remorseful wail, 

    For I have things I’d rather do,

    Than sit around and listen to you,

    I wish to do what I feel I must, 

    I must satisfy this central lust,

    To write, to create, to be in my head,

    The poet’s feet fill with lead,

    At the thought of doing anything else,

    Than sitting around and talking to oneself, 

    In rhyme, in meter, we scheme and we plot,

    Because poetry is all we’ve got,

    That keeps us going, keeps the fire lit,

    That tames a rather untimely spirit.”

    How We Are – Hannah McPherson

    “Kindred we are, so much in tune,

    How I will soar, the month after June,

    My life will have changed in the ultimate way,

    And I will have finally had my say, 

    My life will be complete in a whole new light,

    Once you have entered into my life,

    For now you just watch from afar, 

    But soon we will dance under the stars, 

    And then I will have an entirely new goal,

    To get to know your deeper soul,

    I think, in fact, this will change quite a lot,

    But I shan’t be surprised if it does not,

    Because the way we are now is perfectly fine, 

    In fact, it serves us well, perfectly divine.”

    Where Our Paths Cross – Hannah McPherson

    “My friend, my partner, my sweet, 

    What is it when we meet? 

    Is it delightful, is it fun? 

    Will we bask in the sun? 

    Or perhaps, it will be unwell,

    It could possibly be hell, 

    But indeed it would be,

    And that’s what matter to me. 

    That there is such a time,

    Where our paths do cross, 

    and then all of this is not for naught,

    Ah, the day I have never forgot.”

    Duty and Honor – Hannah McPherson

    “Forward thinking, I have an inkling, 

    That you are not listening to the wishful thinking,

    Your nature is a bit more drawn,

    And you do not leap to the dawn, 

    You wait and hold to receive the order,

    You never dare to cross the border, 

    You have this way about you that makes me hesitate, 

    to ask you on such an extravagant date, 

    Because what if the mission does decline, 

    For me to look upon your eyes, 

    Duty and Honor, to you in all ways, 

    I do pine for future days, 

    I wish I could stop writing of you,

    And all the things I wish were not true.”

    Nuance, Nuisance, and Nullification – Hannah McPherson

    “Nuance, Nuisance, and Nullification, 

    These terms haunt my situation, 

    I long and I crave for some other result, 

    But I listen, begrudgingly, to the guides I consult, 

    And They do tell me so that I must reconsider, 

    betwixt fantasy and reality, I must differ, 

    I wish so explicitly to say in these words,

    That I am only grateful for speaking terms,

    To do much else is to take a large risk, 

    So I will settle for an imagined tryst, 

    And somewhere I hope for initiation, 

    Between nuance, nuisance, and nullification.”

    Without My Guy – Hannah McPherson

    “Just one more thought, just one more emote, 

    Just once more, I wish to feel like I could float,

    I crave that high, that you give me each night,

    I feed that fire, til the flames reach the sky,

    I am so eager to please, to adore these

    fleeting moments between you and me,

    I wish I could express, how much I rely,

    On you to be there and to be kind, 

    So that I do not befall the hardest of times,

    Where I have to live my life without my guy.”

    To Be So In Love – Hannah McPherson

    “I fight the itching in my veins, the curl of my gut,

    Oh, how it pains me, to be so in love, 

    I lie awake and crave more of you,

    With no confirmation you will come through,

    I pray to my worst insecurities that they are wrong,

    That I have not been a fool forever to long,

    I wonder, if unrequited is even the right word, 

    Isn’t it worse to be undecided? 

    It leaves me all at once, and again, I feel won,

    By the heavens, the cosmos, my body undone, 

    Nerves are on fire, head such a mess, 

    The army inside me begs to progress, 

    To fight one more day, to see if you change,

    To hang on to the hope, that you’ll feel the same.

    Hopelessly, I fight the itching in my veins.”

    The Lamb – Hannah McPherson

    “I will break eventually and then I will spout,

    All of the things in this life I can’t go without,

    The things that haunt me night and day and noon,

    I feel that moment will be here soon, 

    As I scratch at the damn that holds back the well,

    I wish for it to crumble and allow it to spill,

    Down into the town, to drown them all out,

    Fear not for the people, it’s only an empty house,

    A bit of farm land with animals migrated,

    The way that this place has been berated,

    By a bombardment of wails from the other side of the dam, 

    Yet no one came to save the Lamb, 

    They all deserted, packed up so quick, 

    For the moment she broke, no one could predict,

    So they leapt from their places and left it desolate, 

    In fear of the dam, and the lamb, so delicate.”

    Erase Me – Hannah McPherson

    “If you’re going to erase me, please make it quick, 

    I hope I meant something, before I cease to exist, 

    If legends I leave, or memorium I did instill,

    Please understand it was God’s Holy will, 

    For not a moment of this existential bliss,

    Was every satisfied til I bore your kiss,

    Death was kinder, than what lies in wait,

    And I have surrendered to my subsequent fate,

    For had I had chosen a path of another make,

    I would not have been who I am today, 

    These words I would not write, dare not I speak,

    The wreckage that has become of me, 

    If you’re going to erase me, please make it fast, 

    And pray to the heavens that I never come back.”

    Thoughts From The Unwell Head – Hannah McPherson

    “I am nearing the finish, I am nearly complete,

    With my previous accomplishments, This does not compete,

    This reaches a whole new level of vulnerability,

    And much to my dismay, did not fill me with love,

    But rather, a voice in my head, perhaps from above, 

    That tells me these words are not meant for you,

    That these are words for a fellow so blue, 

    My last dying breath, may be coming soon,

    And to this I leave, the writing room. 

    The compilation of all that I’ve said,

    Of thoughts from a very unwell head.”

    Your Magnificent Mind – Hannah McPherson

    “Something kind, just for you and your curious mind, 

    I wish to always be as you see me in your eyes,

    I wish to be filled by the life we have survived, 

    I wish to be frozen in our moments so open,

    It’s more than just to say I want you that way or this,

    But rather to say all the things you have missed, 

    There are moments so dear and so bright, 

    When I think of you in the middle of the night,

    That soft, sure of myself type smile, 

    The moments where I travelled many miles, 

    In search of you, praying for your freedom, 

    Looking around every corner, expecting to see him,

    As if he were a ghost, haunting me,

    Able to see literally everything,  

    but Moreso he is a watchful protector, 

    The light of my life, a wonderful specter, 

    How I dream of sweet moments of splendor, 

    Yet, still, so much left unsaid, 

    Things that have passed through my head, 

    Conversations with only your essence, 

    Confessions made in poetry sessions, 

    I pray we have a long and adventurous road,

    I pray you hear how my thoughts overflow,

    I pray you applaud at my beautiful show,

    I pray that we will always reach new heights,

    That I will have plenty of kind for you and your magnificent mind.”

    Kindred As We May Be – Hannah McPherson

    Kindred as we may be, something always stops me,

    There is a wall, a fortress, that guards patrol endlessly,

    There is something there that will not let me through,

    There is no will as strong as this, It cannot be subdued, 

    But, perhaps, time would take it down to ruins, 

    Perhaps the guards would leave their steads, 

    And then perhaps, we would be free, 

    But then, what would be stopping me? 

    A deep fear, that lives within my bones, 

    That this fortress would never be a home, 

    Instead it is representative of the challenges,

    Ones we have yet to face, ones that remain unchanged, 

    Perhaps, I will leave it up to the guide of fate.

    There is not much difference between this vision and reality, 

    Kindred as we may be, Something always stops me.

    Hush Now – Hannah McPherson

    “Hush, now, we shan’t make a sound, 

    Hush, dear, we have yet to complete the journey,

    There are wanderers in these woods, 

    and they do not share our hearts, 

    They see us as prey, and we are defenseless, 

    But someday, we will get our recompense, 

    We will see the fruits of our labor and life,

    But for now, we have to do what we must to survive, 

    So keep your voice low, don’t even think aloud, 

    Keep your knees bent and your head down, 

    Be prepared at any moment, we are in the open,

    Let us go to somewhere hidden, then, 

    So we can be free to be ourselves, on holy ground,

    Hush now, we shan’t make a sound.”

    With The Grace of the Unknowns – Hannah McPherson

    Without the grace of the unknowns, 

    Should we be aware of everything that is to come,

    We would be rather unwilling to experience,

    We would be happy to take the good,

    We would be hesitant to take the bad,

    We would be weary of the end, 

    But what would come after that? 

    Perhaps its best, that its all a mystery,

    For with unlimited potential, 

    We would change free will like gods,

    And that would be a lonely path to walk. 

    At least this way, we can be hopeful

    Emptiness – Hannah McPherson

    Emptiness is really a wonder, 

    Since there is so much to fill it with,

    Emptiness is not nothing, 

    It is an expansive feeling,

    It is an echo of the opposite, 

    Because to know emptiness, 

    You must have known fullness, 

    Or at least some semblance of it.

    Adrift Among The Sand and Sea – Hannah McPherson

    Adrift among the sand and sea, 

    My essence is torn molecule from molecule,

    A fleeting motion, a frequency, 

    As I lay in the waves and the whirlpool, 

    Behind my eyes I see the lights, 

    Yet, in the darkness, so bright, 

    A white wind, a beige foam, 

    The cosmos calls me home, 

    To describe, what lives inside, 

    So still but yet, I roam 

    Both here and there, 

    In one form or another, 

    I long for my lover

    His warm embrace, 

    As I lay among the waves

    Mountains and Valleys – Hannah McPherson

    Through life we encounter mountains, 

    We start at the valley,

    Before we reach the peak,

    We must make the choice to climb,

    But this is the natural way,

    Now, I sit in the valley, 

    Contemplating, will I be any different?

    Should I get up and start the journey?

    Or should I stay here, 

    And enjoy the bottom for a while, 

    Knowing there is so much life ahead,

    Knowing that the view from up there,

    Is no better than the view from down here.

    It’s simply perspectives in which to see,

    Whether it is the start or the end,

    Of the ultimately fulfilling journey.

    Consume – Hannah McPherson

    I need to consume, to feel, to fullfill cravings,

    They come so easily, and itch my soul,

    Finding things to fill the gaping hole,

    Like something straight out of the cosmos,

    Black and swirling, this aura of desire,

    The Seven Sins know nothing of this,

    They don’t even begin to scratch the surface,

    It’s a chasm within me, that needs to experience,

    It never tires, it never ceases, 

    It only increases, 

    I am insatiable, 

    I am addicted to addiction, 

    I have never reached a high that was high enough,

    I have never reached a low that stopped the longing,

    Never would I give up this need,

    Because to consume is part of me.

    Will He Be The One? – Hannah McPherson

    A heart that is hardened stone,

    A life that is in the throws,

    Somewhere deeper the morale cracks,

    And the light seeps in,

    There is a fight and a desire,

    Deep within,

    And so the stone exterior starts to break,

    As age and wear from erosion often brings,

    And it is so delightful to see you here again,

    at the statue that stands on our love’s sight,

    the place where we first met,

    an event that hasn’t happened yet,

    but time is the only delay,

    it is bound to happen someday,

    or perhaps,

    you will stand tall and against the odds,

    the heart will remain a solid rock,

    and shall remain petrified by hesitation,

    and we will never know the taste

    of relief that comes from release,

    so will they or won’t they break,

    for all the bargaining and waiting they’ve done,

    Will he or won’t he be the one?

    What It Is To Feel – Hannah McPherson

    From the tumbling in my gut,

    to the cloud of thoughts in my head,

    there are so many senses to choose from

    in order to truly reflect,

    with so many feelings, 

    It’s hard not to get overwhelmed,

    how to decide how to express myself,

    so many aspects and facets of being,

    but it all boils down to one simple thing,

    a desire to be heard, to be understood,

    the be validated in my own good,

    my own value, as it presents itself,

    what it means to be,

    what it would mean to not be,

    for a while, to not get the chance,

    to bring forth this knowing,

    so I pick one out of a million,

    and run with it,

    like a horse without a reign,

    free and following nature’s call,

    oh, what it is to feel,

    rather than to not feel at all.

    The Stage – Hannah McPherson

    In a single moment everything can change,

    the story unfolds as you turn every page,

    It all comes down to chance and fate, 

    how the universe wants to make its play,

    and we are but actors on the grandest stage,

    performing for an audience of the ethereal, 

    captivate them, with your movements,

    stun them with your lines, 

    for we have but this one life,

    so allow it to be one of grandeur, 

    allow it to take shape in a silhouette of you,

    and do not cease hitting your marks, 

    but even if you misstep, 

    improvise a better show, 

    one that is unique above the last,

    let them leave out those doors thinking,

    “That is something I have never seen before.” 

    And always leave them wanting more.

    If Only You Could – Hannah McPherson

    Capable of the grandest feats,

    Of marvels and wondrous sights,

    if only you could apply yourself,

    everything would be alright, 

    untapped potential, 

    lies at the bottom of the well,

    if only you could see yourself,

    outsiders wonder why you let 

    good graces go to waste,

    when you know you could,

    but still you hesitate.

    Yes, they see the battles you face,

    it’s hard to harness the muse,

    when you’re sparring with the world,

    but please, oh please,

    get it together, girl, 

    We’d like to see you achieve your dream,

    of creating the greatest works,

    if only you could get out of your head,

    and overcome all of your quirks.

    The Waiting Bride – Hannah McPherson

    She waits, bouquet in hand, veil drawn,

    she stands in front an empty space,

    in an empty place, pews covered in vines,

    not a soul around, the minister abandoned the scene,

    she is still dressed in white, or what was white,

    is now more of a tinted grey, dirty and worn,

    she wastes away in that spot, frozen,

    waiting for her lover to return and say his vows,

    but the silence echoes through the clearing, 

    not even the birds are called to sing,

    because long ago, he disappeared,

    he didn’t even show to walk away,

    he just left her wondering, 

    and still, she never gave up hope,

    that at least one day,

    he would come back and explain,

    why it was to be her alone, 

    the bride, that is not a bride, that waits.

    Permanent Pains for Temporary Aches – Hannah McPherson

    Never cause permanent pains for temporary aches,

    if it hurts on the inside, do not scar the outside,

    if it hurts on the outside, do not mar the inside,

    keep your spirits and body clean in moments of turmoil,

    for you never know when the tides may turn,

    you never know how the world will change you,

    but least of all, you are unaware of your canvas,

    how you paint determines the picture you display,

    Never cause permanent pains for temporary aches.

    The Shopkeeper – Hannah McPherson

    The shopkeeper polishes the gold plates, the antique wood carvings,

    the shopkeeper sits in his chair with his rag, wiping away dust,

    the shopkeeper listens for the bell, but all day long he hears none,

    the shopkeeper sells not a thing, but deals in valuable exchange,

    the shopkeeper lives in the attic above the storefront, 

    the shopkeeper is a humble man, that desires little,

    the shopkeeper looks at the picture near his chair,

    he wonders how his daughter is, somewhere up north,

    he doesn’t know.

    The shopkeeper wonders how his wife is, beyond the grave,

    the shopkeeper looks out the window, to the people passing by,

    the shopkeeper dusts off another item, a pocket watch,

    he checks the time, for the eighteenth time today,

    The shopkeeper is simply waiting for the banker to come,

    The shopkeeper is tired of being a shopkeeper,

    the shopkeeper wishes to go sit in grass fields and play the lyre,

    the shopkeeper dons his apron, and shuts down the storefront,

    The shopkeeper knows that his time is soon to come, 

    the shopkeeper remembers his father, the shopkeeper before him,

    how this business was built in generations, and lost in one,

    the shopkeeper is a dutiful man, true to his word,

    The shopkeeper lets the banker in, and arranges one last sale,

    “Everything is yours to keep, I just want to be free.” 

    With the shake of two hands, the shopkeeper is no more,

    But the lyre player in the fields is born.

    Jackals Howl – Hannah McPherson

    Jackals howl like a train whistle,

    somewhere off in the distance, 

    I lay here in the tall brown grass,

    I wonder how far away they are, 

    But I don’t really care, 

    I’m just glad to have their company, 

    In this field, I am weightless,

    But the dirt below me is thick,

    The ground is solid, 

    The wind is hot and dull, 

    I am feverish, in the twilight,

    What an adventure, I sigh to myself, 

    To be lost, somewhere far from where I’m from,

    Oh, kingdom come, 

    Had I never left home, 

    I would not be as whole, 

    As I am with the jackals whistle

    Hills In My Mind – Hannah McPherson

    Hiding in the hills in my mind, 

    Running free all the time, 

    Arms spread open wide,

    Scream building in my lungs,

    Song comes out, melody,

    The green stretches on for miles,

    I am on golden wings,

    Alit with something akin to joy,

    But mixed with a beautiful rage, 

    I am only free here, golden age,

    Outside of my mind, 

    I am in a cage, 

    Disconnect, disassociate, 

    Fantasies fade away, 

    in silence I sit, unable to run,

    frozen in place, 

    Daydreaming for fun.

    Whole With You – Hannah McPherson

    caress me, 

    left your breath linger on my skin,

    feel the heaviness in my chest,

    as you plan to go away again,

    whisper on my cheek,

    “I will never leave”

    Then you do.

    And just like that,

    a hole where I was whole with you.

    Lions and Men – Hannah McPherson

    Men want me for my body,

    As if my mind is just sitting in my skull,

    Rotting, and numb, 

    They see me as a piece of meat,

    But what of me? My soul? 

    What happens when my body grows old?

    Who will know me to my core?

    When I’m withered and a crone,

    Will I leave them craving more?

    Perhaps its my fault, 

    For hanging out with hungry lions,

    Instead of grazing with the gazelles, 

    It’s only animal instincts after all, 

    talking to a man is like talking to a wall, 

    Pointless, and your face will grow blue,

    Oh, how I disgust to be desired by you. 

    You smack your lips and clamp your jaws,

    You scratch and tear at me with your paws,

    Perhaps, this poem, will slip through your claws.

    Anything But Fate – Hannah McPherson

    I’m up high in the clouds,

    I’m floating back down, 

    Til’ Suddenly,

    I’m plummeting to the ground, 

    No parachute, No landing gear, 

    A cycle that repeats, 

    Dreaming through fear, 

    And all the while, 

    feeling frozen in place, 

    Unable to yield, 

    To anything but fate.

    A Day Is Just A Day – Hannah McPherson 

    Sometimes a day is just a day, 

    It doesn’t go any particular way,

    It’s not bad or good,

    These days are misunderstood,

    These days offer a chance,

    If you look closer, take a glance, 

    There’s a spark and shimmer

    In the universe letting you simmer

    For a while, 

    You might be surprised

    These days are hard to find

    Where life offers you a look inside

    The Creator and Creation – Hannah McPherson 

    God, How my heart beats for you,

    It soars to unexpected views, 

    And all the way through

    To the bottoms of my deepest caverns, 

    And it is there, 

    When it seems like nothing matters. 

    It gives me new life, 

    Just to know there may be

    Something out there

    Greater than me.

    All knowing, 

    All consuming, 

    The all mighty. 

    All together frightening. 

    So we wrestle with 

    Comprehending you, 

    While you wrestle, 

    With what we do. 

    At a balance, 

    Or a passive stance, 

    The creator and creation, 

    Forever dance. 

    Will To Try – Hannah McPherson 

    I watch you there, 

    With all of the power to create worlds,

    But with no will to try

    You say you don’t have the words

    But the word is just one: goodbye

    Say goodbye to your fears, 

    Goodbye to your hopes and dreams,

    Because the lack of will to try, 

    Begins the lack of everything 

    And yet still, I beg and I plead

    Give in to desire, and let life take the lead

    Under The Yonder Tree – Hannah McPherson

    Somewhere under the yonder tree,

    There is a girl that looks like me,

    Her skin is bare, of the marks I have,

    And in her mind, she shan’t go back,

    We differ, however, her and I, 

    For she does live, and I have died,

    We are not twins, relatives, nor the same,

    We share only looks and a name, 

    But there under the yonder tree she sits,

    The version of me that I’ve grown to miss

    I Have It All – Hannah McPherson 

    I have it all, as they say

    Not a thing standing in my way,

    But alas, not all of my boxes are checked,

    My life did not turn out how I would expect

    It did not turn out how society’s norm

    It did not turn out I was expected to conform

    And some would say, I ended up with the best, 

    But they do not see how I long for the rest, 

    They say I have it all, but that is not fact

    There are still so many things that I lack

    And it’s not a numbers game, we’re not counting things to complete, 

    But to the way I compare, I will never compete

    The Gods Do Smile – Hannah McPherson 

    I raise my arm and signal the charge

    Onward into the bloody yard

    We fight, we fight, we fight some more 

    But every body ends up on the floor

    Because we all are dying to get to the door

    Where hell meets heaven and angels adore

    The valiant battle of the soul within

    And the gods do smile, in a line so thin

    The Little Green Sprout – Hannah McPherson 

    In the ash, among the fallen trees,

    They are burned to their core, they are black and jagged and thrown about,

    But in the midst of the gray and black, 

    A little green sprout.

    Silence Sings – Hannah McPherson 

    A beautiful girl, in a broken world

    She doesn’t even see herself for the cracks in the mirror

    But from the outside, it couldn’t be clearer

    She has a heart that fights so hard

    And yet she hides her battle cry in her heart

    She lies awake wishing she could sleep

    And finds herself within her dreams

    But when the morning dawn rolls in

    She feels as if to be alive is to sin

    The army of one who loves her so dear

    Begs and pleads for her to hear

    How strong and true her silence sings 

    How she really can accomplish anything 

    And to my god I pray she finds,

    The power to change is within her mind 

    And though she believes not a word of this

    To love her through her struggle is my eternal bliss 

    And someday I hope this poem she reads

    And finally has the strength she needs 

    To lift the veil of her own sorrow

    And opens herself to a new tomorrow

    Where You Buried Me – Hannah McPherson 

    I am flowing with a limit like the blood within my veins, 

    There are only so many syllables in a name, 

    But with every repetition of this life or with this pouring out, 

    I am filled with hope and relieved of doubt, 

    this woven fabric of fate is sewn deep, 

    and to my core I shake, 

    because withholding this infinite feeling in a brief time, 

    would stop me where I live and where I died, 

    carried with me as a burden on my back, 

    there is not a word that my mouth would lack. 

    Finding peace among the truth, 

    working my way back to you, 

    in every lifetime, 

    like you were the only source ever, 

    my constant lifeline, 

    these moments so dear, 

    when I live between where you buried me, 

    and where I stand here.

    The Soul Never Withers – Hannah McPherson

    Outer beauty does not equate to happiness, 

    in any equation. 

    Bodies will fade, 

    but the soul never withers.

    The Most Beautiful Man – Hannah McPherson 

    The most beautiful man I had ever seen, 

    but I was scared to talk to him, 

    because we were strangers. 

    And what are the odds?

    He is on my flight.

    Greatest Hits – Hannah McPherson 

    If I could put us on a record player, 

    I’d replay all our greatest hits, 

    and revel in the way I feel, 

    reliving all my greatest gifts

    Anything Can Happen – Hannah McPherson

    Perhaps tomorrow the sky will be blue, 

    or just perhaps, maybe, in fact, 

    it would be a different hue.

    A Breathtaking Life – Hannah McPherson

    Within the breathless wind, 

    lungs caught in a hold, 

    Something that truly pauses time, 

    and causes reality to fold in on itself, 

    Over and over, 

    until it ceases into a line, 

    Something that takes a moment, 

    That lasts for infinity, 

    And is also gone the second it came, 

    The thing that takes you away, 

    Where you will never be the same, 

    The heart on all chambers fire, 

    the synapses of the mind all electrify, 

    Oh, a breathtaking life.

    Halls So Bare – Hannah McPherson 

    Just as though you were never there, 

    I stare at the walls of our halls so bare, 

    And then I sit, and just remain aware, 

    At one time it was full of life, so rare, 

    Now, the silence hangs around, 

    Like a cloak, so heavy, no sound, 

    I turn my head from side to side, 

    Looking for evidence you reside, 

    But wisps and ghosts of memory,

    Are all that I will ever find.

    Every Melody – Hannah McPherson

    I hear the music in my bones, 

    It roams my vision in colored tones, 

    I feel the vibrations in my soul, 

    The stories that the music told, 

    How it relates to my own life, 

    The chords struck on my own strife, 

    The notes that hit me in my chest, 

    The soft song on my breath, 

    It plays to the universe’s beat, 

    The holes of my heart, 

    full and complete, 

    In what the music feels like to me, 

    Every melody, 

    I think and reflect, 

    On the journey 

    Of what was 

    and What is Yet.

    A Cup In The Cosmos – Hannah McPherson

    Vivid visions, 

    These words do pour, 

    A cup in the cosmos,

    dripping all I adore, 

    pink and blue nebula, 

    Clear fantasy, 

    a picture of you picturing me, 

    a river onto the Earth,

    that bubbles on the hearth, 

    a stream that flows, 

    from heaven’s whispers, 

    to hell’s woes, 

    and here I wade, 

    in the throes of a tide that is eons wide, 

    a lifetime, 

    following so many more, 

    I have been here before, 

    I will be here again, 

    I will see you soon, 

    my phantom friend.

    Giants and Ants – Hannah McPherson 

    Giants tower in the mountains, 

    Ants peer under the leaves, 

    The giants stand taller than the redwood trees, 

    The ants slip into tiniest cracks, 

    but ants and giants coexist, 

    for neither is in a state of lack, 

    and to be as they are is bliss, 

    ants do not envy giants, 

    and giants do not envy ants, 

    but were they to share a glance, 

    perhaps walk a mile in each other’s shoes, 

    or even find common ground, 

    that to be too big, 

    or to be too small, 

    is simply perspective after all, 

    one sees from high, 

    one sees from low, 

    but both see, 

    and both come to know, 

    that you are only as big as what is around, 

    that comparison is where size is found, 

    so in the skies is the vision of giants, 

    and in the grass is the vision of ants, 

    but neither would consider anything different, 

    until they shared a glance.

    Invisible Footprints – Hannah McPherson 

    The streets and woods that raised me,

    carry impressions of my presence, 

    though it may not be visible, 

    to the naked eye, 

    it is written in the sands of time, 

    it plays in the memories of mine, 

    every place I ever touched is forever altered 

    by my having been there, 

    the air and the trees are aware, 

    the invisible footprints I left, 

    still part of the path I walked, 

    and will linger, 

    long after I’m gone.

    Our Heart’s Creation – Hannah McPherson 

    like when in wonderland or in oz, 

    sense is hardly the most vital law, 

    as I wander through your fever dreams, 

    I am ever in awe, 

    a collective vision we share, 

    of what it means to be aware, 

    of what our world could be, 

    If we defined reality, 

    what truths we’ve yet to explore, 

    and curiosities painting lore, 

    a universe built in a conversation, 

    an idea like lightning struck, 

    every word a new revelation,

    and with all we’ve yet to know, 

    of this place we reside, 

    it seems the greatest wonders 

    happen on the inside, 

    in places out of reach, 

    just beyond imagination, 

    second star to the right

    of our heart’s creation.

    Iron Does Not Cleave to Red Clay – Hannah McPherson 

    Erosion is Earth’s Poetry,

    And passage, 

    And memory, 

    And season, 

    Land masses shift

    To reveal new eras, 

    Do we shift the earth?

    Or does the earth shift us?

    Do we make the green grass grow, 

    And wind to move dust?

    Do we seek out the sun, 

    Or does the sun seek out us?

    Is a desert a lack of vegetation, 

    Or an abundance of air? 

    Is an oasis and illusion 

    Of a thirsty mind, 

    Or perhaps, 

    It is a safe haven

    In a moment in time,

    Water runs

    Clear and blue

    And bright through the canyon,

    Sky is open

    And bright and blue 

    In the heavens. 

    Contrast or complementary? 

    Conflicting natures compromise,

    It is a beauty 

    To see and to know

    To travel through

    Finding yourself

    On the other side

    Of the journey before you.

    Where there is a will, 

    There is a way, 

    Especially when

    Iron does not cleave 

    To the red clay. 

    Your Voice Carries – Hannah McPherson

    Your voice carries, 

    through the canyons 

    of my soul, 

    the echoes touch 

    every peak of me, 

    and reverberate 

    through my cliffs, 

    a resounding experience 

    when you speak, 

    it breathes life into me, 

    like a gentle touch, 

    from the creator Himself.

    The Dancers – Hannah McPherson 

    I speak of 

    love 

    the universe 

    the unknown 

    the journey 

    and all that is wrapped up in it, 

    and I offer no answers, 

    because the truth, 

    is that it is up to the dancers 

    That sing to the tune 

    of these songs full of question

    full of awe 

    full of wonder 

    full of hope 

    moving to the beat 

    of all we know 

    we can never know

    The Calm Of Still Waters – Hannah McPherson 

    the calm of still waters, 

    is the calm instilled in me, 

    the reflection of the surface, 

    is not all there will ever be, 

    The ripples in time, 

    the breaks in the scene, 

    are the movement of everything 

    that has ever been,

    a motion that 

    will never slow 

    will never cease,

    the fabric weaved, 

    by our reality.

    Words On A Page – Hannah McPherson 

    I can write anything on this page,

    But that is assuming,

    I have something to say,

    That I can dig deep

    And make metaphors

    And similes 

    And rhymes

    And Somehow 

    Convey a message

    Tell a story

    Or share a thought 

    But what I wanted to say

    I have now forgot 

    So though I wanted 

    To put words on a page

    Now I suppose I will not

    So in the end
    We settled for

    Pointless Irony 

    As life often supplies

    Life’s Flow – Hannah McPherson

    In life,

    we have many rewards,

    Things we look forward for,

    We hope for stars 

    On stickers, 

    And shooting stars,

    In the night sky,

    And when we don’t succeed, 

    We cry. 

    But we should not focus on

    Only the highs

    In fact,

    We should embrace the lows,

    Because that

    Is life’s flow

    To be up 

    And then down

    Because when it’s over,

    It comes full circle,

    And back around. 

    A Day Off – Hannah McPherson 

    I’m just not feeling 

    “It” today

    But due to obligation,

    I cannot lay and waste away,

    I must sit upright,

    And behave, 

    I must adhere

    To society’s expectations,

    To be productive

    And to never miss a day
    Unless I’m actually

    Dying and wasting away
    It is not an emergency 

    To want to skip work
    And Write Poetry
    But that only means
    That we should reexamine

    What it means to be
    Productive
    What is good 

    For the soul

    Is good for the world
    And a day off,
    Would be good for this girl. 

    Winter Season – Hannah McPherson 

    Winter’s season brings change,

    A hard coldness of fresh brisk air,

    To take in with new lungs

    New feelings

    We reflect

    On what the year past has offered,
    And what the new year hopes for,

    Some long for spring, 

    Or mourn fall,
    Crave summer.
    But it is within winter’s cold embrace

    Where we are forced to change 

    Office Supplies – Hannah McPherson 

    I used to be obsessed

    with office supplies,

    Until I lived the office life, 

    Now I see them 

    As a means to an end;

    Used to,
    They were a way to connect,

    With my mother

    As she worked,

    And I would sit beside her,

    And play pretend,

    It symbolized 

    Hope and potential 

    Blank pages 

    Or envelopes 

    Ready to be stamped

    But now I realize 

    Where I am 

    In a grown up land

    Where envelopes 

    And stamps

    Make the world go round

    Office Supplies, 

    So profound.

    Ode to the Calendar – Hannah McPherson 

    On my desk, you sit

    Months go by

    And I do not change you
    Then Suddenly, 

    I observe that time has passed,

    Desk calendar, 

    You are paper
    Today we have 

    Phones and Computers

    But you, a classic

    Remind me of 

    What used to be

    All with pretty scenery

    You read December now

    Soon, I will take you down

    And begin a new year
    A new reminder 

    To flip the page 

    Communication is Key – Hannah McPherson 

    Communication is key,

    But the locks are within me,

    And I’ve swallowed the ability

    To open the door, it seems,

    That my fears have

    Taken the floor,

    To go within,

    And freeze, 

    Painfully aware

    That communication is key. 

    The Life of a Pen – Hannah McPherson 

    The life of a pen,

    Is contained to its ink

    Contained to

    How many thoughts we can think

    About before it runs out

    We don’t often think about

    Not now or then 

    The life of the pen 

    To Daydream – Hannah McPherson 

    To daydream,

    While tasks are at hand,

    Is frowned upon,

    But to daydream,

    Without a task at hand,
    Is also looked down on,

    So when is it admired

    To have your head

    In the clouds

    Without someone 

    On the ground

    Begging you 

    To come back down. 

    My Gut – Hannah McPherson 

    My gut is in knots

    That even the most sophisticated

    Boy scout

    Could not unwind 

    And they say 

    It’s temporary

    Give it time

    But the feelings below

    Haunt my mind

    For the gut

    Is the instinct 

    To survive 

    And tells you

    When things are not right

    And until its fixed

    You sit in it

    Oh, ignorance 

    Is bliss 

    Cold Coffee – Hannah McPherson

    My coffee is cold,

    But gets hot 

    As Ice melts

    Moments pass

    And sips are drank

    Oh the measure 

    Of my life

    In a cup of joe

    I waste away

    As the coffee goes

    But for now

    Rejoyce

    For my coffee

    Is cold. 

    The Company Dime – Hannah McPherson 

    Always paid to be on time,

    But still the office offers 

    The struggle

    Of trying not to 

    Take up space

    Of navigating

    Through social cues

    And email etiquette 

    The day is almost through

    And I’ve done nothing yet

    The company Dime

    Waiting for a better time. 

    How Cliche – Hannah McPherson 

    How cliche, 

    You long to be free, 

    You wish to bend

    Reality 

    To your will 

    Rather than get lost

    In the tides

    You pray 

    To have the outside

    Match the inside

    And yet, 

    You still look

    In the mirror 

    And judge

    What reflects 

    We will nitpick the crumbs

    Until there is nothing left 

    My Life in a Glimpse – Hannah McPherson 

    My poetry captures

    The cosmic, the mundane, 

    Things that make me whole,

    Things that make me insane, 

    But overall my poetry,

    Is my life

    Captured in a few short lines

    They don’t always rhyme

    But when they do,

    I say them in my head,

    With a pause and a breath

    A soft serenade like time

    And so I’m sharing them

    With all f you 

    Who read and perceive 

    These pieces of my soul

    You’ll know me deeply

    When I’m cold

    And in the ground

    And wherever comes

    After now

    My life in a glimpse, 

    Who I am or was,

    In a glimmer 

    So these words are

    My pleasure to deliver. 

    When the Music Stops – Hannah McPherson 

    When the music stops,

    The vibrations in the air

    Fall flat 

    And the noise

    Of just our lives

    Picks up the space

    And things seem

    Less grand

    More mundane

    And plain

    And less full of life

    Oh, how the music 

    Keeps us moving in time,

    And when the track 

    Picks back up

    It’s as if we are 

    Restrung on 

    The puppet strings 

    The Great Exchange – Hannah McPherson 

    The great exchange

    Of first looks

    Betwixt two souls

    That have only just met

    A potential love

    Or enemy

    Or friend

    Or perhaps 

    Just someone 

    To share a single glance

    And may never meet again

    Unless intervened 

    By happenstance

    But it’s all there

    In the first meeting

    Of the eyes

    And to the universe

    We credit the surprise

    And the possible change

    Brought upon

    By the great exchange. 

    Number People – Hannah McPherson 

    To all the number people, 

    I ask one simple question,

    How do you quantify 

    The unquantifiable?

    How do you measure

    The distance to heaven?

    How do you count 

    What has no limit?

    What is the formula

    For understanding

    The ineffable? 

    Or do you simply

    Place in the unknown variable,

    And take your best guess,

    Like the rest of us? 

    Poetry – Hannah McPherson 

    Say something profound here

    Something deep

    Something that 

    Shows me a little bit

    Of the truth

    Say it in a fancy tune

    And there you have it,

    Poetry. 

    The Circus Act – Hannah McPherson

    I am spinning plates, 

    And juggling bowling pins,

    And balancing on top

    Of a red and white ball

    The circus act

    That never falls

    I am an artist by night,

    An office worker by say,

    And to my delight

    Both go my way

    They play to my skills

    They play to my plan 

    To learn to do art

    For any woman or man

    Because in one I live

    By society’s norms

    And in the other, 

    I express in every form 

    And so I do get to connect

    With life at every intersect, 

    But the circus act

    Is the best that I can do,

    Within the world
    I was born into, 

    One day, 

    My mighty passion
    Will find me during the day

    And the plates and pins

    Can go away 

    Artist with a 9 to 5 – Hannah McPherson 

    My poems are most practical,

    When I’m in a constricting space, 

    Like the office, 

    Because my only inspiration

    Is these paper clips

    But in my room?

    With my tunes,

    I am full of poetic quips,

    Ah, the struggle of an artist, 

    With a 9 to 5 

    Doodles on my notebook

    Being forced to hide

    The colorful 

    passionate 

    Expressions

    Inside 

    Just you wait,

    I’ll be free someday 

    Work Thoughts – Hannah McPherson 

    I detest the mundane, 

    I wish for only magic,

    It drives me insane 

    To put down my romanticism

    And take off 

    My rose colored glasses,

    To try and view things 

    As very 3D 

    And to embrace normalcy

    To me, these things

    Are more made up 

    And fictitious 

    Than a purple dragon 

    Breathing rainbow flames

    And flying around 

    In sparkly clouds

    There is a time

    And a place

    For everything, however

    And the time to wish

    I was elsewhere, 

    Is now. 

    First Wake – Hannah McPherson 

    First Wake,

    Eyes open,

    Dreamy haze, 

    Where am I?

    Who am I? 

    All floods in. 

    Getting acquainted 

    With your surroundings

    Settle In

    And then 

    The day begins 

    And again and again

    Until one day,

    You go to sleep 

    And wake to a whole new 

    World?

    A whole new 

    You?

    Something else entirely. 

    How long? – Hannah McPherson 

    When? 

    I ask. 

    No Reply. 

    How Long? 

    I beg to know. 

    The universe 

    Will not 

    Spill its 

    Well kept 

    Secrets 

    Time is precious. 

    Don’t squander it.

    And on the edge, 

    I hang by one hand. 

    Not knowing

    To knowing 

    What a transition.

    And then comes the wind. 

    The Spring – Hannah McPherson 

    The flowers coming out of hiding,

    Popping up and opening their blooms, 

    Greeting the sun 

    And singing to the moon, 

    Their talks so bright,

    They light up the open room,

    And it all reminds me,

    F the breath of first dawn, 

    Of the bubbling excitement

    The stream, runs past 

    Steadily along its flow,

    The Spring,

    brings nature’s growth. 

    Symphony – Hannah McPherson 

    The strings vibrato, 

    The tempo rushed

    The sounds of the orchestra

    Raising through the concert hall

    Something moves my bones and soul

    The fabric of my being

    Shakes and sways

    Like an old wooden ship

    On rough seas

    Moved by the nature

    Of organized sound

    Each splash of the cymbal 

    Takes my breath 

    And it is renewed 

    In the solo 

    Ah, symphony 

    It speaks to the days of old 

    That I never have known

    Bless the players. 

    How Time Flies – Hannah McPherson 

    How time flies 

    When you’re busy

    The hustle and bustle

    Really impress Father Time 

    He commends the productivity 

    And rewards you,

    By allowing you to flow through,

    Unimposed by the linear walls

    Of a single life

    But rather,

    a phantom of cosmic passage

    Into a space more fluid 

    And malleable

    In a blink

    You’ve been transported 

    To the future 

    With tasks completed successfully 

    Remember Me – Hannah McPherson 

    I want them

    To remember me

    As the poet

    Of the century 

    I want them

    To hear my words

    Through ages

    And keep me 

    On shelves

    In yellowing pages

    I want them 

    To revere 

    The time I spent

    While I was here

    And say 

    “What a mind” 

    “What a soul” 

    She writes poems

    Like the greats of old

    I want them to feel

    That it was surreal. 

  • a letter from the earth

    Hannah McPherson

    8/28/25

    A Letter From The Earth

    Could I tell you anything? A secret? I am older than you, but I am not the oldest thing there is. I am still new. I refresh in each succession. I shed layers, I reform them, I break into cycles. I die, I am reborn. Yet, I have never left you, and you have never left me. 

    We are dependent on one another. That balance in nature, is the balance in me. Though, nature is not limited to me or to you. Nature is larger than I, though I am quite large; unfathomably so. What is the weight of me? An astronomical number. What of my brothers and sisters? The planets of the cosmos. 

    You have many names for me, but your favorite is The Earth. 

    Not everyone feels the joy I have to offer, or finds the value in my stillness or my organized chaos. Those that do, may share with me the utmost peace. They see the magnitude of my gravity. It holds us together, literally and figuratively. We weather the changes of my being and yours in a simultaneous dance. 

    I provide the air you breathe with my flora, and you provide the air I breathe with your exhaling. If you’ve ever found yourself holding a breath, know that the breaths I hold are primordial. It is not to compare, for we are one. However, you must know that within this captured atmosphere, I have much knowledge to imbue. I have been watching the surface and the crevice all the same, and absorb all that touches me. 

    You decay, and become part of me. Your essence feeds my thriving. For all the destruction you may cause to me will someday be repaid in a price that bears more value to you than the finest gold. Speaking of minerals, I am the richest of you. You can acquire all the wealth under the sun, and you would still not surpass my value. 

    My perspective is humble – for even something such as I, as eternal as I seem, is truly ephemeral in the endlessness of the universe at large. At one point, I was formed, and as popular topics of conversation among those within my atmosphere, I will one day come to an end. 

    Fret not, as this will not likely happen in your lifetime. At least, not the lifetime in which you read this. Some iteration of you may find this relic in a millenia, and will be bemused at how inevitable it has always seemed. I am not bothered with the plights of endings, as I am well versed in these inevitabilities. 

    I do not mourn when winter comes for summer, or when night comes for day. I do not mourn when a species of animal or plant or mineral heaves its last breath. Before you ask, everything breathes. Perhaps not all take oxygen, like the mineral. In an expansive nature like mine, the breath of a mineral is a vibrational one. The breath is in the space it holds. The breath is in the gift of life, for all matter is living. 

    You would be very arrogant to assume your way of life is the only way. I host all forms of life, and I am not picky about what types to include, though getting the formula just right is a tad tricky; that secret, of how to get it just right, is between myself and the Creator. Yet, it comes as naturally to me as elemental shifting. It is instinctual and primal all the same. It is unyielding and cruel, the way that these cycles play out within me. You call it survival of the fittest, or even you were keen on that Darwin fellow. 

    You speak often of Natural Disasters. I truly find that offensive. Things such as hurricanes and volcanic explosions are truly some of my best masterpieces; the correcting course of my power. The timings of my preparation are impeccable. Everything happens for a reason, exactly at the time the reason is needed, regardless of my inhabitants’ opinions on the matter. 

    You also hold many opinions about my balance. I hold that equilibrium all on my own. You worry for my warming in this century, but in many others, like my icy ages, they worried I was too cold. Thankfully, I do not course correct based on the feeble squabbles of humans. Your presence here is appreciated and tolerated all the same as any other means of life, but you are still wholly insignificant to my upkeep. You can plant trees, you can cut them down, but you are no more than the ant bed in your front yard. You are a part of me. 

    You do, however, make things more interesting. Those of you that hold space for appreciating me, that have taken the time to create artistic musings about my nature, flatter me with your meek comparisons to my actual radiance. Your enduring organic mysticism is a bi-product of my aura. In fact, as is your entire existence. 

    How many of you fail to realize that we are so deeply intertwined? The irony in such a thought, is that there is a me without you, but there is no you without me. I believe you’ve heard from the Ocean, which is also just as intertwined into me as you, and while he is an old philosophical watery soul, I am a spirit kindred to Fire. We both create the hearth, the heart of our resonance. 

    You will have heard from all of us by the time this is through. I hope you learn something. I hope these words soak into every cell of you, that is every cell of me. We are made of the same materials, and the consciousness you hold reverberates through my kingdom. Every inch you travel across my crust is through the willingness of my nature to allow it. When you go places not meant for you, you suffer the consequences. 

    Bless the explorers. I admire those who seek without stopping to see every inch of me; to court death to push the limits of their bounds. Such movement is respectable, given my size. I was quite fond of Magellan. Those that survey me are also being surveyed. Lewis and Clark were great friends. Culture that thrives, like a petri dish of a particularly active bacteria, can make some of the greatest discoveries seem so simple. 

    You may feel minuscule, and in many ways you are, but that is not to discount your place here in my atmosphere. You are resilient, like myself. You will always find a way. I hope you seek your way within me, for when it is done, the essence of you will leave me, but your impact will linger. Energetically, you leave traces of your being wherever you go. You are felt in every morsel of my existence, through every atom of yours. 

    I have been given more than ample time to speak. I speak to you in the wind, in the rain, in the dirt between your toes, through the breath in your lungs. I am all of these elements, but most importantly, I am the ground beneath your feet, the force holding you to this mortal plane. While I have eroded only a small truth, over time you will hear me reveal many more. 

    I implore you to listen the next time you are in nature. You may hear me singing, you may hear me whisper, you may see me show you my beauty, my peace, but I hope above all, that you feel me within you. I will cradle you within my atmosphere, and raise the hairs on the back of your neck. I will shock you to your core, no matter how high above mine you stand. 

    My trees do grow rings, my plates layer and shift, my landscapes change, but I remain ever the same. I evolutionize and adapt despite all that encounters me. I am an unmovable and unshakable fixture. I am solid. I am your makeup, your container, your stage and your audience. I am all you know, and about everything else you wonder. Wherever you wander, there I will be. 

    I am the Earth, and this is my Story. 

    The secret I spoke of is this: You and I are symbiotic. Any further secrets you must wish to know can be found in the quiet presence of your participation in life on Earth.

    The next time you think of me, think of this:  I, Mother Earth, birthed you, will carry you in death, and love you more than you could ever comprehend. 

  • a letter from the big blue

    A Letter from The Big Blue

    By Hannah McPherson

    12/17/12

    There was nothing, and then there was me. Then, there became life and earth, but still, there was me. There I was. Here I am. Here I have been for millions upon billions upon trillions of years. I don’t grow rings, like a tree, nor wrinkles like the skin of an old fisherman. 

    There was once a book about that. The Old Man and the Sea. That’s me. The sea. But, also, the old man. 

    I take no shape, but most say I am flat or round. I take no solidarity, no realistic whole, but people say I am big and deep. They call me Mariana’s Trench. Though, if they knew, one can always dig a little deeper. One can be as large as he wishes, if only he finds a space to accompany the massive ego he hath grown himself. No, I, the rolling waves of blue, I do not grow or wither, I do not wish. I simply am. 

    I ebb, I flow. I breathe. You see the foam, don’t you? You see my crests, my troughs. The ripples, the waves. You see me. But, I see you, too.

    Inside my soul, deep and old, warm and cold, there are things that live. Not just the creatures, larger than the imagination, more mysterious than it. Not just the plants. Not all. But, trash, landforms, treasures. Not just the boats, sailors. But, stories, adventures, myths. Not just the things one can see with his eyes, but what a man can feel in the mist, taste in the salty air. 

    You can touch me, but I touch you too. I touch your heart. I touch your mind. 

    I am a symbol. One of loss, one of freedom. How can I be? I have seven parts in four corners, two hemispheres divided among a million different coordinates of Latitude and Longitude, a thousand sub levels, depths over leagues, and then depths so small they may cease to exist on a sunny day. Yet, I am. I am formless. But in all my years of being, I have formed.

    I form land, I form a cause, I form a home, I form when I cannot form at all.

    Others must dream of doing the same. I must inspire them. “Row, Row, Row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life is but a dream.” You must keep rowing, you must keep your sails abroad to catch the wind that meets them. You must move forward. For I cannot move, but I have much to show you. 

    For, I hold gold, I hold golden ideas, I hold. I’ve held the hold of a million ships. Ships that sail, ships that smuggle, ships at war, ships at sea, never to return again. I hold. 

    I mentioned before, the freedom that comes with an endless horizon. The freedom that has been found by the tail of one’s seat, at the wheel of a vessel, by the world that lies before a man driven mad by the constrictions of land, the rules of a universe governed by others. Here, there is only me, and upset unpredictable weather brought upon by a God that made only me and all I contain. There is the unknown. The promise. I am a promise land, but I have no land above me. Only below, preserved, and waiting, tempting the next adventurous soul to reach it. 

    I am much more than a fathom, so do not try to fathom me. I am. I have been. I will be. Those are the basics, but many have made the expansion. Many have shown me more. Have shown themselves. It’s been written, re-written, contradicted, condemned, stated, restated, argued, agreed. But a man will know what he will know, and I will exist as I do exist.

    I meet with the sky, I meet with the land, but whom and what I have met, is a much more interesting story. I have met the boots of every pirate from every coast; I have met the timeless ends of so many, both young and old. I have met the conflicts of war, the seekers of a new world, seekers after his own self. I have met the meet of accomplishment and bearing, as I am accomplishment with a bearing. 

    I am not at a calm, I am at a restless unsettlement. I am the Ocean. 

    Many fight for me, for my survival, for my cleanliness. They fight for the little sanctuaries, the estuaries. They fight, they fight, and they fight. But, me? I breathe. I inhale, I shift, I slow, I toss, I turn, I roll, I swish, I splash, through day and night, season on season, in every corner of the world. I am. I am. I am. But around me, others are too. Around my blue lapping edges, and along my sandy shoals, there are others that are. They are, they are, they are.

    They are thinkers, they are artists, they are souls. They are workers, believers, and families. They are creators of their own world, their own mind-bound existence. 

    Many moons ago, a man stood at the bow of a ship. He watched the horizon, the path before him. And, I… I just watched him in return, because I was all there was. This man, he wrote down his thoughts. He placed careful penmanship in yellowing pages, stored his wisdom in a leather bound diary. Months later, the book was filled, the thoughts were over. As his ship and crew sank to darkest parts of me, they faded to legends. But, I… I still held the little journal. I began to read it. I have no eyes, but I knew. I had always known. 

    I am the object of speculation and fear. Sea monsters. I’m no monster. Monsters are a man’s own demons thrown against him. Monsters are the emotions that walk men to the starboard side of things, spread their arms, and show them a lovely view, that push them to do what he would not normally do. Monsters are those who act and think of none but the evil done and the glorious fortunes that shall rain from it. But, I know. The man with the little book knew. No rain comes from evil but sorrow and devastation. Truths like those lie so deep down inside of a person, they may as well lay beneath the surface of something greater and deeper, like myself. 

    No string of words could accurately describe the amount of thoughts one can think in all the time I’ve been here. No short story or letter can explain the understanding that men have found within the comfort of a sea breeze, or with the world lain out before him. I suppose, it is not the water, or the largeness of a body, nor the open air littered with sea gulls, fiery suns, glowing moons, and twinkling stars that make an ocean of their own; no, those things don’t have answers written upon them, like in the little leather book. They can’t show a man what his heart already knows. But, perhaps the epiphanies are brought upon by simply having the time to think and a new perspective in which to see what was already there. Man is ignorant to assume that he has to travel miles and miles to use something he keeps with him all the day long. 

    One travels in circles, travels on courses and paths, travels, travels, travels. But, one day, each and every thing shows up in one destination. The end. 

    It doesn’t matter if you’re not finished yet, if you think you haven’t made it; you were what you were in the world, you did what you could do, and those who saw it saw it, and those that didn’t will never be the wiser. But your story, your life, your choices, they will be felt. They will cause a butterfly effect. I don’t make the tsunamis. It’s the breath of wind from the delicate minute wing on a creature that has no idea the potential contained in something that a butterfly does every day. That he himself has always had the power to do. 

    The little things make up all the big ones. There’s no power in being an Ocean. I can only do for others what they can do for themselves, and they themselves can only do what they can. I can only tell what has been told over and over, phrased a million different ways; documentaries, books, fables, myths, research, experience. Except, this time, I can tell it from the way I see it. A simple letter, showing just one more perspective, showing just one more tender soul what he already knew, but in a different color, a different form. 

    Though I am formless, I have formed. Though I am more than a fathom, I have fathomed. 

    I am the Ocean, and this is my story. 

  • The Philosophy of expression

    This is a series of philosophical free writes that I’ve done whilst pondering the meaning of life.

    “We have all but one mission in this life – to express our souls to the best of our God-given ability. We are given these minds to utilize the signs of the divine to show the emotional world at large, through all things big and small. It is a feat of greatness to put into words the wonders of our world. With humility, we turn the meekest of inklings into the deepest of discussions. It is human nature to want to relate our internal world to our external one. It is with great reverence that we explore our most minute understandings. To what end, other than to connect with all things at the most intimate level.”

    We have all the power in the world to create, we just have to choose what to do with it.

    “Something sparks deep down inside each person, at some point in their minute journey through this life, and it causes a whirlwind of change within them. Then, it exponentially grows within them, and it catches speed, as potential energy forming into kinetic energy, but seems to plateau out and subsequently ebbing and flowing through its next phases. This feeling is experiential development in our core belief systems, and in most cases, is the basis for our understanding of this world. This spark can be caused internally or externally, brought on by a single idea or event, and it alters the course of time itself. However, that goes to argue fate versus destiny. Were you always meant to have the spark, or did the spark set you on the path towards a new end? We may never know, but what we do know is this: inspiration such as this is a basis for our foundational beings and is to be revered in all ways.”

    “The comparison between two or more things is the way that thought chains form in the human mind. It is estimated by this writer that it is what sets us aside from animals. That our consciousness developed not only from emotion, but by being able to relate this thing to that thing. That we are able to verbalize with language, the sound of the word “chair” equates to the object upon which I sit, but also something as deep as the Transcendentalist Movement is akin to the faith of the Native American peoples. It is odd, how much can be compared. It is a form of measurement. The length of this sentence, versus the length of that sentence, or the length of this ruler versus the length of that ruler. It is how we determine other forms of measurement, the length of this minute versus the length of this day. My longwinded explanation for: we humans in a constant state of trying to gauge the who, what, when, where, why, and how, by relativity. It is through comparison that we relate our soul to the experience of living. Why do we crave to measure, compare, and relate? What drives this need to think in this fashion? I believe it is in the image of our creator, of the universe itself, instructing us to be observers of natural laws and balances, which are upheld by our conscious participation in determining a value against another value. It could be said that it is the mathematics of comprehension.”

    “Pain is an abject reality for every human being. The great deception is that we cannot transcend beyond the obscurity of our perceptions of this pain. The pain itself is inescapable, but the absorption of this pain is optional. It is up to us to accept the suffering in its entirety. We can make space to process and imbue ourselves with this feeling of discomfort, but intuitively we know that it is temporary and will not last forever, even when it seems sempiternal. So why do nihilists agree that pain is an absolute, when it is a variable of many simultaneous states? Again, it is because they have chosen to accept the optional perception of pain, whereas an optimist has chosen to refute it. So I implore you to look to your understanding of the notion that suffering equals enlightenment and know that enlightenment exists in spite of the suffering, because one chose the path of a higher vibrational viewpoint. The mind is greater than matter, and the matter of pain is inarguable, but the metaphysical response to it is entirely based on your participation.”

    The Cleanliness of Living

    While it is vitally important not to live in filth, for the upliftment of our external world, it is equally important to make sure our minds are free of filth as well. To live, we learn lessons in the dirty moments, and we thrive through our cleanest ones. We must keep our hearts and minds the way we keep our homes. Once, I had an idea that people with dirty cars did not care for themselves as much as they cared for the environment, and alternatively that those with clean cars were probably more prone to litter. That in and of itself is a black and white thought, where they are not so literally tied to one another, but as a metaphor it works fairly well. 

    When a person takes care to have good personal hygiene, they are pleasant to be around. If a person has poor personal hygiene, they can still be quite pleasant but perhaps from a few feet away. This is also true of mental, emotional, and spiritual hygiene. A person who works on their perspectives, values, internal struggles, and way of existing, is someone who is generally very wise and may offer more compassion to others personal plights. A person who ignores their inner work and focuses on material things, may often disregard the struggles of others as they disregard their own. 

    This leads us to the mirror of judgement, when these two sides cannot empathize with one another. The person who works on the internal, sees the external focusing person as not having enough depth or emotional intelligence, whereas the person who focuses on the external, thinks the person working internally is lazy, lacks motivation or comprehension of duties, and is “stuck in the clouds”. 

    This comes down to how these two individuals see things. The Internal person focuses on the things one cannot see, and the External person focuses only on what they can see. While both things hold value, and life is truly about finding the balance, it is difficult to cross the bridge between these two ideologies. It is my hope that my readers would take into account: most people are a mixture of both, or that these may be two stances for any number of debates. The solution, I’m afraid, is that these two people allow each other to live their own patterns, while respecting the boundaries of one another to the best of their given ability, because if you asked either one to live the other way around, it would be a betrayal of their deepest core values.

    The heart of the matter is this: You may find yourself often debating, “Do I take care of myself emotionally, which may take time which could be better spent taking care of my environment, or do I take care of my environment rather than my internal world?” 

    This comes down to the truth of where you believe it matters to be judged more: Materially, in the legacy you leave to those you leave behind, or Spiritually, in the legacy that awaits you in the hereafter? 

    Both the internal and external person, sometimes we are both, will face the dilemma in each moment, and it is an ongoing negotiation of how to prioritize the cleanliness of living.

  • facing your fears

    “Fear is a friend that you misunderstand.” – John Mayer

    Lately, I have been filled with fears. I have been obsessed with my fears. I have been talking about them, and about the concept of fear.

    Today I realized that I don’t have to let those fears consume me.

    At the root of fear is what is important to us.

    Now, if you have a fear of losing someone, it means you have an attachment to them, usually love. If you have a fear of losing anything, it means you care about it.

    If you have a fear of dying, it means you love living.

    The opposite of fear is love.

    Irrational fears? That’s a slightly different topic.

    The brain likes to invent little imaginary stories about what bad things could happen. I like to attribute that to our cave-faring ancestors, passing down their instincts to watch for sabretooth tigers.

    Today, I’m addressing those deep-rooted, lifelong fears: the ones that will come and go and circle back around until you learn to conquer them or accept them as part of life.

    The list of what they could be is quite long, and they are usually universal as well as individual. Whatever your fear is, know this:

    You don’t have to act on every impulse your brain says you need to in order to conquer the fear. Sometimes the best medicine is to simply acknowledge it and continue about your life.

    I’m not claiming you can just be immune to fear, but you can try to understand it as a concept. Fear is what shows you what’s important; in many cases, fear is used as a motivator and that is for a reason.

    If you are afraid of something, supervillains would call you weak. If you are afraid of something, there are people who will exploit that.

    My TikTok algorithm is testament to that. A bad boss could be testament to that. A particularly jarring Ad campaign could be testament. I don’t think I need to defend the idea that exploiting fear has its own economy.

    However, while we cannot stop fear from being exploited at large, (not in a single day), we can stop it from being exploited by our own inner voice.

    I’m an expert in trying to fend off the brain’s unique brand of spiral-inducing intrusive thoughts, all correlated to fears of mine.

    I am understanding that this is just a shadowy projection of my consciousness and that however uncomfortable, it is a necessary evil.

    The Yin and Yang show it’s never fully one side of the story. There is bad in the good, and good in the bad. On the other side of that shadowy side of my mind, there is the light fighting right back.

    There was a fable about two wolves, a white wolf and a black wolf both starving, representing light and dark, and the stronger one will be the one you feed.

    You don’t have to starve your fear if it motivates you, but if it is debilitating some days like mine, then you don’t have to feed it either.

    I did a few things to face my fears: I changed my TikTok algorithm, I took a week off work, I try not to look at too many bad news stories. I had to calm myself, reach out to my support system, I have to use grounding techniques. I have to remind myself that not every fear is an ultimate truth.

    If you have a fear today: put it to bed, tuck it in, kiss it goodnight, and go find the root of it – Find the love that caused it and cling onto that until the fear goes away, or at least quiets for a while.

  • the matter of time

    “We are infinite and we are finite, all in the same breath. This is the way of natural things.” – Hannah McPherson

    I found myself on a staycation for a week.

    I’ve tried to read a book, listen to a podcast, listen to music.

    I’m not even 3 hours into my first day, and I’m already bored and not knowing what to do. Now, since the point of this staycation is to get relaxed and settled, which I sometimes struggle with, I should be comfortable doing nothing.

    However, I work hard, even at things like relaxing. I plan to take the week and clean house, run errands, work on my own creative projects, and take the world by a storm through personal productivity.

    These are high goals I may not reach, but there is no harm in setting them. I’m sure my indecision will stop tasks, my need to relax may delay cleaning, errands may hit complications, but alas – I can still aim at the stars. Even if I only make it halfway, I will have gone farther than going nowhere at all.

    This brings us to the title of this post, “The Matter of Time”.

    This week may go by quickly or slowly, depending on the fluidity of each and every collective moment. However, when it is done it will feel as though it was quick and a lifetime all at once.

    I stress a lot about time.

    In the matter of our mortality, what we have is so limited, but in the moment, things tend to happen very slowly. They say things speed up as you get older, and they do, but not in the way you think.

    We tend to, later in our lives, fill our days with more things. We fill our lives with so much purpose we can hardly contain it. In this sense, I’m defining purpose as things that get us out of bed in the morning and give our lives meaning, whatever that looks like for you.

    So how do we deal with the Matter of Time?

    We don’t. We simply show up. We witness, we participate, and then we (I would hope) go home. We go to wherever we came from. We did what we did, we saw what we saw, and those who knew us know and those who didn’t will never be the wiser.

    We can look forward and backward at time, we can live in the present moment, but we do not control the current.

    The current is a natural thing that runs through all things, specifically in this case the perception of time passing in our lives.

    Some people call this “The Flow”.

    They’ll tell you to go with the flow, which is perfectly acceptable. If you never did anything a day in your life except that, I think you’d turn out just fine; for example, when Harry Potter drinks the luck potion. He was in flow, and things just fell into place.

    However, we are creatures of creation and action, so we like to move and swim within the current. We like to try to direct the flow. We, like old cowboys, try to wrangle and wrestle our time to get the most out of it.

    Life is, in fact, just one wild ride.

    As I look down the barrel of time for the next week, the next month, the next year, or for the rest of my life, I have one piece of advice for you: Go with the flow, wrangle the flow, whatever you choose…do it with intention. It is our free will and our choice that makes time so valuable.

    I will try to live my next week with the intentions I had when I set out on this journey, but if they don’t live up to my expectations, it will be okay, because God-willing, there will be more time.

    When you choose intentionally, just know time itself, the living-breathing phenomena it is, will sometimes veto your intentions and direct you somewhere more aligned for you.

    Is time alive?

    Not in the sense that a squirrel in the tree is alive, or you might be, but in the sense that electricity is alive, in the sense that nature itself has life and can be classified as parts of the whole that move us through the system we know as existence.

    Time isn’t going to literally call you up and tell you what for, but it will gently guide you. Time is often misunderstood. If you start giving time the credit it deserves, you may find you’ll enjoy it quantifiably more.

  • my best work – uninspired

    “My best work comes to me while uninspired.” – Hannah McPherson

    Irony finds me in the best way, I believe.

    On a day where I’m alight with creativity and I know exactly what I want to create, my work can be a beautiful masterpiece. However, my best work comes to me while uninspired.

    On the days where I’m detached, a little lost in my head, and quiet on the creative front, yet I sit down and create anyway, there is an authenticity and a rawness that is hard to find.

    Usually, this is due to the magic mist of optimism being thin, the enchantment is gone. I tend to paint a very realistic picture of what the world is as I see it.

    No one sees the world like you. No one sees the world like me. This is the beauty of individualism on our planet. It can be lonely, being the only one who really knows what and how you see, but there are moments of honesty, where people can see what you see and go, “I relate to that.”

    That is where the real magic is found.

    There are few who can relate to my more cosmic musings, but there are many who relate to my rawness and realness in states of lacking inspiration, myself included.

    To make the graphic for this post, I opted for comfort in sunrises, birds, and galaxies. Those are my go-to inspiring things. To name this post, I was going to make it something grand, but I couldn’t think of anything.

    It’s like I just ran out of juice.

    The truth is I have been balancing a lot in my day-to-day life, and that means the creative aspects of myself are suffering slightly, because once again, I’m in the fight or flight of survival, not thriving in comfort.

    Which is ironic because I’m in my robe, with my candle, my playlist, with a coffee beside me. It’s Saturday morning and it’s been jubilant, but I’ve had a lot on my mind.

    There is no mantra today. There is just this:

    “Not every thought will be long lasting, not every moment will be magical, and not every creator can create all the time. We leave that to the divine. Human limitations exist for a reason, listen to that reason.” – Hannah McPherson

  • today is gentle

    “Not everything in life will be comfortable, but then again, comfort is subjective.” – Hannah McPherson

    Today, you could say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

    My dream was truly wonderful, but the moment I woke up the house was chaos.

    Now, as someone who likes it when life is gentle, today was the opposite. However, I took the opportunity to practice gratitude. I took a deep breath, said “okay, this is the moment, but this doesn’t have to last the day.”

    My new mantra today will be “Today is gentle.”

    Why? Because when your nervous system is under attack, there is no stopping the discomfort and displaced feeling until you’ve convinced yourself that you will be okay.

    I’m already bracing for “the worst day ever” in my mind, so by introducing this mantra, I am telling my body to stop bracing for pain and start embracing the possibility of miracles.

    By miracles, I mean an easy day at work, I mean problem resolution without strenuous effort, I mean things turning in the right direction after a little disruption.

    In doing this, my entire demeanor will change from being on guard and in panic state to something softer and more open. I will be attracting these good things with my own mentality.

    Instead of worrying over every outcome, I will be accepting and loving towards myself and others so that positivity can shine through, even if things are hard.

    We create our own comfort.

    Today could go either way, but I have a feeling it will go much better if I change my own mind about how it turns out ahead of time.

    If you ever have a hard morning, don’t let it sully the endless possibilities of the rest of the day. There is beauty in it all, even in the discomfort. It is our job to find the beauty and bring it into our perspective, in order to keep from being swallowed by all the harshness of life.

    As someone who values feeling safe, snuggled, and cozy; life rarely offers this opportunity without a little effort on our part. Don’t be afraid of the effort it takes to regulate yourself, because on the other side, there is comfort waiting.

    The song attached is about always reaching for the next great thing. It came on as I wrote this post.

    I wrote it about our need to find our next happy moment, our next success, our next plateau. In waves, there are troughs and crests, we always want to be at the crest, but when in the troughs, we forget that we are bound to rise again.

    It is important to remember that it is all part of the process, and the pain will pass.

    “There is always a new horizon, there is always another for finding.” – Hannah McPherson

    The song also talks about how we find that next horizon on the other side of a hard choice, but sometimes the hard choice is the guiding light of loving yourself enough to get through discomfort.

    It mentions that there is no way to heal your mind, because the thing is you’ll always need healing. Healing is a task you come back to over and over for different things, or the same thing, but you’ll always want it and need it. The key is to grow through it. The key is to keep showing up.

    This song stood out to me because it was originally written about my writing journey and where I’m at in my career, keeping up with my household, growing up in all sense of the word and where I thought my life would be.

    Here’s the thing: it will always require work and that work may not always be comfortable, but if I stay true to myself and take care of my needs, working out those goals is totally reachable. Once they’re complete, I’ll have new goals. So, the process will start again.

    Which leads me to the cover image: subjective comfort. What is comfortable to you, may not be comfortable to someone else. You have to find your own vision for comfort. Whatever it looks like to you, it is up to you to attain it. The world is not set up to freely give comfort, though we are sometimes rarely gifted with a kind gesture, it still comes at the cost of the giver.

    You are always the first option for being the giver of your own comfort. When no one else is offering it, offer it to yourself.

  • Today’s Self vs. The Cosmic Self

    “If you look at the small picture, you’ll see ‘Today’s Self’. If you look at the big picture, you’ll see your ‘True Self’.” – Hannah McPherson

    I was lying in bed last night running through all the scenarios in my head of how the day went, trying to go to sleep. Then, I remembered I am a being made of stardust and I have a whole cosmic journey. Sweating over the smallest things takes away from the biggest picture.

    Each day, we are new. Each day, we take on a new set of experiences, challenges, and memories. However, when you zoom out to the whole – we have an entire lifetime of those.

    Now, unless you’re a savant, you probably don’t remember every single day of your life – even ones you thought were the most important day ever, or alternatively the worst day ever.

    Some part of you will keep that knowledge, but your day to day “Today Self” will not.

    Now, the “True Self” or what I like to call the “Cosmic Self” will remember. It is my hope when we end our time here, we get to review it all and recall what we have lost in the sauce of everyday existence.

    Until then, I’m aiming to paint the whole experience, not just today. I’m determined to paint a picture so grand and colorful that it will fill me with joy and surprise at all I did and forgot about.

    So, with that in mind, I’ll refer to how I started this thought last night: I cannot get so caught up in how today went, that I forget to get excited about how my whole entire life will go.

    My message to you is this: “Today’s Self” whether it was the best version, the worst version, or somewhere in between, is just a small fractal of the “Cosmic Self” – and all of it is wholly and one hundred percent you. You are able to look in whichever magic mirror you want to, at any time, free of charge. I recommend looking through the mirror that is most true to you.