John Mark Green

I'm a pusher dealing hope, at the intersection of Desire and Despair.

Beautiful are those whose brokenness gives birth to transformation and wisdom.

As the waves relentlessly seek the shore, so my thoughts continually return to you.

The Ache That Would Not LeaveBehind the hum and routine of daily living, there lay a persistent and wild longing for something she could not easily put into words. It felt like impulsive adventures and watching the sun rise over unfamiliar mountains, or coffee in a street café, set to the background music of a foreign language. It was the smell of the ocean, with dizzying seagulls whirling in a cobalt sky; exotic foods and strange faces, in a city where no one knew her name. She wanted secrets whispered at midnight, and road trips without a map, but most of all, she ached for someone who desired to explore the mysteries that lay sleeping within her. The truly heartbreaking part was that she could feel the remaining days of her life falling away, like leaves from an autumn tree, but still this mysterious person who held the key to unlock her secrets did not arrive; they were missing, and she knew not where to find them.

Do you believe in magic?" she asked. "I believe in you," he said. "And you're the closest thing to magic that I've found.

I kiss your tear-stained cheeks, tasting the saltiness of a hidden sea of sorrow.

You make me feel at home in my own skin, and that is one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me.

I hear your voice, and all feels rightwith the world again.

No matter how dark your night, my friend, may you always find enough light to take the next step.

Beneath the rust and grime which dulls the shine of our weathered hearts, joy patiently waits to be rediscovered

Everyone needs someone who can show them what heaven looks like.

Sometimes it feels like you've set off a spectacular lightning show in my heart, and I wonder if other people can see the flashes through my skin.

Her veins flowed with liquid poetry. I stole the words from her mouth with my kisses.

And if the stars should ever die, we'll make our own light, you and I.

When she smiled at me, I felt unborn poems stirring within.

I want to kiss you so thoroughly that you lose your ability to stand.

Your life will consist of a series of times when you must reinvent yourself. We desperately cling to the idea that things should stay the same, but life and growth are about change. Don't mistake the end of a chapter for the end of the story. Lean into the plot changes, and follow your character arc. If you are in a dark part of your tale, know that this night will not last forever, but you must be brave enough to see it through. This is not the end, oh no my friend. Take courage. Better things await you.

Let's burn our masks at midnightand as flickering flames ascend,under the witness of star-clouds,let us vow to reclaim our true selves.Done with hiding and weary of lying,we'll reconcile without and within.Then, like naked squint-eyed newborns,we'll greet the glorious birth of dawn;blinking at the blazing, wondrous colorswe somehow failed to notice before.