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designated authors 2006.
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OPEN MIC ENCORE I
OPEN MIC ENCORE II
OPEN MIC ENCORE III
MORNING IN HEAVEN JOE HAFNER Morning is rising open your eyes Look and listen fiery colours light the skies Dew drops glisten as the birds are singing Just stop for a second and take a listen, All is peaceful but upon the moors A farmer awakens to begin his chores He starts his engine and begins to choke To The steady rumble and filthy smoke As he revs the beast and the silence is broke. Stop for a while and take a listen The common sound of morning glisten I open my door to collect the milk A common spider is spinning his silk I take a breath and then it hits me The air is clean and my day is free My watch reads seven as I look and listen I ask my self is this not heaven?
-0- Usually on a Saturday I’ll wake shortly after noon Spending the night before Madly dancing with the moon This old’ liver is sore, And is desperately begging for a dry spell Usually on a Saturday I’ll fumble with the blues Recapping my favorite licks and chords Singing about a better world And woman who went away Hopefully I’ll get them down on paper this time Usually on a Saturday I’m at it again Slicking my hair back With that fresh egg yoke Through my pockets I can almost reach my knees But that’s ok !
Gilbert C.
-0-
Knots of Life Bill Albright Problems become knots Seek the end of the thread From which you may begin To seek what seems To write the knot of now For never will it be if Knots remain untouched.
-0-
MUSH -BUSH IMBROGLIO [ A HUMOROUS POEM ON GEORGE W BUSH AND PERVEZ MUSHARRAF] By Nandlal K Pancholi
Mush and Bush are bosom friends Former borrows , latter lends Bush-Mush Mush-Bush The alliance awkward and abstruse- To everyone The pair both confuse and amuse The former stalwart,latter a dwarf Former tickles,latter laughs
Bushy with Mushy flirts and blurts: “I dump my dollar in dictator’s dustbin He is military ruler,my king-pin For him I’m ready to commit any sin you understand what I mean. “Mushy, use my dollar for proxy war in J & K And with it you can in power stay Mushy, I love you,I love you My dictator friends are but few Mugabe is not a guy like you A paranoid in my view See how often against me poison he spew My exchequer is for you to plunder And commit blunder after blunder Please keep AL quaeda under check For that take from me blank check Capture that vagabond waif Osama And in return take from me whole Oklahama Seven eleven is burning blob on my skin Mushy, you understand what I mean.
Mushy mumbles and himself humbles: Bushy, I love I love you I have faithful friends but few Our friendship is most uncanny I assure you honey Your exchequer is my pocket money As a kid My father never gave me so much money As you’ve given me ,my honey Bushy I love you. I love you I have no lucrative friend save you You are my best friend in my view Our friendship will go in history As an unsolved mystery.
-0-
FOR YOUR QUICKNESS, FOR THE REST
Phyllis Jean Green
Bring me back as a tiger
once, at least. White, gold,
orange, bronze, your choice,
as long as I lie weightless
and lithe along a branch
with no more on my mind
than shifts of light
and dark that believe
they masquerade as trees.
Stripe me visible
only to me. See my paws
sport rugged pads. Claws
are just sharp enough.
Let my breath come easy.
Tell me when to breathe.
Give me the sense to luxuriate
in the lush fur that serves
to hide until it strikes.
Hundreds of spaces lurk
beneath so I can genie
to phantoms now curved,
now eeling long, in a flash.
Ripple my sides and widen
my eyes to amber lamps
as I leap to thrill to the chase.
Oh, and do be sure I fill
my belly strictly out of need.
Leave the jungle as I found it.
-0-
Alcohol and Heroin was my best friend
I always thought they were going to be there in the end
Pulling the glass closer to my lips
To pass out in a drunken fit
Drawing back the blood from a vein
Nothing was ever going to be the same
Fears going away in drunken rage
They locked me up and put me in a cage
In this cage was a bed
And my arms were blood red
Cleaned the blood from my arms
And looked out the window at the farm
Later that day I saw a light
It was the bright star in the dark night
I went to group and to a meeting
It was the only time I did not feel like fleeing
I sat in that meeting and someone told me Just what I was to be
That was the night I found a new hope
That I was not ever going have to do alcohol and dope
Richie Winscom
-0-
Put The Cup Of Coffee Down
G David Schwartz
Put the cup of coffee down
You don't need to tout it around
Over fine white carpet
Where it will ground
Put the cup of coffee down
The pretty liquid it is
Slipping and falling
Dripping leads to balling
When my lovely sweet wife sees it
And yells, yells so loud
To put the cup of coffee down
-0-
It is hard to start. You dig your nails in to the rind. You feel the juice splashing all over the place. It takes time to peel. You feel the excitement. It is almost ready to eat. All the juice drips down your hand. You desperately need a tissue, but your mouth, your tongue, and your jaw tastes and feels the sour sweet smell. You need to put it in your mouth. There it goes down your throat. Now all the juice splashing in your mouth, repeated several times more and it's gone fast.
Zachary Heart
-0-
She's fallen back asleep now, Her eyes that once saw-weep now, She can't take no more, He broke her heart for the last time, She's walked through the door. He tries to justify his nasty way, He makes her feel she's to blame, She's so strong now she doesn't stay, She doesn't feel love or shame.
She opened her eyes cause she thought he could see, He showed her how cruel a person could be, If she said something wrong or out of turn, He'd overreact and make her learn, When the hat was placed on the other head, She overreacted because it hurt, But he made her feel that she should be dead. He continued to make her feel like dirt.
And this man he said he loved this girl, Clearly a mind whirlwind or twirl. He couldn't fully love her for who she was, He doesn't even realize the damage he has caused.
She's fallen back asleep now, She no longer wants to see, She wonders what true love is, And how it could be. It wasn't what he gave her, for, this is matter of fact, Cause if he really loved her a cruel man, he would not act.
She's fallen back asleep now-her eyes that see don't weep now, She knows it's not because of something she's done, But because this man a corner he cannot turn.
Louise Ferguson
-0-
Dark and Scary
Taylor Utz
I was in my bed with the light turned out.
I put the covers over my head,
so the monsters won’t come out.
When I thought I heard nothing,
I didn’t hear a sound.
I looked at my closet,
And thought something turned around.
I jumped out of bed,
And bumped my head.
I scattered to my mom and dad’s room,
As I reached the door I heard a big boom.
I turned around to find something laying on my floor,
I wanted my mom and dad more and more.
The look in it’s eye,
The pain that I felt, why oh why?
I got up the courage,
And walked right over to what I thought,
According to my hallucinations, was a great big Grrrrrrrrrr. . . . .
It was actually Miss Kitty,
With a soothing purr.
-0-
Sudden Sadness
harihar patel
Today I feel sad.
Sad for no rhyme or reason.
It must be the fog or
the dull evening sun.
A darkness descending;
the whole atmosphere depressing.
I am my shadow,
sitting in a daze,
like the tired dust on my face.
My breath is deep blue;
my smile a melody of tears.
My heart plays an out of tune 'raga',
on the strings of faded love.
Ain't easy to lose myself in drink;
nor forget nightmarish memories.
Is your smile ever wet with tears?
Does the horizon coil around you,
like the umbilical cord of the unborn?
For no earthly reason,
I feel sad today.
-0-
WHY WE TRUST
OYIBI,Lazarus
Can I be trusted?
Can I trust you?
Can we trust you?
Can you trust us?
When you watch over me,
can I have a sound sleep?
Can you sleep like a baby
when I watch over you?
Can we leave our doors open
when we go to the farm or market?
Can our school go to school?
Can we feel secure?
Can I listen to you without reading any meaning?
How much power can you have?
Can we trust you with so much of it?
When you tell me look!
Will I see anything?
How long can we be together?
How long can I trust you?
-0-
Compassion is Just a Feeling
Jason Bourne
Staring into the world,
Feeling their sorrow.
You would have them impearled.
You feel like you owe.
Litter them with rations,
By the morrow,
To even Athens,
As swift as an arrow.
Sail your empathy on a boat,
But you are so hollow.
-0-
I look for a sign. If I could see His footprints, or some honest to God relics, like a lock of His hair or the ring He wore. If the LaBrae Tar pit were filled with haloes and harps perhaps, I could believe. If there was a place like Graceland where I could touch His bathrobe and bedroom slippers, Then, my faith wouldn’t have to be so blind.
joan pond
-0-
THIS IS AFRICA
OYIBI, K. Lazarus
This is Africa where we use fuel wood
To cook our food
We walk long distances to fetch drinking water From streams and rivers Our major means of transportation is by walking Or riding on motorcycle Africa, where kids play in the puddle and And parents collect water when it rains.
Oh, my Africa!
Where we sit round fire to warm ourselves in the morning And by night, we sit round to listen to stories.
A continent so blessed with fresh air to breathe Trees for shades And fruits as fresh as they could come down from the trees My Africa!
Your aroma and sweetness is best comprehended with roasted yam Dipped in fresh palm oil.
This is Africa
-0-
ALL GOOD
Millions of people blind themselves with three words...
ITS ALL GOOD.
no matter what happens or what obsticles block their path, they cover their doubts with these three words...
ITS ALL GOOD.
some people can see through to the other side of the problems they have and can deal with them. most people just keep sayin...
ITS ALL GOOD.
thats just because most have trouble seeing into their own minds and even their own thoughts get misunderstood. it lets them Have a blank spot that they fill with three words...
ITS ALL GOOD.
if the normal everyday person could look at their situation, pick out what needs to be changed, and actually change it, then maybe there would be no need for people to give up and just say...
ITS ALL GOOD.
if people actually took responsibility for their mistakes, actions, and flaws, we would be all be able to see past the frustration. The frustration is what makes us give up and fall back into just saying...
ITS ALL GOOD.
Because there comes a time when you have to look past the difficulty of changing and see that there is a point when it stops being ALL GOOD. You have to be able to change for the good and leave the bad behind without just settling for GOOD.
A time will come when your realize that being ALL GOOD is not actually all that good.
If we go for great then it will really be ALL GOOD.
bRENT kIRCH
-0-
CRICKET PASSION By T A RAMESH
“Eleven fools are playing and eleven thousand fools are Witnessing the game,” said G.B. Shaw about Test Match. But One Day Match totally changed the nature of Cricket. So, when 11 Indians are playing 110 crore hearts beat here!
The question of everybody now is “who is going to beat who?” Betting on matches goes beyond control all over the world. Beating all emerges one as winner after a month and more; Until then day and night in the mind cricket comes to the fore!
What is the significance of sports in the world arena today? Sports stop enmity and breed fraternity among all nations. The passion for war to win is transferred to sports in spirit That activates the skill of all players to contribute the best.
So, Wars of the World have become the wares of the worn out. When this is so why there should be wars in the name of any; Is it not funny to go to war to solve the problems of mankind Like the savages did thousands of years ago before civilization?
Defeat or victory cannot be predicted and so, it is immaterial; But the materials of the defeated may be destroyed by men, Whose expectations are not fulfilled in the world cup match! So, has the attitude of men changed although world chooses sports?
-0-
"Bad-Tasting-Food" Tashiba Nelson
When you're hungry, Bad-Tasting-Food taste real good.
I've been Hungry! I eat and I eat but my hunger just stays, so DAMN I can't get enough of this Bad-Tasting-Food. I'm Hungry, my stomach is bulging down there but there is a whole in my chest the more that I care. So I eat more and more and more of this Bad-Tasting-Food made with compassion or an intention to cheer.
Bad-Tasting-Food - Is it really below 30 on this bright sunny day. Bad-Tasting-Food - Ohhhh, I wish this bitch would go away. Bad-Tasting-Food - I prayed real hard and still there was no change. Bad-Tasting-Food -Did I really gain all this weight in these few days.
I'm still hungry! Keep it coming; let me have another round of my Bad-Tasting-Food. Let me have another round, damn I just failed that test. Let me have another round, he was sooo… not impressed. Let me have another round, my family life is a mess. Let me have another round, my best friend don't see my distress. Let me have another round, I refuse to act depressed.
I stay hungry…where the F@#K is my food!
-0-
THE SEESAW AND THE BALANCE BEAM
darnell fulgham
I saw the moon come up last night at five While on my daily amble up the drive.
I met it face to face, just broken free Of the horizon, red as red can be Behind the naked trees. I went to see how cold It was this morning, saw it sitting in the old Oak tree, a silver dish with patterns beaten in it-- Or perchance a wash of white that when it Brushed the mountaintops had left the valleys blue.
It climbed down through the pines and sank its teeth into The ridge that marked the planet’s edge from where I was. I looked back toward the east and there I saw the sunrise. Suddenly it dawned on me that they’re a team,
-0-
SENSES Ankit Gupta (2nd April 2007)
Tenuous beads upon a rose, Chequered spots of colour; buds and petals, Warm and comforting grey haze, Cool and refreshing dew on lush lawn, Not in myth and lore, But in her whole femininity.
A pervasive lull in my senses, Voices fading to a wispy winter breeze, The world; a colourless sight, Rendered an unmoving manikin, Such the trace of her subtle fragrance, Lingering still within me; well preserved.
The smell which choked a spirit, The touch which left its mark, The sight which cannot be framed, Every morsel of her radiant aura, A trigger to a mindless reminiscence, Her distance and amnesia; no barrier…
-0-
My sweat dreams BY: ANTHONY SPARKS
I had a dream last night. not one like the others. this one, many would say i'm mad, or crazy. No. I'm not crazy. just ingenious.
I stared at the night sky. it was death black, the stars were gone. my hopes were gone. i'm lonely in the middle of the street. i'm crying. no one wants me. nobody loves me. the asphalt was burning.
I wanted to have a good dream. I can't. Cause dreams have nasty habit of turning bad when you're not looking. I guess I was blind that night.
Its not a dream with blood, or violence. No. My shear terror of loneliness and hopelessness. That's all i know of. And this is how i express my feelings. on a sheet of lined paper.
-0-
POETIC
ART
A
cow grazes in our memory
blood
escapes from the udders
the
landscape is dead from a shot
The
cow insists on its routine
its
tail drives away boredom
the
landscape revives in slow motion
The
cow abandons the landscape
we
continue hearing the lowing
our
memory grazes now
in
that immense loneliness
The
landscape leaves our memory
the
words change name
leave
us weeping
on
the blank page
The
cow grazes now in the emptiness
the
words are mounted on her
the
language makes fun of us
-0-
The Raven Reena
On my twenty-first birthday I wanted a raven With its ebony black feathers Its martyr like air Shunned and revered all at once. I saw the promise of mercy Beneath its dark perfection Felt its comprehension Of my inherent twisted gloom. My reflection cast in its beady eyes - All that I desired to be And I knew I could be With just a brush of its wings Ridding my ruined heart of uncertainties.
-0-
" Could Ya Please Pass The Poem " EDWIN FLORES SALSEROPORVIDA
Sitting, waiting for the first course I hold to thoughts and some remorse Where some words will fall short of why Death will call soon and I will die
Wrong was my place on that dark day Dropped to my knees, crying I prayed To a GOD faceless to me They say call out he'll set you free
Death row is where I now reside A cell designed where me they hide From what some call society Stripped of all my dignity
Complain I can't I've carved my niche Into some hearts I cannot bitch For life is short and I took thier's Where walls crowd me, ceilings we stare
So my last meal I'll have a spread That taunts my soul and of the dead For change I can't undo what's done Forgive us father, your loving son
-0-
FIRE Mark S. Farley Burning of wood, melting of skin, scent of death, you'll never win. All you own, going in flames, wracking your head, beating your brains. Questions unanswered, death all about, why did it happen, the dancing dead shout. Step up the stairs, into the light, business is finished, try not to fight. Now your in heaven, joy all around, we have relief, cause your looking down. Watching us over, make no mistakes, keep us from harm, what ever the stakes.
-0-
What's Peace? Rachel Munce Peace is in the air, it's everywhere. Under the couch, in a pouch, it's everywhere.
Peace looks like rain, dripping on the pane. Peace looks like birds, Gently singing on a calm day.
Peace feels like velvet, of a baby's blanket. Peace feels like leaves, of a growing baby rose.
peace is love,
hugging your mom.
Peace is hope,
for your father
to come.
Peace is silence,
silence is golden. -0-
THE OLD MAN ON THE BENCH
by Marcia Schechinger
From tattered pants pocket he opens a paper carefully unfolding it from a quarter, to a half, to a whole. Easing his slender frame upon a college bench, he warms himself within the cuts of embedded initials Bifocals rest unevenly below his nose cartilage as he reads the smudged print He bows as if dozing then speaks through me to my blanket and books, "she had hair of copper that flowed in the wind. A crinkled frown would form on her forehead when the words weren't quite to her liking For hours she sat on her blanket composing and decomposing as silver rings of nicotine cast curls of silken halos around her head"
Quickly he silenced clutching the paper
as a warm gust grasp for it, then looked upward toward a cumulus cloud and
smiled as if he knew of life's continuity with heaven
-0-
Emily to me MGGT1
Emily said a cup of sunshine Hum, sort of a recipe. A cup full of blue sky A cup of fresh air and How do I take this mixture to work for me.
An Irish sun in my face Brine air to fill my nostrils Closed eyes to refresh all seasons Mind now flooded with post card changes.
Wrapped in a cocoon waiting my metaphorisis or perhaps an epiphany adjusting to the gate in my walk and what shall I bank?
-0-
FOR ANNA
James Jones
I never knew you... but the entire world new your name Now you are gone and the world will not be the same I never met you in person... but for you I shed a tear As I found the news that you were no longer here I never had the chance to tell you how much you were thought of...if only by me, now I will have to wait until again your beautiful face I will see I still have a thousand photos that cover every wall My place has been nick-named the Anna Nicole Hall Collecting them...the hours I would spend, now staring at them I hear the song "Candle in the Wind" The music is now fading and it has began to drizzle rain...a tear slowly travels down my cheek again My heart...my broken heart and very soul, have been stolen by you dearest Anna Nicole Soon to soon you were taken from us all, but, dearest Vicki lynn you may live forever in my Anna Nicole Hall James Jones
-0-
NOBODY EVER.
by
Ruth Walters
my eyes were misty.
I learned about sex from Cindy,
but nobody ever, no nobody ever
taught me how to love.
In my youth, my callow empty youth
my pockets were full.
I danced, I drank, I learnt to use a gun
but they never, no nobody ever
taught me how to have fun.
In my youth, my callow empty youth
my wits were sharp.
I learnt to duck, to dive and to deceive
but they never, no nobody ever
taught me what it is to really live.
-0-
Navajo tears
Maurice Doctor
Let's reflect on the past of our history Our warriors didn't like to be in misery Coming together to eliminate genocide The white eye committing too many homicides The elders couldn't stop all the madness Healing rituals made, but still called savages No more playing in canyon walls Many were beat down until they couldn't crawl, PEACE!
Was just a piece of paper and worthless
We followed the rules, but good times were hard to cherish Young mothers were raped and the old men became slaves Hate beating in their hearts how much could the take My people couldn't see their homeland No homes and the soldiers laughed when it rain I still shed tears for my people in the old days The sad images in my mind still plays That's why I hold my hands to my face and cry Navajo tears
-0-
The Flag of Sorrow Tom Dupuis
They grab for it like monsters Devils without their tridents Hungering for honor Behold this flag of sorrow
Once mounted in the ground It stood for peace and justice A proud and honored symbol But now it’s scorched in evil
Demons versus demons The cause has disappeared Satan remains thirsty On the tip of every sword
Blood will run for days Hate will feed the flames Inside the soldiers’ burning eyes Failure is now the enemy
The flag escapes the battle Held by a battered soldier Running with false pride It dangles by a thread
Behold this flag of sorrow
-0-
The wife’s cat by Michael Lefanto
Sometimes the cat talks to me, tells me things I should consider writing about that might work. Stupid as that seems. He does come up with good ideas now and then. So I listen
-0-
Passing By
William B. Deutscher
It is not what I expected, really,
This streaming advance toward broaching decay And fast movement forward further away Rendering obsolete the new, now gone Into old moments of quaint memory, Yesterday's oblivion burying The au courant in plots of History Onward always onward finally past, Slipping back then forth again distracted By something else in the most fleeting time Imaginable although it seemed slow When I was younger and the years looked long.
OPEN MIC ENCORE I
OPEN MIC ENCORE II
OPEN MIC ENCORE III