Don't use my vulnerabilities against me

Use the moments I shared

Don't use them to hurt me

Or you'll shatter my trust in whomever I care

Maria Yousuf

Nocturnal Lights

The Dusk always dawns

And night always falls

You may wish it were always light

That the sun would never go down

But that’s the cycle of life

It’s when your stand in the dark

That you recognize your true friends

Know who stand by you and who leave

And as truth reveals

They all abandon you

Those whom you believed in

Or were the roots that held you

Were the trunks that supported you

Or the walls that listened

They all strand you alone

So when facing the dark

Don’t seek guidance elsewhere

Don’t ask for assistance

People may be there for a while

But then they all fade

They fade into their own lives

Seeking their own light and guidance

Asking for assistance from someone else

Finding roots and trunks to hold them up

And may be lost in their love

The guidance lies within

The nocturnal lights not only shine in the sky

But shine from within you too

They are the strength you own and the faith you have

The hope you harbor and the belief you grasp

Let them guide you

On the face of this earth

And the path you walk

Guide you to the path you seek

And the path you wish to follow

The nocturnal lights awaken when all else is asleep

When everyone leaves

They guide you when the night is blinding dark

And when you are alone

Let the nocturnal lights guide you tonight

The Sky is my Canvas

The Sky is my Canvas

When it awakens

It becomes an empty canvas

And the travelling clouds my art

When dusk dawns

And night falls

It reveals a new palette

Twinkling stars

May it be night or day

In the tundra or on the highway

I will always have a canvas to cast my art on

Clouds by day

Stars at night

Neither will ever be gone

The sky will forever be my canvas

No matter which path I am on

Maria Yousuf