You're the fire in my soul,

Can’t keep it down, gonna burn me whole.

They said take I’d better take it slow

But while I’ve got the courage I gotta go.

Maybe we were never meant to be,

But now we just have to see...

Strike a match, and watch it burn

Up my bridges so I can’t return.

Take the ashes, put them in an urn,

Testament for later to the lesson I've learned:

Sometimes you gotta take chances,

And love's one of those complex dances,

You get burned if you mess with a flame

But that's part of the price for playing the game.

I was born on the sixth month of the sixth day and have lived now, sixty-six centuries.

I have gone through countless love affairs, and witnessed excruciating deaths caused by me.

The blood flowing through my veins is of my father, the Devil himself, and I pass his legacy on those I come in contact with.

Be aware, you will be next ... soon. Very soon.

Dear Writers and Readers,

We noticed some less-than-exemplary behavior on Prose today, which forced us to take action against some users. This is a gentle reminder that, while we try to remain as uncensored as possible, some forms of content are simply intolerable. Please note the following passage from our Terms of Service, under Prohibited Content:

Content that is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, indecent, lewd, suggestive, harassing, threatening, abusive, inflammatory, fraudulent or otherwise objectionable, or invasive of privacy or publicity rights;

In today’s case, harassment was the keyword. We have taken steps to punish infringing users, and prevent future infringements. Note that we will not be adjudicating arguments, disagreements, or squabbles between users, unless we deem the language used to be grossly abusive or inflammatory.

1. We have added a report button to all posts. You’ll find the button in the lower-right options menu (indicated by an ellipsis icon) of every post. If you encounter a post that violates the Terms of Service, please report it.

2. We have instituted a temporary posting restriction policy against first-time offenders. If we find that you have been harassing folks, spamming, or posting any other sort of Prohibited Content, you will be prevented from posting, commenting, and sending messages for a minimum of three days. Repeat offenders will be permanently banned.

3. We have added an internal feature to remove offensive posts. Posts that violate our Terms of Service, or that provoke grossly abusive or toxic comment threads, will be marked as such and removed after 24 hours. During that period, commenting on such posts will be disabled.

Refer to Section 10 of our Terms of Service for all forms of Prohibited Content: https://theprose.com/p/legal/terms

Happy Writes,

The Prose Team

There was a time

When I was younger

Where I thought unkindly about

Those who are gay or lesbian

I look back ashamed of the

Ignorant and insensitive man I once was

One day I grew

To love and accept

Now I am a supporter

Of all love

#lgbt #support

I've never been one for lists. And I've never been one to consider such a line of thinking, either. But given a moment and a smidgeon of reflection, I imagine the 6th most loved thing I hold dear would be my memories. Though I've lived a trouble-free childhood, and have little to complain about in that regard, Recent events have presented me with more emotional pain and confusion than I care to endure. When such experiences can come to make one question themselves for all that they are, in personality, worth, etc., well, frankly, I would be overjoyed to be free of them. Truly, take them, if you would, kindly. Though the pain of the present will be nothing soon enough, I would rather erase the pains and the pleasures of remembrance altogether if it meant, in a most ironic sense, a long-lost clarity of the mind and the self.

"Wow, old me! You look much better than I thought you would!"

"That's not surprising when you think everything will end in shambles or inadequacy."

"Fair enough. How was life?"

"Well, there were ups and downs, but in that sense, there have been far more mountains than valleys. Believe me, the outcome has been more than agreeable."

"Well, that's comforting. So, tell me, do we go to Japan? Do we become prolific authors? Do we meet our love? I have to know!"

"And you will, in due time. Knowledge is a great thing, but life is about the journey. I won't offer specifics, but I will tell you this. It's a good thing we only ever contemplated suicide. I'm quite happy to have lived to this point."

"Once again, fair enough. Well, at least tell me a couple things, for the present, my present. Namely, what advice do you have for me to start writing seriously? And also..... how do our highschool friendships pan out?"

".....Hmm......As far as writing is concerned, you really weren't wrong with your own advice at the time. The first step to writing is starting, so do that. And don't critique yourself in the moment. As for highschool.... I know that where you are right now, everything is horrible. But let this give you hope and comfort...the valley you're in right now will soon become a mountain. You only need allow it."

".........*sigh*..... well, that is comforting. Thank you so much for that, truly."

I’m not sure why every leaf

Must die in Autumn.

I don’t know why ever child

Must age.

The things around us do not last,

Shall never last for long.

But still we’ll live and laugh and love,

If we didn’t, that he wrong.