Turin

Here I am. First official day of the European Innovation Academy conference in Turin. I landed in Milan on Saturday after a rough overnight flight and not a wink of sleep. I love this place, the food, the people, the color, collaborating with innovators and entrepreneurs from across the globe, but it feels like a part of me is missing. I realize that I haven’t written or shared my work in a while, and maybe that’s what it is. Maybe this is how it will always be. Anyway, when I was suffering for those 8 hours on the plane I wrote this—

For Every Time

For every time you wish

To turn the hands of fate aback

And change your plans,

There is a man glad for his actions.

For what it’s worth,

As the years will come and pass,

The lessons you must learn

Are more important than your classes.

For every time you wish

To have another moment-

With the one that got away,

You have greater soul to show for it.

For what it’s worth,

As hurt dulls, never fading

That pain will teach what you deserve

burning or fueling a world you’re making.

For every time you wished

About the chance of last goodbyes,

Regretting the way you acted,

There’s a soul the dead have left behind.

For what it’s worth,

Only the body truly dies,

Whether remembered in anger or mirth,

Smile, for you know they tried.

For every time you wish

You could join them in that grave,

We need to find a way to live

No matter what our hearts will say.

For what it’s worth,

Regardless of those acid veins,

Our job: to simply take their work

And carry on to better days.

For all the years you lived with loss

Through all the deaths, break ups and tears

A simple line between them crossed,

Assuaging quick your many fears.

For what it’s worth,

Regardless of your selfish hate,

invaluable wisdom you will gain

So save this world, or let it fade.

The hole in your heart started to tear,

Your soul, mind, and body were crashing

The day you decided that hole was there,

The day you decided your life was for acting

Is the day you started dying.

For what it’s worth,

Even the most detestable person

Deserves a shot that must be earned.

And even the most kind at heart

Never start to live their life.

Being spurned or scorned is normal

Yet know those feelings for their place,

To let them rule you: a fate so horrible

You’ll suffer and cry through all your days,

There is no escape from loss and pain

There is no freedom from our strife

It’s not for god to take the blame,

It’s not for you to take your life.

So pick up the pieces of your shame,

The past we have to leave behind.