Life teaches
Life is short
Short term
Short and sweet
Sweet nothings
Sweet as candy
Candy kisses
Candy dreams
Dreams of stardom
Dreams come true
True stories
True friends
Friends forever
Friends and enemies
Enemies made
Enemies to forgive
Forgive yourself
Forgive and forget
Forget me
Forget the past
Past the point of no return
Past and present
Present and future
Present is now
Now you know
Now is your time
Time to love
Time is money
Money talks
Money can’t buy happiness
Happiness awaits
Happiness is key
Key to success
Key to my heart
Heart on my sleeve
Heart broken
Broken down
Broken promises
Promises made
Promises kept
Kept away
Kept in cages
Cages rattled
Cages empty
Empty pockets
Empty words
Words of wisdom
Words unspoken
Unspoken…
Wisdom…

Six year old Olivia sat alone on the frozen ground just outside of an empty church. Across the street, families lined up outside of “The Mobile North Pole”. She enviously watched several boys and girls about her age climb the snow covered stairs and make their way inside to sit on Santa’s lap.

She noticed how warmly they were dressed; thickly lined coats to protect them from the blowing wind, fuzzy boots to cover their little feet, and thick, clumsy mittens to keep their tiny fingers from the sting of the cold. Olivia looked down at her own shabby attire; before she had stolen a coat out of the donation box just inside the church foyer, she wore only an over-sized hooded sweatshirt. At that moment she wished she hadn’t been so concerned about getting caught and took a few extra seconds to steal a pair of boots too. She…