April 30, 2002

OPEN MIC ARCHIVE

Up-dated April 30th, 2002

There is more in April 30th, 2002 Encore

for the love of poetry

Nancy Taylor Charleus

let me see, is this all about the love of poetry

ok next year i will be here, dedicating poems

to all my sistahs and brothers that are near

ok i know i don't need to fear

other wise my voice no one will hear

so i made it clear i must stand up for love of poetry

where was i oh dear, oh yeah next year

my name my poem will appear in the hall of fame

my poems will be seen and so my voice

will someday be heard ,will someday make a difference

cause it's about time for all of our

unknown poets to be heard and to speak

what's in their world of poetry

different poets, unknown poets

lets stand up for our rights

for the love of poetry

###

Things Daddy Never Taught You
Jason Cosco

monster truck shows really get you hard

all the loud noise slapping your ears

all the exhaust fumes stroking your throat

all the mud chunks splattering against your face

distract your homophobic tendencies

and beer guts turn you on

see

there are some things daddy never taught you

those long hot afternoons sitting on the porch

drinking beer

cleaning guns

some lessons had to be learned later in the night

under empty bottles of Jim Beam

daddy always said you were never that bright

as he elbowed his buddy

“I bought him books and a mule so he could go to school,

but all he did

was stand on the books and fuck the mule” haw haw haw

you survived years of school

by standing on those books and fucking everything but the mule

by packing your lips with wads of Red Man

by lowering your shoulders to set the blocks

by greasing up your hands under engines

until the creases around your nails were permanently black

but you never really learned much

from your daddy’s point of view

and he never bothered to teach you

anything

except how to attract deer with piss

###

THE YEARBOOK
Maggie Grinnell

She thought that taking the Greyhound bus would be an adventure. So far the only exciting thing that has happened has been when a car lightly bumped the back of the bus (no one was hurt and everything was settled

quickly).

Sitting in the brown cotton weave seat for 2 hours left Rizza

fidgeting, so she opened the purple book bag that rested against the seat next to her.

Rizza didn’t know why she had her high school yearbook in the

bag; maybe to see how far she has come, how much she has grown in the two years after graduating from Croft High.

Rizza has straight, shoulder length chestnut hair, misty blue eyes,

freckled complexion and fair skin.

She was always hit upon in high school. Looking back, she shivered at how ominous the students were.

The girls were threatening towards her because she was taking

away the attention the boys gave them and the boys snuck around every corner to get a closer peek at her.

The only pleasant memory she had at Croft High was performing

in the school choir. Rizza loved to sing. She got so involved in the choir group, that she was the one in charge of the Lemonade stand. The choir needed some kind of fund raiser to help pay for the much needed uniforms.

Ultimately, Rizza with her glowing personality was able to

raise enough money for each person to have their own uniform.

‘Well that’s all behind me’ Rizza thought to herself as she

closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

A few seconds later, she closed the yearbook and slid it into

the book bag.

Her misty blue eyes turned ocean blue and as wide as the sea

when New York City came into view.

Rizza has been given the golden opportunity to work at the

New York Times as an Assistant to the Advertising Manager.

Rizza was ready to sizzle (she didn’t like the word ‘shine’, too

cheesy).

###

Progeny

by Isaac O'Bannon

when your name is isaac,

you come to expect certain things

foremost is defeat

in many forms

isaac is not that uncommon a name,

it's just that most

men named such live obscure lives

live in the shadows

for fear of a more tragic defeat.

sure, there was isaac newton

and isaac azimov

and isaac hayes is still around

and doing the voice of chef on southpark-

but how many countless others have

there been

from the beginning

from the very genesis, if you will,

the name isaac has come to mean sacrifice

just as abraham was ordered

and offered

isaac is the only human sacrifice in the bible

isaac cook discovered the hawaiian islands and died of malaria

another sacrifice

i'm willing, if the cause is right,

to be someone's sacrifice, too-

i just need to find my cause

my purpose

something to believe in.

something worthy of my name.

###

WHAT'S ON MY LUNCH TRAY?

JULIAN RANKIN

I stormed into the lunchroom

I stomped into the line

My friends all snatched their jellos

But the last apple was mine

The lunch today was meatloaf

It looked all brown and spunky

Gooey green beans was on the side

My mashed potatoes were chunky

I sat down at my assigned seat

And dug my fork into the unknown

While I sat there I thought of happy thoughts

Like eating an ice cream cone

My five funny friends froze in fear

As I crunched into the meat

But when I did I was amazed

The taste could not be beat

After all it wasn't so bad

And the potatoes were okay

But tomorrow will be another day

To see what's on my tray

###

The moon

Makes you wonder like a child

Promises to be there like the sky

A brother to the sun like a shadow to the light

The moon

Steven Magallanes

###

She Sleeps
Bill Albright

Midnight has gone

Three a.m. creeps from its cycle of twenty-four

Silent as the bared limbs of Winter's

Trees bloom white, pink

Challenging daffodils as Spring's

Avant-garde, but all are bested by

The Chronicle delivery car from

Which sails the birdcage replacement.

I wander in my search for sleep,

Colder than I will be on a July evening

With another book, thoughts of

What was, the to be, the is.

Of life sweeter than we thought it would be,

Content that she is safe under the

Ceiling fan cooling her tropic flesh

Too hot, rested, deeply asleep.

###

SHE MIGHT BE AN ANGEL
Jesse Huot

She is beautiful

If I believed in angels

She might be mine

And I

Her devil pitchfork

She sits next to me

And asks, “What book are you reading?”

I turned the cover up

So she could see it

There is a name - under it, it reads

Early selected poems

“Cool, what’s it about?”

I let that one slip

“It’s just a bunch of poems, its good stuff.”

“I love poetry, do you write any?”

“I rite short stories grammar exempt

I’m just a hack.” (That’s what I said to impress her)

“Oh, poetry is like all I write

I’m really good. It just comes naturally, I guess.”

Yeah, I don’t believe in angels

###

Terminus
by Matt Charvat

Zoraster yearns. Xerxes watches venerably.

Unyoked the scorched ruins quietly permeate.

Opposites now mitigate.

Like knights jousting in heated gore.

Finally earth dies. Circle becomes abyss.

If you look carefully I have used the alphabet backwards to create my poem. I have many more like this using the alphabet backwards and forwards.

###

Melamine morning.

Cool breeze on sunshine rays,

honey bee wings

natalie lancaster

###

SLOW BURN
Joseph Welch

Embers

I envy them

Glowing red, glowing slow

So long after the sear

I envy them

I rest my foot in the ash

Can't help but feel at home

I envy them

###

DREAMS
by Pete Snelling

In my dreams I’m always strong,

In my dreams we get along.

In my thoughts it’s a happy world,

In my mind you’re still my girl.

All my hopes contain your face,

All my prayers put me in that place.

Every day you fill my mind

With happy thoughts of good old times.

I always think of the way we were.

I always wake and think you’re here

But reality shows me that you’re gone,

I’ve got to stop this and move on.

I feel so happy to think we are,

But sadness fills me ‘cos you’re so far.

It’s over and I should realize

That to think you love me is a lie.

I feel so pointless without you,

And so damn lonely with nothing to do.

###

Drifting

BoBo

We used to talk for hours

and enjoy every moment

Now...it's totally different

We barely speak,

Once in awhile a word

here and there

buts its not the same anymore

AND yes i know i my time is limited

with al that's going on

but it never ever changed my

feelings towards you,

I still love you and always will

I want to Love US again

they way we were

We seemed to have hit a barrier

me on my side you on the other

Is it jut a test of Love or

the end of one?

Our candle is dying and

I don't know what t do or

what to say

Is this all in my head...

a figment of my imagination,

perhaps a nightmare that i can

awaken from shortly...

I only wish but all

of his is true and

it breaks my heart to know it

I want us back but maybe this

is the way its meant to be

To drift apart in to our own worlds.

###

THE SETTING OF THE SUN : GOOD NIGHT

By Funke Olukoju

Like the sun, you slowly rose,

And you found your unique place,

Your rays shone in the lives of all,

who came across your way.

You were unique in your views and prose,

Rather than follow, you set the pace,

But just when you were standing tall,

The sun set, signifying the end of the day.

###

IRONIC
KWAKOU A. BUTCHER

All we live for is success and happiness,

but all we tend to get is

failure and disappointment. Nothing we hold

ours but our goal and our spirit. Without

knowledge of these things we shall remain

useless.

Everyday that we are blessed with we

must use to our advantage. For the closer we

remain to his image determines how much

closer to him we will be when our time has

come.

So long and so hard is this road that which

we call life that it makes hope and faith

impossible to live without.

So far with and so long is this test that

everyday we endure.

So harsh and so cold is this life for which

we long. So ironic we are to fear the day

we find peace and move on.

###

As I wake up to another day not knowing who,

When, and where this all happen. I'm talking

About this hole I have in my heart. I thought

He loved me, but yet I do not no any more.

Today has been a lonely day, for I no longer

Have my lover. I can feel the cold breath of

Sadness upon me and now I am free for that

Beast who calls for me in the dark. No one

Can protect me and no one can hear my cries!

Today has been a lonely day, but wait! I see

This brave solider who comes for me. As he

Rides thru the darkness and then stops. He

Touches my face with his hand so gentle that

I melt. He holds me and whispers in my ear

To let me know that I am safe. Who is this

Wonderful man? I will never tell, for he keeps

To himself. We'll just say, he is my brave knight

For today has been a lonely day

Ebony M. Hunter

###

****The Tiger****
---C.M. Palermo

A silhouette of adventure

Lurking in the rainforest glades

Immersed in cruel ambition and lunacy

Eyes lined with kohl mystery

Glazed in lustrous golden-honey glow.

Fur windblown in the dawning haze

Pulled back, exposing thorned ivory teeth

Smiling artfully through shadows

Cunningly emitting the essence of death

Of a penetrating sting

In the dark, thrashed, lonely

Aura of the

Ebony-frosted night.

###

A SINGLE FLOWER
JESSICA .W

A single flower

That shines with pride,

For it has lasted

And the others have died,

A single flower

With colorful streaks

That makes it so unique.

Are you like that flower?

One in a million

With so much power,

With so much beauty and

Little dismay not on reason

To run away.

Are you this flower

I ask?

To figure out is a

difficult task.

###

AWARE OF CHAOS
QUENTIN CLINGERMAN

Aware of chaos all around him

He stands firmly in his place

Derision cannot move his being

Cannot change his steadfast gaze

Right is right all through the ages

Wrong is still just as wrong

Changing definitions or changing attitudes

Make no difference to the absolutes

There is the intuitive knowledge

Call it conscience if you please

That guides each person unless it is seared

Then chaos ensures

Aware of chaos in this age

With relativism on the throne

Truth, by vote or consensus

Is no truth at all

###

Endangered Species Barbecue

"If they could do this to the peaceful old men of the mountain,

they could do it to me." Hutu Warrior (reporting incident

At campsite of Rwandan guerrillas

Found over smoldering barbecue pit

Remains of young Silverback gorillas.

Only the forest misses their voices,

Their wild happiness in the bushes and trees.

And their beloved mountain anxiously awaits

Their belated return.

Someday, when we least expect, nature

Will exact a fearsome price

To avenge the death of these peaceful old men

And free itself from the constant destruction

Wrought by the "descendants" of the gentle Silverbacks:

The despicable beasts who rape this planet,

And savage their own kind,

But conveniently call themselves man

Kind.

###

UNKNOWN
Blaise

Label me a slacker,

maybe in your line of sight.

Title me a poet,

I disagree, I like to write.

Call me mister know it all,

I'll gladly take the label.

If all is known, then why the hell,

are Martians just a fable?

Design a cradle, make some love,

then you’re in the game.

Once your kid jumps through her legs,

take the risk and name.

But don’t screw up, your kid grew up,

and probably through the scene,

you named him "Joe" he ate too much,

now he’s "Sloppy Josephine"

let my point be understood,

I hope you hear-me-all-right.

Electricity and speaker wire

are meant for stereo types.

So take this lesson serious,

the labeling trend, I don’t condone.

I stick to my word until the end,

That's why my title will read "unknown".

###

HER?
Francisca Francis

"She will honour you,if you embrace her"

"She will place on your head a fairgarland"

"She will bestow on you a beautifull crown"

She changes the way the mind thinketh like whirlwind

She has stepped on the sands of time

She is our greatest folkteller

She dwells in the shelves of the woods

And the hearts of great minds

She is the fastest traveller over distance

She is IMMORTAL!

She is perceived in the souls of wisdomite

Even unto death

"She is the treasure of the world's chest

She bears the world in her bosom of knowledge

###

Seven Years There's so much about me you just don't understand. The fear I have when I'm near a man. Something that's buried in my subconscious mind. I don't want to loose you. I just need time. Be my shoulder to cry on or is that to much. Is that all you want just to touch? It may seem so simple in your little brain, you can't imagine my pain. The thought of you kissing me brings me to tears. You must understand it's been seven years. Please, hear what I'm saying. A time is coming, when I'm going to run. If you'll just be patient. Give me just awhile to prove my love. We have had some good laughs. I don't want this to end. Just love me through the doubt and fears. Please open your arms to me even if it takes seven years. Amanda C

####

Mistempered Words

Emma Dyke

A fire never extinguished, an eternal flame,

An emotional outrage, mo one but myself to blame,

Confined by my feelings, a cell of scorching heat,

An uncontrollable power, something which I must defeat,

A desire to find balance, a search for inner peace,

An infinitive battle, fighting for this torment to cease,

The ones I love, those who are dearest to me,

If only they knew, if only they could see,

The pain which is suffocating me, exhausting my days,

Again they suffer my wrath, and angry phase,

I wish to release the aggression, my temper is rising fast,

Vanquish this fire, now after this final blast,

Without darkness there is no light,

Without day there is no night,

Now it is time to be rid of guilt and allow the light to shine through,

Controlling my mistempered words is what I must do,

###

Never Trust A Boy!
April Gail Powell

I want never to trust a boy,

so I bury my heart deep.

I don't want it broken like some toy,

nor a cause for my soul to weep.

I want never to trust a male,

so I shield my heart from harm.

I have built a wall against the gale,

but also from all that's warm.

I want never to trust a guy,

so I hide my heart with a stone.

Though I am not sure why,

for it leaves me all alone.

I still feel I should never trust a male,

so as to keep my warm heart safe.

However, not trusting is the acidic ale

that keeps the smile from my face.

###

DREAMS II

Dennis Nicholas

As I lay my tired soul in a restful place

I begin to drift deeper into unknown space

As I float so weightless and so free

There is no other place I'd rather be

As I drift higher and farther with grace

Drawing much closer, the coldness of space

Images so vague I think not are real

I wonder with doubt unfortunately I feel

Feeling the sensation of cool rushing air

I have the distinct feeling I am almost there

As I wonder who the images may be

The more distant they are ,and harder to see

The closer they seem the distance too far

With much desperation, wonder who they are

Now a deep sigh as I begin drifting away

I fear it is time to return another day

The cool rushing air as I begin to descend

Without any doubt must come to an end

As I do wake my eyes open wide

Again, have I crossed to the other side

###

Global players
Written by Les Johnson / January 2002

Global players effect us all, poor

Rich countries gain all the more

Nike, Macdonald’s proclaim no greed

Just benefits for the world in need!

The profits made are never shared

Modern slave workers are to scared

To go on strike or express their anger

Feed the family, no work means hunger.

Cheap and nasty work conditions rule

Abused families and kids provide the tool

For high margins and a good supply

Made in UK, USA labels had to die.

Produced in Latin America, Asia faraway

Low cost production lines are here to stay.

Hi Tec, low Tec provides the means

16 hour working day on mean machines.

Marketing Gurus provide the action ad

Truth, behind the fantasy is so sad.

Multi-Millionaire players play the game

Glamorous life style, fortune and fame.

Sweat houses and third world conditions

Employers’ abuse kids without ambitions

Provide the family with the daily bread

No luxury or comfort, just misery instead.

Where is the guilt and who is to blame?

We the punters feel no shame.

Global players fulfill our requirements

Producing goods without sentiments.

Capitalist measures mean maximum profit

Cheap labour needed, you have to admit!

The only way to achieve a global presence

Reach out and help with forceful dominance!

We accept this situation here in the west

The status- quo we cannot contest.

We are all to blame for global conditions

Producers and punters make decisions

To sit in one boat and ignore the poverty,

Far away in a distant third world country

Workers are forced to produce or die,

Here in our comfort we ignore the lie.

What answer is there to the problem?

Take it from us maybe, and give it to them

No, but maybe to share and understand

Fundamental differences within mankind.

Produce material goods by all means

With respect for our fellow human beings

Let everyone live in humane conditions

A question of conscience, not ambitions

###

GLORIFIED
Ty Kivari

a smile and that citric smell that takes me back

to the fiery connection to god who all but forgot

that dark place where i love to sit alone, staring, dreaming,

finding myself cold and hollow, meaningless, searching for meaning.

that meaning that dries his hands in his hair and perfects

the cross-legged meditation that meant so much, once.

that meaning that throws his hands in the air and cries

"i was what mattered, once, i brought hope where there was only despair"

to remember the hope that brought nations from the edge of disaster

and painted red upon black where no-one had ever dared to color.

where all those who entered and asked were pardoned and dressed in white,

unforgotten, loved, respected. that respect that i had forgotten,

those pants who fell down around the ankles and tripped their wearer,

unexpected, that terrible blow,

that struck more than once, and the anger that stayed behind to haunt

my self-indulgent hallucinations, where i was a true hero

where i sat and wept for the wine that was snatched away from my lips,

where there was true feeling in agony, a heartbeat and a whisper

and a cold shoulder that would never leave me.

this was, this is not, but this will be again.

shadows only dream of a promise that will never die,

a promise to myself.

###

Wish Wash

Wessle Tankleford

I made a cloud box, and tossed it up into the air

so it could go home,

but it just fell back down like this:

wish, wash, wish, wash, wish, wash

###

The Burial
Kerry

Here where my heart fell,

Here where my life broke

I come to say good-bye,

To bury all

That made me cry.

Here I lay to rest

Dreams that never gasped,

Magnificent in their death.

Here I put to rest

All that made me blessed.

With a smile

That belies the pain

I seal love into its tomb.

###

Play Mates
Mandy Jayne Moon

Teddy bear, teddy bear, why do you stare,

When your sitting in my rocking chair.

Teddy bear, teddy bear, why cant you talk,

When in the night, i hear you walk.

Twenty times i have caught sight of you,

and i wonder, what is it you do.

I think tonight, when you think i'm asleep,

I'll open my eye's, and have a peek.

I think you play, with my other toy's,

As sometimes i hear a lot of noise.

Teddy bear, teddy bear, please tell me so,

Then i can join in, and have a go.

I bet it's a secret, and your not to say,

but that doesn't matter, because i love you anyway.

###

Imagine being John

Written by Les Johnson / April 2002

I wish I were John Lennon, famous

Writing silly stories and poems, ridiculous

Publishes with no problem, a book

Reputation, The Beatles, is all it took

Acknowledged by the literary hierarchy

Accepted as a masterpiece, a mockery

Child like sketches drawn as a joke

Lennon in heaven, what a good bloke

Classical pop songs, Love Me Do

John, tongue in cheek, it is true

Took the establishment for a ride

Laughed at professors, Jekyll and Hyde

I wish I enjoyed his fortune and fame

I could publish this poem, what a shame

Publishers only take the chosen few

Strawberry fields covered in dew

Never mind, I'll look to Van Gogh

He died penniless, suicide, the shock

Fame only comes when you die

Lenno and vincent, together they lie.

###

Tired today, aunty Lorraine gave me a ersatz list to window shop for

menagerie of thrown vases. Metronome clicks, jewelry boxes shut,

mumbling song.

Saluting fear, frosted cake walk impound soldier feet, iced blade to air,

strikes wedding bells.

Twinkling eye, stardust ballroom roused jukebox live,

tunneled underground hi-fi, kamikaze hits, making black waves of Tokyo

rose rise red, raring to go early when son's ashes pile to roof as

twirled smoke turntables world, scratched, deep grooved hand playing

45's year, skipping heart beat that pearl harbours.

Kiss me mothers wait, soon to be some say,

for schooled bus jumbling lap of terrorized lunch,

pale tuck in imprisoned faces wasted from over seas pin-up postcards

stamped with "hard to get rules".

Mission of girl talk moves fast with lined up hosiery, passing window

shown sheer, giving volumes of pent-up fold drafted fought wind

as uniformed war wore on, spoiling for colored clothes.

Eating fast kept pace with boomers teething cap'n gown gold

while greased face moves earning that smelt of badged steel,

enforcing law forever over cogwheel.

Mylinda Rives

###

I REMEMBER

by Larry D. Hollifield

I remember thinking you would always be there,

Forever in love with me.

I remember when the sound of your voice calling my name made my heart skip,

Forever in love with you.

I remember thinking we would be together till the end of time,

Forever in love with each other.

I remember the day you left,

Forever in love no more.

I remember.

###

The Love Between Two People
Dee

His arms cuddling around her body like a shield protecting her

His breath on her shoulder the warmth of his body heat on her

He kisses her softly, lightly and wonderful

His eyes look into hers, the richness of the brown color, looks like chocolate

She looks back, turns her head signals to him that she is still cold

Her hand touches his face, gently making sure that all she feels is his soft skin

He lifts his hand to her face, standing there only looking at her,

Concentrating on her and only her

His eyes twinkle in the sunlight, her face lights up with a smile

His arms wrapped around her waist, hugging her

Her coldness turns to warmth

Both happy, they love each other

###

More Than A Kiss
By: Mark Lawson

Sometimes a kiss is more than a kiss,

Even if you don’t want it to be.

This idea seems a bit strange.

All’s I’m using are my lips,

OK so maybe I use my tongue too,

And my hand are usually rubbing and caressing,

But I swear that’s all.

So why is my head thinking these thoughts?

Now my heart is trying to get involved.

I don’t understand,

This wasn’t what I had planned.

I’m just looking to have some fun,

I don’t want to think about relationships,

Or that dreaded word COMMITMENT.

Run away! Run away!

Don’t let it get you.

Not the proverbial ball and chain.

Why oh why is a kiss more than a kiss?

###

WOBBLY FEELINGS

Ann Jillian Adona

Hurt

-Have pain

-Offend

-Cause pain

Betrayal

-Disloyalty

-Deceive

-Reveal

Loss

-Result of losing something, someone

-Losing

-Lost

Love

-Feel love

-Strong affection

-Embrace

Hurt, Betrayal, Loss, Love

Wobbly I stand on these feelings

When you left me alone,

I felt hurt, betrayed, lost.

Wobbly standing on my feelings

I love you

###

Alcoholic
Danny DJ

When is it coming home

How long will it be till it sips the foam

When will it stop

Should I call the cops

Hiding under the bed

I heard what it said

"I hate you Bitch"

Now her wounds need stitched

Listening in horror

As it opens the cooler

My worst fear

It grabs another beer

My mother now sobbing

Her face now throbbing

Called my name

Nothing is the same

I came running

It stopped me

It grabbed me by the arm

And It tossed me

There came a knock

I sat up huffing

It answered the door

I was no longer poor

As they took it away

I no longer felt astray

All our wounds are now stitched

I no longer feel ditched

###

FADE AWAY
this poem is dedicated to a mother I never knew
dianne

A little child

peers out the window

into a sunfilled day

trying to catch a glimpse

Somewhere in the far horizon

of the one

who loved

and was gone as

A lonely tear trickles

gently downward and

a little fist unclenches

and waves goodbye

A face appears

but soon is gone

and as time goes on

the memory

Will linger still

but the pain and

the sorrow will

fade away

###

My daughter

Abiodun Razak

A thing of rare beauty

Conceived in love

Birth in pain and agony

Held in love and wonderment

A thing of rare beauty to behold

A gift of privilege and honour

Given without bias to anyone

Longed for by everyone

Cherished by everyone

Held in wonderment by all

A thing of rare beauty

Yet so fragile and sensitive

Easily marred for life

When neglected and abused

By the given

Healed by the gentle

Soothing words of affections

From the giver

A thing of rare beauty

A source of constant joy

And surprises to the given

A future filled with laughter for both

When treasured as a prized possession

By the given.

###

Quill'S Poetic Craft
Nora Baron Caldelero

Kaleidoscope of emotions emerged

Like William Shakespeare's"Romeo and Juliet"

An endless sleep in the vast oblivion,

In the abyss of Psyche's arrows

Like a tremendous, towering barriers

Castles built by nobles and knights.

Love so purified...kept all desires

It's venom...undying ember...very potent

Succulent smiles of freedom eutopic.

Springs of the youth exuberance

Blinded by the surge emotions

Plunged into the water of styx

With liberating pains and agonies.

Floated unendingly into their psyche's

Of heavenly grace and stature

He's on the West...She's on the East

Yet, Love consumed them intimately.

Emotions corrupted their souls

With complexity of illusions - He...She

Fated to be " Romeo and Juliet " for real.

###

Womb With A View
erin thompson

She inhales breath for me to breathe

Preparing me for my time to leave

I sway with her laughter

Stay still when she cries

I awaken at night

To her muffled lullabies

Whispers echo while I grow

Her voice the most

A voice I know!

Inside I'm moving

Outside you're aware

You can't wait to meet me

The young one you bear

I feel the rhythm your heartbeat sends

My first favorite song

One, which my life depends

From a thought, to a cell, I am alive

Now days are shorter

Soon I'll arrive...

You've assisted god,

And a miracle grew....

Here I await, in my Womb with a view!

###

NEW BEGINNING

by Courtney Bailey

Wandering through life, I speak...

unmasked, true, and unforgotten love.

Through space I travel searching for a divine understanding of creation,

combustion of life.

Wadding through masses of uncertainty,

clawing to escape.

Trudging against the tides of reality,

I swim to survive.

Tired and numb, I relax.

Slowly, I whither to the bottom;

the beginning of the end.

Nothingness surrounds, no sounds echo.

Only thoughts of peace are left.

Release...

slowly lighting my soul.

Awaken my tired heart,

swollen and numb.

Collapse my fear and swallow my pride.

Trudge forward with a new set of eyes from which to cry.

###

"I planted a rose seed..."
leo olivella

I planted a rose seed in the depths of your heart

praying that you will be my chance at a brand new start,

i put some water on my plant someday hoping to see,

what started out as a rose seed a beautiful flower would be,

i checked on my rose come night and come day,

finally a stem formed from where the seed used to lay,

at the end of the stem a rose bud has started,

i knew from that day my old life i parted,

i watered and watched it and time took its toll,

that single lonely rosebud is now a beautiful rose,

now tilling up more dirt is the last thing to do,

an old rose stands strong yet makes way to the new,

its a never ending cycle surrounded by love,

your roots grow deep yet you fly like a dove,

###

Mirror Images
Linda H. Cole

Look in the mirror...

Look in your mirror...

Look in my mirror...

Do you not want to experience

the horror or the terror?

The true self

that has existed in relation

to everything else

Is it there?

Always trying to stay

unaware

Seeing the daytime

shadow

As night falls,

hope it does not follow

An eclipse of the mind

left out far from

the divine

Lost in an identity projected

and the truth

left neglected

Lay hidden under shades of a tree,

leaving unkown that what is

is not what you see.

###

GUYS

Aisha E. Brittain

They are always bossy

They rarely groom themselves

And some are almost always stinky

Guys

Always demanding

Always horny

always, always going

Guys

Who needs them

Who wants them

Who can stand them

Guys

Never clean

Never cook

And always leave up the toilet seat

Guys

Always heartbreakers

Always deceitful

Guys

If they're so bad,

Then why do we love them so much?

###

Born to the new
B.P O'Doherty

The tired and restless born to the new, forgotten and bewildered fraught and come true

Destiny and infamy are seen and as hole.

Could you betray me before I fall?.

Torn from my life, just to see the trouble I have caused.

Born to this life just to wear my new face.

Torn from the start to live from the end, can I begin my rise my one true friend?.

Are you a true believer, do you want a new path?.

Do you believe in the future?, do you wish for the aftermath?.

I see the lies, I see the hate, to much to soon, you took the bait.

Do you plead for your soul to be reformed and renewed?.

Do you see these lies through eyes so shrewd?.

Now beckons the trails of the soul, tired and restless born to the new,

To be forgotten and bewildered, now fraught but will it come true?.

Destiny will knock soon enough, infamy shall follow soon enough.

Torn to the end I shall live from the start, forget my face I shall follow my heart.

The tired and the restless are about to stand tall, born from the new we shall watch you fall.

###

There is more in April 30th, 2002 Encore