Wisdom from the woodstove

Love is a lot like a woodstove. If you fan the flame, constantly giving it fuel but also air , it will keep you warmer than any other heat. But if you close it up, forget to nurture it, it will leave you cold to the core.
Men if you want to know the secret to a woman's heart it's simple, nurture her. Everyday (try) show her she is the most beautiful part of your world. Don't let the flame die down. Don't put your wood in a different stove. At the same time give her room to breathe. Let her be uniquely her and make sure she knows how beautiful that is. Not the outside beauty that time and life steals, the inside beauty, where the fire starts deep in the heart.
Treat her like the main source of warmth in your life and it will never grow cold.

The Ball

Standing in a crowded room all alone. Laughing as the show plays on. Tears trickle beneath the laughter. Unseen. Blend. Belong. Supress the desire to scream. Would it matter if it did? Would it cause a scene? Chameleon, conceal every bit of real. Blend. Belong. This won't last that long. Smile. Nod. Grace, fake it, hold still, don't fall. Standing in a crowded room all alone. For a moment, did you feel it? What was that? You belonged? No. Not really. Thank God, it's done. Get me out of these clothes! Layers of artificial. Nothing in this place is real. Smoke and mirrors. Plastic people. Just for a moment I want to feel real. Not a golden child. No precious metal at birth. No grande giveaway in a little white church. Smoke and mirrors trying to pretend. In the end just a fallen, forgotten, waste of flesh again. Standing in a crowded room. Alone. 
(C) RM Brandon 2012