The Promises of the Young

There may have been a fight
A swear, a mess, or a smell
Anything to make you think

To think
I will never do that when I am grown up
I will never fight like that
I will never swear like that
Or I will never smell like that
And so you promise yourself that 

But as life continues in its circle
You end up making many promises
You promise that you will be the best father or mother possible
And on that faithful day when your first child is born you think back
To renew all of your promises from the past

But life has a way of working with history
In the sense that it repeats itself
And we may all break those promises
Probably not each one
But at some point we will break a few

So when you do and you can see your child sitting in the corner
Make sure to make up for it
Maybe not right afterward but soon
And it never hurts to make another promise

Land Of Unknown

In the land of Unknown
Walks a stranger on his own
Around him are things
Things he has never seen
Sounds he has never heard
And a people
A people so very unknown

This stranger is not alone in the land of Unknown
The locals greet him and bring him to their homes
He does not understand them
But follows their leads
One local miraculously speaks his language
Explaining to him all that is unknown
Teaching him to know

Weeks pass and the stanger is more at home
His land of origin is still fresh in his mind
But parts are fading and the Unknown becomes known
The slur of sound the locals speak
Is becoming words
Words that he knows
But only a few

In the homes of the locals
In the land of Unknown
New foods cook over strangely designed stoves
Never the less the food is delicious and filling
Few of the houses are made of stones
Rather endless rows of red clay called bricks
Or shaped into odd curving shapes

The land of Known is no longer known
And the land of Unknown is nearly known
The locals are now the Strangers neighbors and friends
And the Stranger is familiar to the land

Back off in the land of Known is a family
A family that is his
But the land of Unknown has consumed him
Immersing him into a new world
The thought of going back is rare for the Stranger
Everything is so fresh and new in Unknown

One day a stranger walks into the village
In the land of Unknown
Not understanding the slur of sounds
Nor recognizing the odd buildings
But there is someone who meets him
He speaks to him in his tong and teaches the ways of Unknown