OPEN MIC ENCORE II
September, 2000

OPEN MIC ENCORE I
OPEN MIC ENCORE III 

 
A Cottage life in the North
Ray P. Lokun
 
Clusters of pine trees,
Allowing room for shrubs,
Busy working bees,
Honey thirsty bear cubs.
 
Good friends sharing a few laughs,
Town folks greet "what a nice day,"
Little kids playing on the beach,
Sun setting in the bay.
 
The sound of trees in the wind,
Tiny waves hitting the shore,
Cottagers putting their lights on dim,
Makes city life such a bore.
 
Evening bird signs,
Yet another day at an end,
Birds fold their wings,
Frogs croak around the bend.
 
The cry of the loon in the night,
Wakes me in my sack,
Tells us "winter will be here soon,"
But next year I'll be back...

~#~

A Tribute to Emily Dickinson

By Rob Price

The void within-
dismal and grey,
a symphony of thoughts-
in unison sing of life's uncertainty.
My mind grasps with open fingers-
like trying to prison water in a bottomless glass,
the reason of my future destiny,
and failures of the past.
Searching for definition-
as great statues of old stand proudly with purpose,
weathering every storm,
for me-only wandering-
till' I reach the oceans shore.

~#~

What is a Dream
Michael Igoe

What is a dream?
Perhaps it is a blithe feeling of hope
That keeps you going in times of hardship,
Perhaps it is remembering a time
Of your furthest happiness,
When nothing else mattered,
When no one else cared
 
What is a dream?
Conceivably an unconscious feeling of well-being,
Sinking into a world
Of wishes and aspirations,
The ‘not knowing’ what is coming next,
Perpetually keeping you going
 
What is a dream?
I’m sure we will never factually know,
But I do know this,
Everyone needs a dream,
And you are mine

~#~

THE ONE I WANT THE MOST
NICHOLE  
 
THE SIGHT OF YOUR FACE JUST MAKES MY DAY, HAVING YOU HERE LETS ME KNOW THINGS WILL ALWAYS BE OKAY.
I CAN LAY IN BED ALL NIGHT JUST STARING AT THE CEILING, KNOWING IN MY HEART I'LL NEVER LOSE THIS FEELING.
WHEN  WAKE UP IN THE MORNING YOUR THE FIST THING ON MY MIND, ALL DAY EVERYDAY ITS YOU I'M THINKING ABOUT EVERY SINGLE TIME.
BEFORE I GO TO BED, YOUR ALWAYS THE LAST THOUGHT IN MY HEAD.
FOR US TO SHARE ONE KISS, WOULD BE MY ONLY WISH.
I CAN NEVER REALLY SEE MYSELF, LOVING SOMEONE ELSE.
AS LONG AS I HAVE YOU, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT WE DO.
FOR YOU I'LL WAIT FOREVER, JUST FOR US TO BE TOGETHER.
CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR THE ONLY ONE I NEED.
WILL YOU PROMISE ME THAT YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE?
YOU ARE THE ONE I WANT THE MOST, AND THE ONLY ONE I'LL LET COME CLOSE.

~#~


HAIKU FOR OLD IRONSIDES
By Linda Terrell

Ancient warship sleeps
Bare arms holding up the sky
Too soon my sore neck

~#~

Girl of my Dreams
Bhavin Shah

You are a butterfly so soft and sweet
if i had a chance me and you could meet
I'd hold you in my arms till you fell asleep on me
we would be together like it was meant to be
True love never fails, and true love will never die
as long as i'm with you,i'll never say goodbye
I'd walk forever to see your face
to see your smile and your amazing grace
You are the keys to my heart, to my soul
you complete me, you make me whole.

~#~

why?
sylvia f. cohen

i do not know why
i want you as i do- i
think so i can breathe.

~#~

,  
i promise you
we are like all the songs and stories
like fated stars, horoscopes meant to come true
foretold and yet made of our four hands
built up from the feeling ground
with hearts leading a lighted way
i promise you
thought there are complications
we have the strength
to be the three and the eight
all in one of two
because right now you're the only one that ever was
more or less
to be the only to be
i promise you
i am pulling all my best
and applying a few new lessons
appreciating your best
knowing you know
fighting to keep my head above water
just to keep my hand in yours
i promise you
we've got cantaloupe
pure breeze on a curtain
sunrise in the middle of winter
something so bright
that i just know
we can make it

Eilene Quasebarth

~#~

The Last Ride-
By Mindy Sansoucie, for all women left widowed and girls left fatherless.

 

They said you could hear her screaming a mile away. For no one knew the pain she felt that day.
He was fairly young, no one thought it to be his time.  They were just married, he had barely reached his prime.
 They had a baby girl a month before. She had blonde curls, big blue eyes, and a pink lace dress she wore.
That morning in mid july, he was scheduled to ride a bull, no other cowboy dared ride.
She knew better than to try to talk him out of it, for he was a stubborn as the bull he drew to ride.
She had an instinct something was wrong, because little emma wouldn't stop crying. No one considered it may have been daughters intuition that was telling her that her daddy was dying.
Her mother figured it was a cold for it was the season, but soon this cowboys mother of his child would know the real reason.
He was in chute #9 waiting for he friend Tide to open he gate. Then he gave he signal, shook his head and said "let's ride".
The cowboys rope was torn, and the bull through him over his head.  But that's not all, for this bull was not done.
He stuck his horn in the cowboys vest, five minutes later this cowboy was pronounced dead.
This is one of the many cowboys that left behind a family. A wife and a daughter, left with no husband or father.
Some say that is he way of life for a cowboy, chances.  Well if your a cowboy, do us all a favor, consider this poem when you take a wife.

~#~

"Dark Feelings"                  
Michael Tucker

As I sit here in the dark corner of my room
I think of all the things that go on in my life
All the pain, suffering, and killing just gets to me
The darkness consumes me
What was light is now dark
People ask what's wrong but they will never know
They just piss me off
As reach in my pocket remember the picture of you
Fold out my wallet and sunlight fills the room
I look down and see you all troubles out the window
Wanting to die the thought of you makes me want to live
Maybe just for one day or forever
All I know is that I need you
Your my life when DEATH knocks at my door
Just to see you smile is the happiest thought in my mind
One day I hope you feel the same way too.
          

~#~

ELEGY ON A DEAF MAN
alister dubier
 
He walks, so silently, amongst the dew drop grass,
Not so much caring of the world around him;
He sees life pass him by,
And loves the sounds he can't hear.
 
I watch him stand all alone,
feeling the harshness of the wind pass him by;
For he's been a deaf man all his life
And loves to hear the sounds that's by his sides.
 
when i look at him,i wonder;
Of all the courage he must have,which i may never understand.
For he stands all alone,and listens to the sounds he can't here.

~#~

The Orphans
Katie K.
 
They were just orphans
Never to encounter
Happy childhood memories
Never to know the meaning of being free
Without a childhood
No love would prevail
Was it in there destiny
They would all fail
Every time they thought
They had finally settled down
The state social worker
Would come back around
Off to a new home they would be sent
To complete strangers
With no conscience
No one ever loved them, unconditionally
Only orphans in the system of misery
The courts would always keep them apart
To know the damage this did to their hearts
For they would never know the meaning of stable
Could not handle it , if they were able
Two of them are dead now
Another is going to soon
The last one of the orphans
Thinks she is going home to the moon
The same system that raised her
Has put her away
Never to acknowledge
They made her this way

~#~

MIRROR
Michal Renee Trader

Mirror looks deeply,
Defining our self-esteem,
As we see it crack.

~#~

I've been lying here.. where you left me..
where I left myself.
Trying to figure it out.. its so cold,
I'm withdrawn, I'm all alone.
Everything is laying shattered around me,
it all fell just so, so quickly,
with your first step out the door.
My heart it bleeds, bleeds endlessly,
from the wound that has pierced my soul,
left me cold and all alone. Is this the end?
Are you never returning from around the road’s bend?
My soul feels so poor and homeless.
Everything appears to be so hopeless.
Is this the flipping of the switch?
You were the only one that could make me feel rich.
Even though my heart bleeds, I still think...
as I sink... in a puddle of my sorrow.
Will there be a brighter tomorrow?
As I think, I remember all the times you were cruel to me,
abused me,  beat me up, not physically but emotionally.
You were like a drug,
with the disguise of an angel sent from above.
You were nothing but harm to me,
more deadly than any heroin, opium, or ecstasy.
These tears I cry aren't for you, but for me.
Now that you're gone its to easy to see,
you're nothing but a drug, a hazard to me.
Even though these are cold, lonely nights.
I prefer them much over evenings filled with our ruthless fights.
You bound my heart with your trickery,
made me think you were my destiny.
My one and only, the only one for me.
Now that I see the truth behind the mask of the angel I fell in love with,
You are nothing to me, nothing but a shadow in the dark.
Why would I care for someone with such low dignity,
with such lack of integrity and no humanity?
But now you are the least of my worries,
and now that I recall, I have no worries at all,
because you were the source of my problems.
I've finally broken these chains,
chains of depression and pain.
With the shattering of the metal I felt it all drain,
felt it drain away, to never stay again.
Now that you are gone, I'm no longer alone,
I can still make my way along life's pleasant and enlightened roads.
Everything seems to different to me,
I guess its because I've broken these chains of misery,
and now, for once, I am free.

Nichole Withers

~#~

'Til the End of Forever
Lynn Janubas

You may tell me,
You can pull down the stars
Conquer the moon, kiss the sun for me
But don't tell me
That you'd love me 'til the end of forever
For it's just like lovely roses that forbid my touch.
 
You may tell me,
You can reap an apple from a mango tree
Or grow strawberries on hot summer days
But don't tell me,
You'd love me 'til the end of forever
For it's just like my sweet dreams, mine when I'm asleep.
 
You may tell me,
We could walk along the clouds
Fly higher than the birds to play
But don't tell me,
That you'd love me 'til the end of forever,
For it's just like the wind I so much longed to hold.

~#~
Stolen Moments 
C.J. Sheffler
 
It's when I steal a look at you when I notice it the most,
while you are watching television,
or talking on the phone,
I look at you and I realize it;
I love you.
I can see it when I look into your eyes,
those wonderful eyes, which have more power over me than you even know,
and I can feel it when I hold your hand,
as I idly trace patterns into your skin,
and I know it when I kiss you,
as your lips, in their own way, remind me how outstanding you are.
But it is when you don't notice it,
when you're distracted by something else,
that I look at you and know that I love you,
and that the best moments of my life are when I'm with you.
Even if you are doing something else.

~#~

TO MY SISTER
Ailie Gorlick
 
This is the day
This is the night
I'm not scared
I'll be taking flight
 
Into the sky
Like a bird so free
I'm not scared
No, not me
 
I'm sorry to do this
To do this to you
But you know why
This is what I have to do
 
Thought that I could cope
Thought it would be fine
But you know why
Why it's finally time
 
Thought that it was a once off
Thought that it wouldn't happen again
Thought that I could trust
I thought he was a friend
 
He told me he was sorry
he said it'd be okay
He told me i could trust him
On that cold night in May
 
But then he did it again
He forced himself on me
Now you can see why
Why I can no longer be
 
I can't live with the guilt
Of knowing what I did
Now you can see why
I don't deserve to live
 
So off into the sky I fly
To God I hope to go
Because maybe just like you
He'll know why I did so

~#~

HOPE AND NATURE
JULIET COUTINHO

THE BEAUTY OF NATURE CANNOT BE MEASURED
 
YOU WATCH YOU FEEL YOU ENJOY
IT HAS ITS OWN CHARM AND GLORY
TO RID TIRED MINDS OUT OF ANXIETY
EVERY COMING SEASON BRINGS A NEW BLOOM
TEACHING US TO HOPE THAT EVERY FALL WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A SPRING
 
THE LIGHT OF HOPE SHOULD NEVER VANISH
AS DRIED LEAVES FALL AND NEW ONE'S TAKE ITS PLACE
DIFFICULTIES COME AND GO AWAY
AS TEARS FLOW AND BURDEN LESSENS
RAIN FALLS AND WASHES AWAY ALL THE GRIME
EVERY FALL CREATES A NEW HOPE OF RISING
 
NATURE SETS AN EXAMPLE TO ALL
LEARN TO BLOOM LIKE FLOWERS
BE EVERGREEN LIKE THE ELMS AND STAND UPRIGHT
LIVE AND LET LIVE IN PEACE AND HARMONY
SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS
AREN'T THE CACTI BEAUTIFUL WITH FLOWERS IN THE DRY DESERTS?
WHY CAN'T WE LEARN FROM THEM AND MAKE OUR LIVES BEAUTIFUL?

~#~

"a suicide just for you"
Michelle

the glass of water glistens as i choke down the last pill
the razor is thick with blood
it matches my arms
im about to leave now
are you happy
 
i drag myself across the floor
i choke down last breaths
im trembling now, its so cold
im almost dead now
i hope you're happy
 
its indescribable pain
on top of my tortured soul
yea you helped participate in that
im fucking dying here
you better be happy
 
don't look back
you'll see its all your fault
you made fun of me
while i cried
well im normal as ill ever be
lying pale and bloody on the floor
im dead now
you'll never be happy

~#~

in between i am
dingmay

white lies i imply
just to hide
who I am deep inside
all the time i deny
sometimes i cry
so tired i decide
no more disguise

~#~

Dramatically Unapproved
By Ron Kudera
 
Radiation from a plant have scores of web, which doesn’t require a handful in residents who live near the potassium.
The proliferation and endless fears often wonder whether pills are commonly asked to be like prescription prices at a bargain.
         They have themselves as the answer, and their on the corner.
The largest of sales in the second year ago.
Everyone from chains to operators bootleg shingles. This year the giant opened its own nonprofit foundation. To log nasty cat allergies to take their service against an old-fashioned office in New York.
We paid for plans

~#~

        
dear mother...
ste 
Yellow roots of green grass,
Stumbling through the chocolate brown earth…
A melancholic Monday
The sun in my eyes,
And the shadows
Of a suburban life…
Comforting me from behind.
 
Your arms suppressing me with comfort,
Your thoughts suppressing me with care,
Your voice,
Telling me to leave,
With no glance,
Or second stare…
 
Yet my mind wanders…
The days where you where you,
And I was more you than myself…
Your failed dreams,
Staring at your through the eyes,
Given life to again,
by your womb.
The eyes of a little girl,
Now more fragile
After eighteen years
than what she’ll convey.
 
Autumn comes,
Then winter,
Then spring…
And for once I need to protect,
What is now your life,
And mine,
Coiled by the fact,
That my life will be lived,
To show you,
That your dreams where fuelled,
By subconscious success.

~#~

SIGNIFICANT OTHER
By IREAN VERGE HUGHES

Will we meet today or tomorrow?
I must be at my best
and be impeccably dressed
I so want to impress
and pass his every test
and fill his heart with zest
and him him fill mine no less
while conjuring up the crest
of what we will possess
Of course in glee we'll jest
while anticipating the rest
as we fall into an abyss
when we finally mesh
our soul and body will attest
as we become one flesh.
will we meet today
no, tomorrow

~#~

YOUR VOICE
Cindy Jane Creighton

Today you called me on the telephone, and my heart began to beat again
Like it did that very first day we met
Your voice lifted me to a place I’d long since forgotten had existed
The place I remember where we used to live
That place, deep inside my heart, my very soul
I felt alive for the first time in years
I believe you felt this feeling
To think your voice has such an impression on my heart
Your voice, which voices…
You had the sensual tones of passion on every word that slipped from your tongue
To tremble at the very breath you take, as a word, a phrase passes through your soft sensual lips 
Drunk on your words and intoxicated with your presence, igniting a fire within this very soul
Given the chance to tell you the things I never had told you before
It’s time to start living again, loving again, I can’t leave you
I realize there was a time that maybe you felt bitterness toward me
I do believe that we have a second chance, now that I am here
Take the risk to love me
 I never stopped loving you
I was afraid to stay, unsure of what we would become
Now I know it was true, it is true; can’t you feel this that we have
Hold on to what your heart is telling you
Just take a chance on this. Let my love pull us through
Come face the truth, don’t runaway come face the truth
I can’t picture living my life without you, not even five miles away

~#~

UNKNOWN
Stephanie Hannar
 
These unknown twists
and unknown darts
The unknown touch
brought unknown broken hearts
These unknown words
I didn't know what to say
but I was breathless anyway
I danced in unknown eyes
all night in unknown dreams
I spent most of that year
in an unknown place I'd never seen
I built unknown bridges
to help you cross an unknown sea
with no directions to get there
but your heart is all I need
Maybe that's all it was
to find some place new
But then why did it have to be so hard?
And why was it with the unknown you?

~#~

                     My Love For Grandpa
For Donald Ray Kilburn
who passed away August 16,2002.
He was the best dad and grandpa that anyone could have ever had.
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Missy
melissa britton

I never really told you,
all the things I wanted to say.
Now I wish I would have,
But i didn't know time was slipping away.
 
I never said how much I love you,
Or how much i appreciate you,
I always took for granted that you knew.
 
I never called you grandpa,
the name did not seem to fit.
In my eyes you were my dad,
and you were the best a kid could get.
 
You hold a place in my heart,
that no one else can fill.
You always gave so much,
My love for you is real.
 
To the rest of the world you are my grandpa,
but to me,
you are my dad.

~#~
OUTSIDE
Aaron D. Galamgam

The little boy tightly holds
to his mother's arm.
  He looked at her.
  She responded with a smile.
His eyes wandered, around.
  This is the world, she said.
Curious, he asked
thousand questions to himself.
So complex, he couldn't quite understand.
  And he spoke louder.
  Then she listened.
    So complex, she couldn't quite reply.
  This is the world, my child.
Perplexed, he sighed.
And again, threw his eyes around.
  So brutal, he couldn't quite accept.
  Then she held him close.
  This is freedom, my child.
    He held her arm, tighter.
    He covered his sight. 

~#`~

A Poet's Crime
Samantha Hutson
 
For a poet's dream is sweetness and mist.
Lost in a lover's bliss.
Joy in a stolen kiss.
With only a heart to risk.
 
Trembling finger lost in sleeves, shaken words whispered in pleas.
Not knowing the heart is broken.
Only knowing the heart has spoken.
 
For a poet's dream is pain and sorrow.
Lost in endless tomorrows.
Missing thoughts like ghost without souls.
A haunted town were no one really knows.
 
Painful words crashing with lightning speed.
Without a warning to heed.
Hope deflating in the spirit.
Not allowing love anywhere near it.
 
For a poet's dream is only for their emotions.
Refusing to hide from their devotion.
Testing the waters with a single rhyme.
This is a poet's crime.

~#~

                         MY DISMAY
                                              
       |    This heart is sad ,but still can't shout.  |
       |    It feels very bad ,but has no doubt .      |
       |                                               |    
       |    It feels the pain ,but still can't cry.    |               
       |    It sees the rain ,but still feels dry.    |
       |                                               |
       |    It hears her voice, but still can't run.    |
       |    It feels the noise, but still acts  dumb.   |
       |                                               |
       |    It wants some joy ,but gets bad bruises.   |
       |        Its not a toy ,but truth she refuses.  |
       |                                               |  
       |    It feels its death, but says no word.       |
       |  It wants to fly ,but is a wing clipped bird.|
       |                                               |
       |    It has been alone ,but doesn't mind.       | 
       |       Its not a stone, but still acts blind.   |
       |                                               |     
       |    It has self respect, but still does bow.    |
       |    It lives in hope, but gets no love.         |
                            
                                                                       
                                            --in pain   <. .>
                                          Amit Patil     "^"
                                                            

~#~

       I Am Fretted.
 
I am fretted, unto the dregs of wine,
  When I swim into thy lovely eyes,
  As into some astral projection that petrifies;
Or fitful gushes; or passion of sweet divine.
Ah! a soothing pain, a pain upon pain,
  Gentle from the dales along the zephyr,
Or swooning vapours thick from burning myrrh,
  Daze the thinking; to take the stain
>From the cloy'd lips, basking for a shower
  Of kisses-O what mirth! O what ecstasy!
    Against myself to suffer deeper still;
And feel like wayfaring-wind along the rill,
  Smitten with fragrance of a flowery lee,
    To feel the heavenly bliss at this hour.
                             KISHORE RAJA.

~#`~

Why must thou?
Matthew Timmons  

As you left, sorrow filled my heart.
The thought of losing you and what we have is difficult to fathom.
Other obstacles we have faced before where faith and trust have never been an issue.
My love for you is undying.
My devotion to you is unquestionable.
How many ways can I tell you  I love you.

~#~

1.00pm beside the fountain
Alastair Knowles
 
Her nose is red
As bitter is
The day that frames her there.
She rubs her hands, she shuffles feet;
And tries to disappear.
 
Her eyes are blue
As in my heart
The frost begins to warm.
Our hips collide, our hands entwine;
Together we are born.
 
She wears a hat,
As if she knew
That I would fall in love.
She is to me, as I to her;
A hand into a glove.

~#~

Together forever
Noor 

You and I,
Like the earth and sky,
Merge together in the horizon.
You can’t get hold of horizon.
It moves away when
you try to close to it.
Such is our hearts,
Can’t get hold of each other.
Although we are meant to be together forever.

~#~

THROWING THE STONES
 (c)Jude Adebosoye Ogunade.Ghana August, 2002
Who will throw the first stone?
Let he who has not looked lustfully at a woman do that
Who will throw the first stone?
Let he who has not misappropriated public funds order that
Who will throw the first stone?
At the woman who is haggard to the bone
Who will throw the first stone?
At the woman who has no house but a hut
Whilst no one throws any stone:
At those in big mansions who commit more heinous crimes
Throw the stone! And give her child the streets to roam
Throw the stone! And make the child grow up with the self same shame
Throw the stone! Leave the child without a home
Throw the stone! At your heart's hypocrisy
Throw the stone! At your supposed holiness
Throw the stone! At the applause of your sinful heart
Throw the stone also at the man who shares her shame.
  ~#~

~#~

"Missing You"
by:  Angela Thorpe
 
Missing the way you hold me,
tight and full of forever love.
Missing the way you dance with me,
shining on like a golden dove.
 
All alone I am,
though surrounded by the world.
Missin you like crazy,
wishin I was your girl.
 
Oh, how I long for the touch of your lips,
your passionate gaze makes my belly do flips.
 
Tonight I'll close my eyes,
and pray for your intimacy once more,
I yearn your body next to mine,
and want to wake up to you knocking on my door.
 
Your my angel in disguise,
oh yes, it is true,
And loving you is so easy,
It's all that I want to do.

~#~


BIRTH TO ANOTHER INSTANT  (Why do I fear the worst?)
alex masiak  
I can not see into the Future
or leap from the Past
I am stuck
in the Now
while the Immediate presses on,
honest and unforgiving---
cold, chronic mute!
 
unforeseen tragedies
shed Apathy
on the course of every shadow
who shift like the restless, sinning eyes
of a Thief.
 
and, I
gulping for reason and logic
and escape,
feel cheated.
 
a Timeless toast, permitted---
echoing what will never be heard:
     Oh! Praise Be To
       The Birth
     Of Another Instant.
 
abandoned by my own Existence
I reach out
with pitiful Awareness
and imagine other Worlds
and different Times,
 
while these confined Images
I call thoughts
are trapped
by my mind's compounding lunacy,
the entrance to Fear opens
revealing a stranger within.

~#~


DAD
robert painter
 
The kite flew high
Into the March sky
With Dad's favorite necktie
As it's tail.

~#~

WHAT IS LEFT
GunBritt Engstrom
 
What is left when your love passes away.. when your friends,
everybody are gone?
What is left except waiting..?
The wait for your children, there short visit,
once a week...
The wait for a beloved grandchild, a telephone call ,, just to hear:
time is running away,
 I'll be coming next week.. promise!
The wait for memories that pushes further and further away.
 
Yes ..... the wait for the final sleep..
 
Where you will get a kiss from your loved one again,
where you can argue about old memories with dear friends,
where you are allowed to laugh again, to feel wanted.
Where you don't feel troublesome to anybody
Where you feel longed-for ... loved!!
I exist, I have feelings, am not without a will even thought strength might be lacking.
Understand that I still need nearness,
safety .. when life starts getting confused.
My beloved children,
- I just want to know that I still exist-

~#~

 
SOCIETY REQUIREMENTS
Kimberly Gianos

In today's society, the stigma is every man and woman has to look, act and be perfect. If a person does not meet these requirements that person is considered an "outcast". since the dawn of time is has been up to the man to court a young woman, settle down and make babies. That is where the phrase bare-foot and pregnant originated from. Back then these requirements were not put on people. Now in the 21st century, we as people have put these requirements on our selves. We are the ones who have disgraced our selves by judging one another. We are the ones who make it nearly impossible for people who do not meet these requirements to succeed in today's society. We should be banding together to help the less fortunate instead of judging them on an outward appearance or skill level.
What is perfect and who decides what perfect should be? No one can answer this question. Therefore perfection on a person should not be an issue but it is. Instead of hiding people who are considered "outcast" we should embrace their own unique difference and learn from it. We should grow from the knowledge of an "imperfect" person instead of judging.
We were not put on this earth to judge one another. When we die we will be judged. We will be judged this one time and in my eyes that is the only judgment that really matters.

~#~

"False Conceptions"
Hope 

Insecurities covered and disguised amongst vanity
      (in the finest of form)
a  false notion of beauty,
plastered on smiles that fade into the night of dark angst,
tears only drench her neatly ironed blouse
       when not a soul is aware,
happiness is only temporary,
       it rarely exists (among the fairies and princesses in her mind)
all of her laughter is in vain
        (what a wonderful actresses she portrays)
   almost believable,
but the pain gnaws at her inner organ
         (her only saving grace)
as she holds on to tears
   like the most guarded of secrets,
never admitting to such horrid, horrid truths
         (it would be considered a shame)
please don't tell anyone...
  that she is not the epitome of perfection
    (it would only slaughter her false conceptions)

~#~

Never Thought
Oluwarotimi Ogunnubi

Never thought you could make me so happy
Never thought you would make me cry
Never thought you could be so tender
Never thought this would feel so right
Never thought this would be an obsession
Never thought I could feel so lonely
Never thought I could discover such a beautiful thing
Never thought you would desert me
Never thought I would find another
Never thought I would tell you so much
Never thought I could tell you enough
Even thought about getting married
And raising a family
I just wasn’t thinking

~#~

LOVE AND HATE
Emily Crowell
 
Is it better to hate love
Or love hate?
Or is it not the same?
Do we reject acceptance
Or accept rejection?
Or meet somewhere between?
Is it better to remain neutral
And have no feelings at all?
Or to feel but never knowing
If your feelings are
Right or wrong?

~#~

VIVE MEMOR LETI
Raja Antoine 
      
I remember sitting there, feeling like my life could go nowhere,
Like a prisoner starved for air, my soul captured in a blank stare.
I think back, remembering the times I wished it would end
And the day would come when my heart could love again.
My mind recaptures the images I saw, the moments I wept,
The anger I knew, and the times I begged for my life to be swept
Away to the side, like a shadow in light, to leave me at peace
Like a corpse in the night.  But I also remember my times of release.
In these times, I ventured on the edge of demise,
Not seeing the blood spilled, nor hearing the cries.
I think back and ponder my crazy young life, and
I laugh at the fact that my cards had been dealt by my own hand.
I now understand that life is more than just a game,
For it is a gift so amazing that I sometimes feel shame
For taking for granted any second of the day which I live.
So now I live my life fully without any ulterior motive.
Never burdened by the norms set forth by society and culture,
I am free to create my own world, chiseling the block like a sculptor.
And no longer do I dread the moment, waiting for a new song to strum,
For in the back of my mind, I know that tomorrow might not come

~#~

We wind up the clock, and time it goes by.
Life has been low, life has been high.
So we step back to wonder and think and then sigh,
Who can answer the question, And the question is why.
 
We wind up the clock as time it goes on.
Most we have lost, a few we have won.
We start off alone and we finish as one.
Life’s never quite ready, to say when it’s done.
 
We wind up the clock as time it goes past.
Sometimes it goes slow, more often its fast.
When you hold something dear, you must know it won’t last,
Like a boat in the gale, that is losing its mast.
 
We wind up the clock, but time never goes back,
When all you can see is so terribly black,
You escape into dreams, of that time life said “What?”
And the fun in the sun, when your life was so hot.
(Drum Billet 2002)

~#~

A Hard Goodbye
Pamela Sanders
He is tired and lonely
It is in his eyes.
I sat beside him,
held his hand
puffy with swelling.
 
His breath comes shallow
labored from his lungs
an audible wheeze
floats through me
shakes me- and I know.
 
I have never seen this,
felt this lost and helpless.
 
His eyes are clear
sharp when he opens them
but his speech is staccato
hard
and I feel guilty for speaking
knowing he will try to respond.
 
Still he smiles at us,
happy we have come to
sit near him, hold his hand.
 
Time is short.
He is waiting,
ready to go.
 
Inside, I am knotted:
wishing him comfort and peace
but wanting him to stay.
 
I rubbed his head,
told him I loved him,
said I'd return.
 
But he will be gone.

~#~
ACCEPT ME!
samone

                     I am I
                     Don't change, condemn me
                     Nor put me down
                     Accept me for who I am
                     No.. you need to not agree with me
                     But accept me
                     For I'm in total being
                     I have my faults
                     I have my guilts
                     But that's who i am
                     Perfect I would never be
                      Allow me to be uninhibited
                     Don't pressure me into feeling what  I don't want to
                     feel.
                     As i accept me, My love, My soul and My spirit.
                     I accept everyone  just as well.
                     Don't put me down  nor make me feel unhappy about
                     myself
                     I am I
                    and i like being who I am
                    ME!

~#~
,  
Ten Thousand Chains
Rayham DeLioncourt
 
I SAW YOU NAKED ONCE,
YOU WERE TAKING A BATH,
BUT, YOU HAD COMPANY,
SO I NEVER SAID HELLO, OR DID I?
OR WAS IT JUST A DREAM?
I DREAM A LOT, AND MOST OF THEM
ARE ABOUT YOU.
 
I WANT YOU TO KNOW,
I BROUGHT YOU TO MY CAGES,
NOT TO HARM YOU,
BUT, BECAUSE I LOVE YOU.
AND I STRAPPED YOU WITH
TEN THOUSAND CHAINS SO NO ONE COULD HURT YOU.
SO, YOU SEE, I'M HELPING YOU,
AND THAT IS WHY YOUR MOUTH IS SEWN SHUT.
AND WHY YOUR EYES ARE HOLLOW.
I DON'T WANT YOU TO TAKE IN ANY THING
THAT MIGHT DULL YOUR BEAUTY.

~#~

Prisoner:
Marie E

Indeed the days are getting colder
As well as my thoughts that I share
But, I can never pass them by
Even if you show me that you never care
Living in the world, I know
Not everyhing will go as I please
No perfect incision in the delicates of life
You have to pay for everything for nothing is free
Money or your talents
Your ability to fly
As the moon is shining
In this forgotten sky
Times are passing and I am fading
Lost with nowhere to go
A prisoner of my mind am I
But there is so much that I still must know
Ending in a tear
And wishing I could still care
Wanting you to always be there
Knowing that no matter how hard we try, life is never going to be fair
Vanishing
Blowing with the wind
Dreaming
Never fully fitting in
It is a forever battle...

~#~

LIFE'S  STORM,,,,  
WRITTEN BY  LORI HUYSMAN
 
A SEETHING STORM OF HATREDS HAZE
SEEN IN EYES OF BLINDING RAGE
MAKES NO SENSE OF WORDS YET MUST
QUELL THE STORM OF THIS MISTRUST
 
THOUGHTS NOW SWIRLING HATE ASCENDS
LOST BUT ALL FOR SAKE OF FRIENDS
FOG DESCENDS TO HUG THE STORM
EMBRACE AND TAKE IN NATURES DAWN
'
SMOTHERED BY SO MUCH DISTRUST
KICKS THE DAWN OF NATURES LUST
CONSUMED BY ALL THIS NATURES FORCE
GIVES UP THE FIGHT WITH NO REMORSE
 
GIVES TO DEATH A LASTING PEACE
FROM LIFE'S CRUEL TAUNTS AND THOUGHTS THAT TEASE
SO NOW THE STORM THAT CAME TO PASS
IS QUIETED AS I BREATH MY LAST

~#~

MOTHER’S LOVE
G.Mohan raj
Mother Are you my living.....Goddess?
You starved to feed me
Now unable to eat
How could i starve to feed you?
Mother Are you my living.....Goddess?
 
Mother Are you my living.....Goddess?
You taught me walk
Now crippled to walk
How could i make you walk?
Mother Are you my living.....Goddess?
 
Mother Are you my living.....Goddess?
You taught me speak
Now you are speechless
How could i make you speak?
Mother Are you my living.....Goddess?
 
Mother Are you my living.....Goddess?
You lost your sleep to make me sleep
Now you wanted for ever
How could i sleep to make you sleep?
As i wanted you my living Goddess ever.

~#~
-A King's Last Night-
john laplaca

Let's celebrate the Night
All the myths of the ages
Persian Pleasures, Arabian brew
Let's give of music
Aura candle rue
A hundred musicians for me & you
- tapestry colors a million hues
Let's give of magic
A mystic's creed
Kashir treasures to believe
Drink the tears of the vine (crying, crying into wine)
And for your heavy
Weary head
A woman, a bottle
And a bed...
~#~

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