The Serenity Prayer

 God grant me the Serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.

Essayons

Obstacles are what you see
  When you take your eyes off the goal.
When life's hardships, stress and struggles
  Have seemed to take control.

Keep your thoughts on things ahead,
  Never looking around or back.
For whether we be strong
     Physically or Mentally
  Soon we'll find we all have
     something we lack.

So let us help one another.
  Battle buddies we'll go.
And when finally the end we reach
  Our hearts with pride will glow.

                    - Gabriel T. Short

My Enemies

Do you despise me,
  My face do you hate?
My life is so full
  Of separation and wait.

Have I made you angry?
  What have I done,
That this deceptive scheme
  Upon me you've spun?

Why must you torture me,
  Distance and Time,
And daily confuse my
  Rhythm and Rhyme?

Wouldn't life be Paradise
If these enemies would surrender?
Then to the ones that I adore
  My Heart and Love could render.

                  - Gabriel T. Short

A Soldier I Will Be

With all this confusion
  And all this pain,
Seems there's everyone struggling
  And nothing to gain.
There's no one too talk to, really;
  No one to hug and to hold.
These people all around me
  Words and voices are getting old.
We're learning to become soldiers,
  We all will make mistakes,
But some will learn the hard way
  How much strength it really takes.
Left, Right, Left.
  We're marching through each phase.
Every- day, hour, minute til
  Our graduation days.
When finally its coming clear
  The end we can see,
Its really just the beginning
  Of the US military.
                   - Gabriel T. Short

My last post about Lynn and my relationship and time together was very sad. It explained, in a way, how difficult things can be. And things definitely got tough. Bad decisions were made, trust broken, and love.... well, misplaced.
  After a tremendous amount of effort to right the wrongdoings, and uncompromising love on Lynn's part, we were finally able to right our upturned ship. We are working through our problems and communicating our love in better ways. It is difficult and hard on the heart but if you want something you've got to fight for it.
  Right now she is in Japan and we have, not only distance but time to deal with. She is seventeen hours ahead of me. Also, I leave for army basic training in one month and then we will only have letters for several months. But, come what may, we'll get through it.
 
 

Soldier's Creed

I am an American soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in all my warrior tasks and drills. I will always maintain my arms, my equipment, and myself. I am an expert and a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American soldier.

A Bell

A bell is not a bell until someone rings it,
A song is not a song until someone sings it.

Love wasn't put in the heart to stay, for love isn't love 'til you give it away.
 
        -Oscar Hammerstein II