What Love Might Be

Love might be a cake

            Nobody talks about cake without saying what’s in it

            How hot was the oven, baked for how many minutes?

            There’s layers and icing and the pieces cut thick

            And each cake depends on the chef’s own secrets

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

How do you find it and why does it go?

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

Everyone answers and nobody knows 

Love might be a choice

            When you choose to have one thing over all else

            When you’d rather have her than to have yourself

            The thousands of faces you’ve seen in your days

            Count for less than the one you could never replace

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

How do you find it and why does it go?

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

Everyone answers and nobody knows

Love might be a song

           

            A tune hummed alone stays quiet and small

            Whispered words find no ear upon which they could fall

            If you can work up the courage, give the rhythm a chance

            The crescendo could coax others into song and a dance

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

How do you find it and why does it go?

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

Everyone answers and nobody knows

Love might be a dream

The last thoughts before you finally sleep

Elusive, imagined, and intangibly sweet

Unless my eyes close than I’m blind to its power

Free from control, just trust for a few hours

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

How do you find it and why does it go?

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

Everyone answers and nobody knows

Love might be a war

            It’s only worth having if it’s worth fighting for

            It’s never quite fair and there’s always a score

            It’s painful, relentless and dreaded and feared

            And we hope for a hero who just might appear

In the darkness you lost sight of the side that you’re on

Did she fight right beside you ‘til the first glint of dawn?

Or did you battle against her, blinded and wrong?

You fought for her heart, but it’s bloody and gone.

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

How do you find it and why does it go?

Held in my arms, she asks me of love

Everyone answers and nobody knows

Making Noise

It's about: 

Struggling to love, about fearing hurt, about being unwilling to feel, viewing emotion as a weakness. Self control and objectivity being equated to indifference and apathy.

It’s ilogical you want it though and no one’s goin to stop you so you 

Take what you don’t need you’re making faces til you bleed a bead of 

Sweat upon your brow somehow bet you never speak aloud the 

Secret you can’t keep it try to beat it from your mind 

last time/this time/next time 

She’s mine you know until I cross the line although 

I fight to stay afloat I feel a tightness in my throat and still  

I’m making a lot of noise
I’m losing my voice

Sometimes I know the words I choose— Dumb lies to hurt, this tongue can bruise
Young minds my crime’s that I’m confused: A win is usually a lose
These lips can sin but it’s no use; These teeth were made to tear and chew
You better race away from here, I never want to say, my dear,
‘forever’ to your face, I fear these clever lies contrived to keep this
Dream alive disguised as a warm reality lay down with me
Don’t let me speak, I’ll likely fight ‘til words grow weak still
Wary of what I might say, I’ll carry on, still, anyway and

I’m makin a lot of noise
I’m losing my voice

I don’t believe these stories thrown at me you know I crave your company
You run from me, you’re done with me, afraid to fall in love with me
Yeah—Love—it’s what I’m yelling out, I’m spelling out, I’m shelling out
Uselessly consuming all my time and energy without a doubt
I’ve made a mess of me; I can confess wholeheartedly my clumsy chemistry
It seems it’s testing me, my sanity; it simply makes no sense to me
Tell me again, express to me simply in words that are your own
Why you won’t stay as my queen bee, my heart’s a hive to call your home

I'm making a lot of noise
I'm losing my voice

What I’m craving’s much the same thing that once made me run away at first
It’s strange that I should thirst for words that I could count somehow as curse
Containing unheard verses sung eight billion voices strong they urge,
Encourage us: “shake with us, make noise and sing along!”
But I resist this distant mystery tight-fisted, lips pressed, listening
Don’t mess with me, arrest this thief—she’s run off with my heart
Uncharted seas I’m forced to chase her through these challenges I face 

Confuse my senses, she’s relentless in her pace, still I pursue.

Photo by Samantha Ramsay

If you catch me drooling...I was probably contemplating questions like these

What are the essential qualities of humanity? How do we discern them? How are we unique among living beings? How do we know that we are not coming up with self-serving answers?

How do you define logic? How do we know that the idea of logic is not simply humanism, and merely a creation of the mind? What is the relationship between emotion and logic? Can they actually be separated? Is logic emotionally satisfying? Should it be? Is emotion a valid justification for decision-making? Does logic leave room for conclusions that are detrimental to the self? Is there only one logical conclusion to every problem?

Is empathy a morally positive trait that indicates character or simply a humanistic self-serving socially encouraged endeavour? Can one be TOO empathetic? Can decisions made based on empathy be destructive (or at least unconstructive)? Can dealing with social problems without empathy lead to more logical and sustainable outcomes?

Is it human nature to serve one's own interests first, or can we work towards a common good at a sacrifice to our personal desires? Is selfishness and greed a fundamental characteristic of the individual, or a byproduct of a society? Is it possible to have both freedom to act (and therefore encourage personal ambitions) and maintain a selfless attitude?

Why does the conservative Right appeal to the most selfish people who don't care about the well-being of others as well as religious groups with mandates of generosity and selflessness? Is the idea of a benevolent and honest government simply an unattainable ideal or are there actually places where a strong majority of people are satisfied with their leaders? If such a government came into existence, should it be given more responsibility for other facets of society, or should the gov't whittle itself away as it achieves success?
To what extent are people's political beliefs tied to their view of human nature?

Who is more of a hero: the soldier who refuses to follow orders that are contrary to his beliefs about politics, religion, or social conscious, or the soldier who follows the same orders because he believes they essentially come from the highest level of government, and assumes that there may be more justification/information than he has access to?

Would a smaller population of humans create a higher quality of life and benefit the environment? Why is it considered inhumane to mandate stable population numbers? Is it human nature to feel entitled to having any number of children or is that mentality a product of society's values that have become ingrained in our ideologies? How long-term should we be planning for when making political decisions?

Is it acceptable practice to strive for an unattainable ideal? Is it possible NOT to strive for an ideal? Is it acceptable to justify one's actions by appealing to an unattainable ideal? Is it better to strive towards the ideal of a benevolent, honest, and attentive government OR a benevolent, generous, and aware population? Are grass-roots movements how change I created? Is that how change should be created? Is changing the minds of policy makers easier than changing the ideology of the society? Essentially, is change created through top down (marketing/propaganda/law) or bottom up (judicial activism, subversion, protest, boycotts)?

WHO KNOWS?

NOBODY does. don't kid yourselves.

What's a Vole?

Ishan: Do you know what a vole is?

Mom: It’s sort of like a mole but...

Josh: ...vicious. That’s why it’s a ‘vole’ with a 'V'.
...
Ishan: ....what?

Mom: no. It’s not a vicious mole, but it’s similar to a mole.

Ishan: How can you tell them apart?

Mom: well, the vole is smaller

Josh: also, the vicious mole has fangs.

Mom: No they do not!

Ishan: I heard that Uncle Gilbert found voles in his basement.

Josh: That’s why they had to do renovations afterward. Complete destruction.