Every day is a second chance.
And each day is a festering boil you must lance.
Paint the sky and make it yours.
Add this fun task to your long list of chores.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
It helps you pretend that you made it through college.
Be positive and turn your can’ts into cans.
And watch your cans carted off in recycling vans.
What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.
It is hard to think of a quote that is wronger.
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
Except for the fact that hope ends at fourteen.
Life is so much brighter when we focus on what really matters.
That’s assuming your dreams are not already in tatters.
You’re in control. Be the change you wish to see.
You haven’t even got the change for a cup of tea.
A beautiful life begins with a beautiful mind.
In a world full of pain and misery, it’s not so easy to find.
Treat life like a trusted and old faithful friend.
Why not, but SPOILER ALERT: we all die in the end.
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Thank you for sharing this brilliantly clever and refreshingly honest piece! I absolutely love how you take those familiar “inspirational” lines we’ve all seen a million times and turn them upside down with humor, wit, and surprising truth. Every couplet felt like a playful nudge — from imagining a second chance as a “festering boil you must lance” to pointing out that turning “can’ts into cans” might just leave you with empty recycling vans — and each one made me laugh and think simultaneously. What I appreciate most is how this poem clearly knows the typical motivational-quote format but isn’t afraid to poke fun at it, gently reminding us not to take clichés too seriously or uncritically. In a world overflowing with feel-good wisdom, this piece cuts through the noise with sharp humor that resonates on both a creative and a real-world level. Thanks for a piece that’s as entertaining as it is thought-provoking — I’ll definitely be thinking about these lines long after reading!