Your Love- a free verse poem

To commemorate the three month mark of my relationship, I've written a poem. It's free verse, almost stream of consciousness.

Your love has saved me from the darkness I have come to know.
I had forgotten what it was like to be loved,
What it was like to cry
What it was like to smile.
But your love has shown me a new way to live
What it means to be alive
What it means to be young.
I can’t believe how much has transpired between us.
Never thought I’d see you in this way
Nearly a year ago when I met you
But now I’m glad for your love.
Your love wraps around me
Like a blanket in a cold winter’s night.
Your love has me protected
From fears that once ate me alive.
Now I can say ‘I love you’ without fear of falling
Because I know you’ll catch me
With the strength of your love.

An Oversimplified Explanation of What Went Wrong with our Policies

*Note- this is a real conversation that I had with a friend of mine. Grammatical errors have been fixed but those are the only changes I have made. A reference to our location as also been erased. As the title hopefully implies, this explanation is hopelessly simplified but I hope it makes the point.
Goku
what evs. I'll order the campus special
Maverick
you can't
Goku
I found a loophole. I'll just go to the Family housing which is like 5 seconds from my apartment, have it delivered there and then walk back home with the pizza
Maverick
I don't know if family housing is allowed that special
Goku
it's on campus therefore yes
Maverick
I don't know if it's dorms/greek houses only or the entire campus
Goku
entire campus I already tried this trick
Maverick
ok
Goku
according to 5 star i am a Ph.D student living in University Village
hehehehe
Maverick
-_-
Maverick
weren't you the one talking about everybody taking responsibility for their own actions?
Goku
huh? what does that have to do with this?
Maverick
Think about it, if everybody cheated the system, what happens? The people that the system was created for, do not benefit. Funds are misallocated
Goku
it's pizza, NOT SOCIAL SECURITY
Maverick
The only difference is degree. If you have x principles, you should apply them to everything.
Goku
the difference is I get pizza now and social security I might never get
Maverick
and if everybody did what you are doing, then nobody will get the campus special
because the company can't afford it
Goku
not my problem
Maverick
that's the point!!! THAT'S WHAT PREVIOUS GENERATIONS SAID ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY!!!
"Not my problem". Now look at the fix we're in
Goku
well we are all dying in 2 years so I don't give a shit. Lets go pretend make out
Maverick
and if we don't? and if the world doesn't end? Then what?
Goku
then yay more pizza
Maverick
not if you cheat the system
Goku
I'll just go and scam dominos then until I'm done with all the pizza joints in this town.
Maverick
pretty soon, only the very rich will be able to afford pizza
Goku
at that point I move to a new city then repeat the process
Maverick
practice what you preach my dear

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

Dear Readers of my blog,
I want to take this time to thank you so much for all your comments and feedback the past year. I started this blog after taking a class on war literature. One of the books we read was "My War Killing Time in Iraq" by Colby Buzzell. He kept a blog while he was in Iraq and later turned his blog into a book. Now he's kind of a Gonzo writer. I originally intended this blog to be socially satirical since I was someone who is rather oblivious to popular culture and what I am aware of, I don't particularly like. Hence the somewhat ironic title "Living Under a Rock". But I've noticed I need to work on improving my writing to make the satire a little more specific.
The URL was a statement of where I was in my life at that time. I was for some unbeknown reason, I was thinking of the movie title "Love in the time of Cholera" and from there I was thinking about how I was in love during a time of war and I was thinking "Love in the Time of War" but that was too long so I shortened it to "loveinwar". I still think it's a very nice juxtaposition in an abstract sense even though I have personally gone onto a new stage in my life- one that includes neither 'love' in the deeper sense or war.
I also intended this blog to be very anonymous- no personal stories, no identifying information, etc. Somewhere along the way, that has changed. Now this blog is kind of a public diary for me. A place where I can organize my thoughts and then share them with the world. I'm also surprised I've been able to keep this blog fairly well updated. Go me!
Happy birthday my little blog. May you and I grow together and never forget where we have been. To my readers, thank you for your support, comments, and I hope you guys keep reading my thoughts and ideas and sharing yours with me.
Love,
Maverick

The Harvest Moon

This is a poem for someone whom I care about very much. He wrote one for me and now this is mine for him. It was inspired by a conversation that we had while I was on my way home for Thanksgiving. I haven't been able to write for a long time- not since I wrote a few sad poems about my ex- so I'm a little rusty. I love you Sam. You've helped me through a very difficult time in my life and I just want to let you know how much you mean to me.

Why can’t I see the harvest moon
In my lover’s eyes?
Why must I be in my room
All alone tonight?
Does he know how I feel?
Oh how it burns!
I want him to be here
Where I await his return.
In my room
all alone I wait patiently
By the light of moon
Watching dreamily
Waiting for you.
Tonight under the harvest moon
Our love shall consume
All doubt from my soul
Because you would have told
Me all I ever needed to hear.
I no longer have fears,
And as I near the lake
I feel my insides quake
When I see you standing waiting, smiling.
Suddenly I feel you holding
Me close saying ‘I love you”
I whisper ‘I love you too’.
And in your eyes I see the harvest moon.

Veteran's Day 2010

Istis semper fidelis meas gratias dedi.

I want to take a moment out of my day and thank all the service men and women- past, present and future- for their service. I've had the honor and pleasure of knowing a few guys who have served both in Iraq and Afghanistan and they say the same thing- they felt like it was their duty and that if they could go back, they would. The ones that couldn't go back all say the same thing- they feel like they left a job undone. That is real commitment. So for all you do and all you are- THANK YOU!!!

Opposing Forces

Newton's Law- To every force there is an equal and opposing force.

If we assume this axiom to be true then we can conclude that the anarchists in the Tea Party movement are the equal but opposite force of the socialist Democrats. Too harsh? Let's take a look, shall we?
All throughout the ages, when one movement has seemingly gained too much influence in the hearts and minds of the masses, an opposing force comes to combat it and eventually takes its place as the dominating factor. I'm going to focus on Western culture simply because I'm more knowledgeable about it. (If you have a problem with this, please write an accompanying article focusing on Eastern, African, Latin etc culture and I will direct people to it.)
During the Dark Ages, after the fall of the Roman Empire, basic knowledge such as reading and writing was limited to those in the church. (Does not apply outside Western Europe). The counterrevolutionary force was The Enlightenment. Upper-class white men all of a sudden were required to use reason to gain knowledge as opposed to religion. Reason was valued above any other quality. If something could not be scientifically explained, then it had no value in society. After many years of the Enlightenment being the dominating way of thinking, the Romantic era came about in opposition to the Enlightenment. The Romantics said that there was more to life and more ways of looking at the world than simply through the cold, unfeeling scientific lens. So their movement focused on feelings and emotions and beauty and "sublime". Skip ahead a few years to after the Holocaust and World War 2. What happened in the world of theater? You had plays like "Waiting for Godot" coming out. Plays that wander about seemingly without any kind of direction or point. Plays that ask the question "What if this is it?" My professor was asking if a Christian, or any person with deeply held religious beliefs could bear waiting for nothing that could ever come. These sentiments sprang from a kind of hopelessness and disbelief that something like two world wars and the Holocaust could happen in a 'civilized' and 'modern' world. Generations died. How could this have happened?
Flash forward to 2010 and the mid-term elections that just passed. The anarchist Tea Party movement is calling for an end to socialist Democrats plans. I'm not going to support one or the other here. All I'm going to say is things are going to get really ugly really fast. And do you know who's going to suffer the most? Us. "We the people of the United States" are the ones who will continue to pay the price of our government's feuds. I'm not sure when they stopped working for us, or listening to us, but they did. Both Democrats and Republicans. Get ready for nothing to happen. Get ready for a lot of broken promises- more than usual; get ready for the end of America as we have known her for so long. No more will we be a country of progress and innovation but rather a country of stagnation, corruption, and only a small percentage of people living a decent life.
All the empires have fallen. Am I going to witness the fall of ours?

We all know what goes up must come down.

Hey Baby they're playing our song

I've recently started dating someone new. That's not to say that I'm completely over my ex. He knows that, and he's ok with it. He's so good to me and, I'm not going to lie, I really like having someone I can see everyday. I thought I couldn't be in a relationship with someone so close because they'd drive me crazy. I'm glad to know and admit I was wrong! This song list is in no way reflective of his musical tastes. As the relationship grows and progresses, I'm sure I'll be adding songs.

*Way Back Into Love- Music and Lyrics
I needed to find a way back into love. I have been hurt, hurt someone, and thought that I wouldn't find anyone any time soon. He's willing to help me make that transition.
*Mine- Taylor Swift
There's a line in there about "I remember we were sitting there by the water". We were sitting by the water when he first put his arm around me. We've come a long way since then.
*Crazier- Taylor Swift
I know I have two Taylor Swift songs. He drives me crazy but in the good way! I get the feelings this song talks about, the tone is the melody in my heart when he's around.
*Underneath Your Clothes- Shakira
I'm running out of reasons to cry. You are exactly what I need at this time; you are so good to me and I care about you as you are, who you are.
*Fireflies- Owl City
The night we first kissed, there were fireflies all around us. It was so incredibly romantic; I'm such a hopeless romantic. No matter how much I'm hurt in Love, I still believe in it.
*If I Fell- The Beatles
My favorite band. I guess this is actually a song for the both of us. We were initially so afraid of hurting each other, uncertain of the repercussions, the future.
*Halo- Beyonce
Baby I can see your halo, you know you're my saving grace. Remember those walls I built? They're tumbling down and they didn't even put up a fight. You're everything I need and more.
*Good Enough- Evanescence
I'm in the process of forgiving myself for my past sins and I guess I'm good enough that someone can love me, flaws, mistakes, and all.