My Book of Rhymes

My Book of Rhymes
by Manuel A. Luna-Murray

The physical evidence
of a fully-lived life
abides within the pages
of My Book of Rhymes

The inspiration of the ages
coupled with the struggles of my life
along with the heartaches
piercing words and solitary nights
are all the myriad subjects discussed
in My Book of Rhymes

Language and Identity
the vulture that is culture
as it shapes and abuses you
by reliving memories
that should have died long ago
and rekindling a heart that had forgotten
how to trust and love
you’ll find all of this and more
in My Book of Rhymes

Life and Death
the expiring of the breath;
A thirst for friendship
a hunger for intimacy
the birth of ideas now come to life
all of these and more are depicted
in My Book of Rhymes

Poetry and all that is Poetry:

Allusions, illusions, metaphors, and similes
prosody, rhythm, diction, and style
rhyme, meter, tone, themes, and dreams
verses, stanzas, settings, and plot
traditions, history, lessons, and inspiration
magic, power, feelings, healing, and change
seasons, sights, smells, sounds, and tastes
the touch of an angel stirring your heart

Life, hope, faith, love, and everything in between
as future memories of past mistakes
are recorded in the present journal
of an unstaged play whose actors
know not how they got there

The mental and spiritual struggle
of unifying the divergent paths
that collide within each of us,
as the realms of possibility and reality
coexist in the finite space of Time
define the two extremes of our existence

The birth of innocence
wrapped in the blanket of limitless potential
grows in height and stature in direct proportion
to the love and care exemplified
by the stability of a home

Two sets of numbers separated by a dash
a name and inscription
carved out onto a stone

The stone reads:

Here lies _____ (insert your name).
He/She was a _____ (insert an adjective)
whose life revolved around _____ (insert a verb).

When all is said and done
nothing will remain of your finite reality
except for the adjectives and verbs
written across the dash of your life

So fill the dash with all that is Poetry
and make of your life a bestseller
as possibility becomes reality
in the process of writing your legacy
as your very own Book of Rhymes.