With a labored breath,

Do not waver,

Do not stress,

Your time comes slowly

In your next step.

Make peace with your second

Thoughts without regret,

Your journey goes on

For eternity yet.

Have faith in your home

And take peace as your kin,

Love doubt as a child

Whose failure amends.

Hear now is your future

Past days to forget,

Where trouble becomes

A faithful night’s rest.

The good writers move mountains with minds,

creating ideas within every person who did not dare to dream.

The daring writers inspire legend from youth,

turning orphans into conquerors and slaves into kings.

The lone writers create art from love,

weaving sorrow from sonder that blossom to poetry.

The greatest writers exist in all,

stamping history with a mark and living immortal one word at a time.

My eyes gaze at seas of space,

Endless abound,

Without life

Nor sound.

The stars are further away

Hidden from view,

Waiting to shine

And have their day.

For granted is our freedom

To wander away,

Passing timelines of lives

In infinite ways.

We're at the start

Of a new era,

Yet why does it feel

As if the year has not aged?

Like a still frame among moving pictures,

my presence lingers for too long.

Will the endless time of tomorrow bring change,

my mind wanders with bitter song.

Shall I stay bound by dumb pleasures,

a simple question often repeated.

Any compass is mere distraction,

bringing answers that’re never heeded.

As rising tides bring ships to freedom,

an idea blossoms from the wrecks.

Charge forwards my wavering conscience,

the day is made through routine’s death!

Diving through depths with pressures rising,

a struggle for comfort comes again.

The familiar angst soon envelops,

And defeat remains hope’s oldest friend.

I turn back to see my progress,

seeing waves washing through my prints.

Solace takes it’s rightful place,

inside a frame ever permanent.

And in the empty space there was her. The blank nothings that fill the mundane travels of life - work commutes, house chores, the marathon of day-to-day, his mind was always turning to the one person it could seemingly never forget to remember.

The subway rumblings provided the background noise that faded just enough to focus on his mind's wandering, being transported to mountains that are found on the fronts of guides and brochures, too beautifully sculpted by the forces of nature as if the icing on top was always meant to be, and the rugged, jagged surfaces of the stone sides were artworks in themselves being smashed against smatterings of green moss that lead to the villages below. It is seemingly in these unknown, unnamed, and in-between towns that life is carried by their carefree citizens, two of whom he imagined were living and loving in a two story cottage nestled amongst the hills and valleys at the foot of their guardian mountain. The train of thought brought a smile on the edge of his lips, as it felt like he had brought the comfort of warmth and unworrying of his soon-to-be life partner.

A shattering of city skyscrapers amongst the train windows leapt his mind back to the rocking, metallic tin can that is the city subway system as his coming station was announced in a successive sequence of languages. His destination however, was now not of the home in the depths of suburbanite villas, but that of her space buried within his heart and mind.

I am a miracle,

of my mother's love

and of my father's dreams.

I broke through the void,

devoid of meaning,

to an infinity

of time.

I came in screaming,

to seek my destination

after passing

through womb,

pierced by light.

I give my all,

to see

that we are

many,

trying to live up

to our destiny above us.

I finally open

into my own,

a reflection on the

mirrors,

beholden

to

a moment's kiss.

Dear Earth Inc.,

Thank you for the opportunity to get in touch!

There’s two important things I wanted to address - the events of our half yearly report and a roadmap for the future.

From the top, our FY began with a fire sale in our Australian offices. While this was to be expected, unfortunately it has been our worst on record. As a previous employee of the Sydney branch, I commend them on their efforts to mitigate the losses though this reflects very poorly on us as a company. We are still deep in the red with our climate KPIs and our capital is running out - fast. We need to get it together.

Then there is the issue of our Hong Kong division. With mounting pressure from the local unions, this is not a good look for our PR. I know this has been buried under the recent issues but it will only serve as a brand risk if we choose to ignore it. In saying that, the HR policy for transferral to our UK branches are a welcome touch.

To our biggest challenge so far - and the reason I am writing to you from my home and not my desk, the COVID-19 crisis. We have really dropped the ball on this one. Everyone being on the same page is vital to survive this bear market and several management divisions have not stepped up to the plate. Layoffs were inevitable though this was not helped by the inexcusable disregard for our company’s policies. I want to remind everyone that our current safety policy is in place for a reason and it is non-negotiable. Wear the required safety equipment. Please.

To simply put it, our 2020 results have been less than optimal for our bottom line. Now the question is - where do we go from here? Our previous yearly forecasts have already repeated what we should all know though let’s have a short reminder.

1. Sustainability is THE key to survive in our industry.

The opportunity cost of having profit over people has been detrimental. I urge our management to have a serious discussion and commit to the recommendations from our Science/R&D division. Our ESG needs to get better and I know it can get better. We are a world-class company after all.

2. Leadership must be accountable.

As an entry-level employee, we are easily restricted to having a narrow view of what’s around us - and it especially applies for an organization as large as ours. In that sense, this also goes both ways. Management too often sees regions as a whole entity and not as a community of individuals. This has led to one too many unnecessary legal battles that seek to divide us all. From the words of one our past Culture Leaders:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Which brings me to the most vital point...

3. We’re in this together.

Our company is just one in a sea of giants and superstars. We tend to forget that the vast market does not care about how or if we survive - it is up to us. I urge everyone to take care of your fellow employee, seek help in these challenging times, and shine your light to those that are left in the dark.

As my final words, I would like to reiterate my belief that we can overcome this year within our company spirit. I know our future milestones from here will have the potential to be history-making and that together, anything and everything is possible. Please look after one another and I hope to talk more soon.

With kindest & sincerest regards,

Your fellow Earthling