OPEN MIC ENCORE
August, 2001

Shakespearean Sonnet                  
Searching For More
By   Nicole Stevenson

          I adore reading literature    

          A bookworm is what they call me

          A lifetime reading I'd easily endure

          Page after page of sweet imagery

          Choosing a book can take quite a while

          A thriller to chill can frightfully scare

          One that is sad or bring a big smile

          Any will do, I don't really care!

          There are so many titles, I really can't choose

          A love story, a true tale, a mystery perhaps?

          Sweetness or sorrow, or searching for clues

          In books I am endlessly trapped

          All this I say about words I adore

          I will always read and  then search for more

~!~

as long as the sun still turns to gray in the northern skies; I will be there

as long as you still want to hear my voice; I will be there

where do you ask? Where is this place I know not of?

only in my dreams; Only far away; Only in the one way

far off in a distant land, covered only in the deepest, darkest mist

light of my love is the only light; In a field of flowers, wind twisted peddles

drift slowly into the sky flying, drifting to a place where we will meet

but where you ask? You know where

as long as my heart yearns for tomorrow; I will be here

as long as you whisper my name so softly into the nights divine motions

i will be forever entangled in your beauty's force

pain of the world, is nothing but sadness

but when you ask? Why not now? The world is ripe, the time has but come

meet me in that beautiful field; Let the wind whip your hair

power lies only in the hearts of those who dare to yield

come once, come twice, only forever is the key

wind of the future; Spiral of heaven's force; Peddles of a rose ripped

off one by one; My future is nil, but we will always have that one day

when the wind flew through your hair and a smile was on your face

of that day I want again, and to feel your life I would do anything, for just that one

night

Bret Hershberger

~!~

:                             *Dawn*

      As I sit here with nothing to do

      I write this poem just 4 u

      I think of every thing we've done

      And every single game we've one

      I think of all our wrongs and rights

      And all our fun times and despites

      We have done so very much

      Except for watching the brady bunch

      And when u had to leave

      slowly I began to grieve

      Though you were not with me physically

      You were with me emotionally

      And there u will always be

      Though you i cannot see.

(I wrote this poem when my friend Dawn had to go away for quite a long time and we didn't ever know if she was coming back.  So i dedicate this to her.)

 Megan

~!~

Mourning of Passing
Frederick Pettine

The days have ended,

And my joy is done.

The light is gone,

And my night has come.

And along with it,

The Shadows of my despair

And the ghosts of my past,

Sweep through the air.

Why is my night like this?

What have I done?

When will the regrets leave,

And the joy come?

~!~

The Show Must Go On!
By Suzanne Russell

Like a black cat's eye, shining bright;

The cobwebbed spotlight to the right.

A chilling breeze whistles by;

The abandoned script flutters high.

The skins of players like empty shells

Hang on hooks, drape on shelves.

Empty faces on the wall;

fixed to laugh, fixed to bawl.

Skeletal hands grip the air;

Their refreshments are long since there.

"The show must go on!" had cried the director.

The show must go on, he'd known no better.

~!~

Bring your life.

Bring me some more coffee, another six shot venti for the fat man with the laptop.

Bring me some more eye contact with the minimum wage senorita with that ass, peach round and firm

Bring me some more confirmation of life on the edge in a starbucks, battery slowly draining away

Bring me some conversation, stock market plunging, snow coming tomorrow, kids in strollers struggling

Bring me some more harmony, Louis Armstrong plugging coffee by the pound on the PA system

Bring me some sort of sign people, like sweet perfume for a moment from a grandmother in green

Bring me some more of that, god please that was worth two lines, another whiff of that perfume

Bring me some of that "RED" she says it’s called, 3 lines now with grandmother, Spanish eyes and smile

Bring me something from your tired eyes, my peach, struggling to whip the cream and serve the coffee

Bring me something to read from Barns and Noble, and make sure Opera liked it, or at least someone else

Bring me something tanned and firm from the brochures

Bring me something that sounds like a rocket exploding into flight from a expresso machine

Bring me something with blonde hair and a stained apron that works 8 hours

Bring me something that looks like snow, please, we must have snow for our sanity here this winter

Bring me something like poetry, rhyme or reason within the repetitive words typed today.

Michael Sneed

~!~

Imagination is real,

Reality is not,

In my mind this is worthwhile,

I'm not living in denial,

Minds make tricks,

To show an elaborate design,

If only the world was more kind,

Need not make up my mind.

 Michelle

~!~

Adrift

In a world of blue

Forgotten by men and gods

Wanders a battered raft

Soulless and Forsaken

Before this raft

Appear black clouds

Where once were none

Foreboding misery and trial

Thunder shatters the air

Lightning scorches the sky

And the raft still drifts

Into the haunted stage

Gales howl over the scene

Screaming foul torments

While heartless waves

Cruelly pound the raft

The sun and moon lie unseen

The stars are cold

And the skies an empty void

All turning from this sin

The raft rides this nightmare

To the ends of eternity

Waiting for skies of blue

Which may never come

  Dio Hill

~!~

Tears That Burn My Soul
Elizabeth Agiantritis

Tears that burn my soul,

Tears that run down my two cheeks,

Tears that burn my soul

Promises I meant to keep.

Wishfully I think of yesterday

Hoping that it will return,

So I can keep those promises

Wanting it not to be my turn.

For death must wait,

Yes death must wait

So I can turn the clocks around

So I can keep those promises

So I can wipe those soul burning tears away.

But yesterday remains in the past

So my promises got lost in the wind

And death will await me not

So I shall die with a tear stained soul.

~!~

I Know Me

I know what I can do and to what lengths

I know my weak points as well as my strengths

Because I know this and it is never too late

I will apply the right action to determine my fate

Failure is definitely nothing I fear

'Cause I know that path keeps success far from here

The opposition all around me will not get in my way

My concern will be on the steps that I'll be taking that day

I know I'll have a clear focus along on this ride

It will be on those I live, serve and work beside

I know that the situations, people and things that I need

Will come to me as I focus at an alarming rate of speed

My mission gives me vision and puts lots of wind in my sail

It gives me daily passion to take the steps to ensure I prevail

I must remember to keep balance if success is to be

But I do not see a problem because--I know me

Tim A Clark

~!~

A Bit Of Me...
Michelle Ballard

A heart lost in the darkness, never gilded by the light. 

A sob choked into laughter undercover of the night. 

I ask not that you love me or need me by your side. 

I know that love is shadowed ever-changing like the tide. 

So I leave a gift of laughter of happiness of peace. 

And ask for understanding the next time I'm in need.

~!~

I see so many things

The love I share

The hurt I see

The pain I portray

And the hardships we perceive

I see so many things

Is it right

Is it wrong

The difficulties in comprehending

And the disappointments in time

I see so many things

Should I be scared

Or should I be well prepared

The memories within

Are nothing but friends

I see so many things

What should I do

Be hurtful or true

The sadness is breaking through

In the things I see of u.

Fshers

~!~

The Path of Truth
Steve Lackie

The path of truth

Sounds wonderful, majestic, noble

Sometimes it sucks

To one who thinks he has it all

It means he has nothing

To one desirous of beauty

It shows the soul’s deformity

To one who knows all

It means recognizing abject ignorance

To the self assured

It exposes the fear and cowardice

To the rich it means

Possessing nothing

To the poor it means

More of the same

It is not "How To Win Friends…"

Nor "The Power of Positive Thinking"

It is not "The Greatest Salesman in the World"

Nor "A Course in Miracles"

It is not "I’m OK You’re OK"

Nor "The Greatest Story Ever Told"

T is not the Bible, the Koran, the Lotus Sutra

Or the Tao Te Ching

It does not lie in success or failure

Or in simple existence

The path of truth is love

Love so strong so pure

Others hate you for it

Love so consuming so deep

It leaves no room for comfort or rest

Yes, the path of truth

Sounds wonderful

Sometimes it sucks

But sometimes - just sometimes

It is everything

~!~

HEADACHE
 C.Coleman

You know you've changed me,

but was it so kind?

Live was somewhat easier,

when I didn't have to

use my mind.  

~!~

"Outside on the Porch"
 Joseph Sabio

Lying back against this chair, I realized the air was cooler.

It’s just me, the cool air, and the relaxation of this piece of furniture.

I never knew exactly what I was doing to myself, until I got what I called friends.

The feeling I have now, it burns inside of me, but the broken pieces it mends.

I just can’t believe I was killing myself, slowly but surely and without a single thought.

Messing up my memories and telling people lies is all I can do without being caught.

Just playing along with my imagination is something all its own.

All you people enjoying the party... damn it just leave me alone...

~!~

I met a German Jew once in a psychiatric hospital

Somewhere in New York—so far from home she couldn’t hear

The pounding of the shells anymore or the moaning of the earth.

She had lost her soul and her mind during the war, in one of

The camps—it didn’t matter which one—so long as it was.

It is for her that human  poetry ceases to be a definition—

For her that we mustn’t modern rhyme this verse—

Because that would be like sprinkling rose pedals over

The mountains of bodies near the tracks and saying,

"Look, dear visitor, it is pleasing to the eye, no?"

Because sometimes you cannot dare offer the tale

Of one poor soul in a group of lines that can be studied

By some wretched souls in a damp wooden cell claiming

To be gods, that for them mankind is not something to be surpassed.

Sometimes there is too much to tell,

And let none of us be the fools and try to wrap her

Up in a sonnet, a Shakespearean, perhaps a Poundian Canto, so

That we might be the artist to know what man is—for we shall never know

The world as she does—where train whistles by night

Whisper of frozen tears and lost souls in the gray mist and ask why we

Bother to ponder philosophy or god—for she is the artist who paints the

Portrait of humanity.

~!~

Smile
 Akofa star

I like to smile, i don't do it often, but it's nice when I do

I'm smiling now, and wondering, what could he be thinking.

And then I realize, and it's gone replaced with embarrassment.

What an infatuation, it crawls across my heart and waves along my soul.

And before I realize, it's back again.

Unknowingly my mind strays. Thoughts of him, always...

I hope he's smiling too.

~!~

The Wall

They tore down the wall to make room for peace

in an effort to heat up

relations in what once was

a cold war

Each layer of brick that tumbled

to the ground

fell on deaf ears.

Nations still have that gap between them

That speaks to Political indifferences

and whether right or wrong

weak or strong

Friendships have never been built

on lies, mortar or mistrust.

 Jim Walker

~!~

Is Love Worth
By Lucy Rose Hepworth

Is love worth,

    all the tears i've shed,

 all i've let go of for you,

   is it worth it?

All the pain i've felt'

  the hurting that i constantly feel

 would i be better off,

     without you.

Should i have ever felt,

    with such passion,

 the love and desire i have,

      that is all for you.

~!~

Our Dance
Matt Hoyne

Confusing the deep

The thoughts I keep

If I could stand

And hold your hand

To dance the dance

To spin and sway

To hold you now

Then dream away

~!~

Mike Murray
-by Isabel

A common name for the person i seek to find.

An uncommon person.

      Who am I looking for? How can I describe him?

      He was pale blue eyes and sex appeal.

      His hair was a shock of black, against a warm, smiling face.

      He was my everything.

He disappeared, you see...

Disappeared from me.

Once the cord is cut, it all falls away.

You become no one, not even worthy of a phone call.

     How could someone be my whole world,

     And yet shut me out?

     How did he walk away? And how can I?

     Maybe nothing is more cruel than love.

And somehow I still feel hollow.

I feel like the void of where he was is never-ending.

~!~

Of course there's fear, doubt, embarrassment

But then the dream becomes perfect

Stargazing, holding hands, watching the fire

The perfect sleeping position: on my right side with a fluffed pillow and warm flannel sheets

Perfect perfection in both worlds

Then one disappears, the culprit is ice water

Infected with confusion, it taints this second world, the onw which is 4,824 days old, yet still so new

Reality becomes dreadfully clearer

I'm stuck in this dysfunctional world as monsters from previous nightmares resurface and begin to circle like hounds hunting for coons, looping around and around until the prey is targeted

Perfect perfection becomes flawed, severely

Counterfeit departure from mortality or the latter of fight of flight

Neither a noble withdrawal

But then there's honesty: expose your belly and hope they don't scratch deeply enough to be fatal

My fantasy world will understand

Claire McConnell 

~!~

You were my flower
 Enzo Mobilio

You would know how to strike my soul to bloom

I could count on drinking the sweet nectar of your essence.

You inspired me to grow to new heights and to break through

The soils of false expectations

You raised my beliefs in humanity, taught me to recognize the beauty.

You were my water that sustained my thirst for life.

You were my rose that never dried, you were the lilac who’s sweet

Fragrance never deafened

You were the only colour amidst a crater of  emptiness.

Your voice was so passionate so soft and so majestic.

You were the only one to read the lamentations of my heart.

I have no pictures of you, except this one of a most precious flower

In every way this reminds me of you. 

Your pedals of innocence

Your stem that brought stability to my existence.  

You were and always will be the only flower in my garden of hope.

Until you bloom again.

~!~

Alien
Jagermistr  

I saw an alien once, he was green and on T.V.

He fit every stereotype that preceded him.

I was sad for the alien because it was cold outside.

He looked happy, but I knew under that green skin

he couldn't take it any more.

~!~

I'VE LOOKED, FELT AND SAW I'M AFRAID
GERALD HARRIS

I'VE LOOKED INTO THE EYES

OF THE USED AND ABUSED

SAW LOVE IN A LITTLE GIRLS EYES

I'VE BEEN IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

AS IT SWIRLED ALL AROUND ME

FELT THE POWER OF GOD

ABOUT TO SET ME FREE

SAW LOVE DISGUISED AS A MAN

NAILED TO A TREE BLEEDING ON ME

STOOD AT THE BOTTOM OF A MOUNTAIN

FELT THE WAVES AT THE EDGE OF THE SEA

BOTH EXPERIENCES SPOKE TO ME

FELT THE LOVE OF GOD

AND HEARD HIS ANGER

SOMEWHERE IN-BETWEEN

THERE'S A DANGER

MAN IS THE ONLY CREATION I KNOW

AFRAID TO OVEREXPOSE

HIDES INSIDE HIS CLOTHES

~!~

SOULS MATE
 Matt Hernandez       

the things i see, you would not understand

the way i feel, you've never felt

when my mind has gone, you are there

not in real life, not in fair

my body has waved, soul has rippled

my lips brought a tide, that nearly crippled

my speech may die, my flesh has stilled

emotions are filling, they may even spill

i cry inside, my feet burnt

going through hell, beginning to hurt

take me through heaven, if it exists

take me where, you most likely live

being with you, is my biggest high

often feel, i can touch the sky

though there is nothing, between me and you

as soon as souls mate, together we'll be soon

~!~

MY DARLING YOU -
written by Fabiana Bottaro on the 24th of Aug. 2001

This song makes me emotionally sick every time I listen to it now

Its your favourite and it use to be mine too

I can’t listen to it any more without feeling nervous or sick in the stomach

Yet I keep playing it just so for that spilt moment I can remember the unforgettable times we shared together,

I get in trouble coz I’m never fully focused

That’s coz I’m focused on where you are and where I’d like to be, right there living with you in sight just like that week that I was lucky enough to share with you.

I really would love it if I were able to come up to your house and stay there for your birthday

I’d love it even more if you want me there

How would I know that though if its not ok for you to tell me how you feel any more simply because we left it as friends.

I can still remember all the photos you’re mum so proudly has up all over her house

I can still remember them clearly and every time I’d look at them I could feel the butterflies beating hard in my stomach

I love your big brown eyes that look down on me

I love that look you give me

And that smile that is like no other

If I knew that we’d end up together in the end then I’d wait for you

I would

Even if it would seem like a lifetime

I’ll always love you no matter what anyone thinks and no matter how far from each other we are.

If you feel the same and I’m hoping that you do then please just come back to me... I need you

Why sit it out when we have the chance of being together

The chance being that we both like each other

Love you.

~!~

Full Circle
  chelle

Lost and adrift in a sea of despair,

The spin of a life gone astray

I reach for you, and find only air.

I live my life day by day.

The day you left you took my soul

My heart, my breath, my dreams.

You left me here out of control.

Falling apart at the seams.

I know that the love we knew

Though tested by time and pain

Will lift us up and see us through

The thunder and the rain.

I hold a hope deep inside

Close within my heart

That time will bring us full circle

And once again we shall start.

~!~

LIVING THE STREETS
  BY STEPHEN SEATON

would you help me

if you gazed upon me

haggard and tired

all the energy

to go on expired

needing any kindness

you could send my way

will you help me

just this once

i know that

it is not something

you normally do

but just this once

to make me feel better

for just a moment

or two

~!~

 -ANDREA-

My feelings for you                                                           

Are clear and true

The feelings I have

Are only for you

I wish that somehow

I wish it was now

I wish it were true

Just me and you

I hope that someday

I hope I can say

All my love for you

Is here to stay

I wish that I may

I want that someday

You'll come my way

And be here to stay

Sometimes I hope

And sometimes I pray

Sometimes I dream

Of you all day

If only you could

If only you would

Be with me

As only it should

I wish that I may

I wish that you might

One day be here

With me tonight

Sharky 8/27/01

~!~

GOD'S WONDER
Beth Falkenberg  

  The sun is like an orange ball

strait up in the sky,

  It makes some people marvel

even wonder why?

  Why is that sun up there

each and every morning?

  And what makes it stay up there

even when we're working?

  God is the power that makes

the world go 'round.

  And we all should be thankful

for the love we've found.

~!~

"hard day"
 JT 8/29/01

I am hungry but I cant eat

I am sad but I cant weep

I am tired but I cant sleep

I try to write nice but this desk is cheap

I try to pose but im not cool

I try to learn but im a fool

And I blanch under the rules

Because I'm in school!

~!~

"Paths"
 Jeff T. 

Our paths go ever and anon

and we travel ever on

never seeing

never knowing

where in this world we might be going

Lonely travelers on broken paths

tell a joke and they will laugh

tell a story and they will listen

this my friend is the travelers mission.

~!~

A FATHER'S HARVEST
Donald R. Loop

There is a pain that I feel ,

and it's stabbingly real.

Could it be that I, a man of no means,  

have circum to the fate of those who scheme?

I have seen beauty and wisdom in all I've adorn,

now the mirror reflects back a brutal image of scorn.

I have black orchids growing in the garden of my soul,

and with self pity to feed them they bring me such woe.

It is reality I fear, and the flowers will grow ,

as my tears provide rain and I reap what I sow.

~!~

The Disaster

The disaster is you, child.

Disappointment, selfish motives,

All connected because the lack of compassion covered

Over you soul, child.

And you attitude is foul

Laid upon my shoulders so I have to carry your

Weight and your faults and your mistakes.

The disaster is it, child.

The silly ways your heart skips a beat when sin

Raps upon your door.

But the child I see is losing control.

And my failure is because I have let you.

Selfishly I have nagged to change you, to make you perfect,

Better than me.

The disaster is me, child.

Continuously I fight to keep you close,

Each second making the space between us almost

Impossible to leap over.

Erin Michel

~!~

A world that dies

A World that cries

A world that lives

A world that gives

A world that wiles

A world that smiles

are but mist in the eyes

of the newborn child.

Marcus Stott

~!~

THE VELVET CALM

Deep in the woods,

Where the wind seldom blows,

And the shadows make their home,

A sound unheard til now,

Breaks the velvet calm.

The sound is the cry of life new-born,

Of hopes to be fulfilled,

A cry of joy and anguish, Strongly intertwined.

It's life and death,

Dream and nightmare,

Conscience..... And temptation.

It's man, awakening at Dawn=s creation,

And his death at the eve of Night,

A blink of brilliant, emotional noise

In a dark and muted world.

Then, silence returns to the shadow's realm,

And the wind drifts back to sleep,

Man is gone and walks no more,

To disturb the velvet calm.

C.F.Burright

~!~

Charlotte at Home
 Sarah Elzabeth Mason  

we had heard of Death - yes

  and could not be a stranger - he

was visitor here before

 /but he was not of us/

this time his visit was not so anticipated or dreaded

he did not first send his calling card

  as he so often has of late

(and i fancy he has serious intentions of courting even me)

i look on him from the window - accustomed now

     i think it should not be hard

     to go into the household of my kinsmen

no-do not send him away

we must always be at home to him

he will not be kept waiting

and his slow glances and pale flowers

    of regret made of hasty ire expelled

cannot comfort me in Death's silent embrace

~!~

"Queen lotus eternal touch, soul rains"
 Jehanghir Akbar

Her Love

Her

Love Her

reminded of the shine in time,

gone is the twain autumn pain,

Her love

Her

Love her

want you to see her

in this world i felt the dead writers touch

as the mountains hold this earth

as my blood turns the color of the sea

Maryam's symphonies

Even though heavenly

I must be dust

I must

Love her

her

unto the highest sunset of the 7th

i love her

or

i wish her

or

for as i speak into mirrors of night

its within me

but like the angel of death

you feel it too

suddenly

surly

as the last hours rose we see

again

now dying

the wind howls good bye

her love

her

love her

~!~

Not Your Time

Finally I climbed down off my steed

Removed my black armor, laid down my shield and sword

Opened my heart, true love had found a home

As much love a I could share, she returned and more

I found a match for my soul, life for my love

No more would my heart be desolate and roam

Then like a lightening flash, it was over

She reached deep inside me and ripped her love away

A dark void of emptiness remained, sorrows filled

From so much hurt and pain anger crept in

Oh GOD why did I drop my defenses

In my down trodden soul how can I love her still

Peering directly into Medusa's eyes

At the cost of leading a double life, I pressed on

Truly believing this was real, this time it would last

Now the cold has snuffed the brilliant flame

I am turned to stone

She is transformed, an apparition, dead, floating in my past

Such a fool am I, believing love could be unconditional

Again I am alone, a damn loser

Wretched in my soul

Brought to my knees, her dagger in my heart

I am overcome by bitterness

The death of love has slaughtered me, eaten me whole

I pull my armor from the dust

Cleaned it an oiled it to a black sheen

I sharpen my sword, tighten my shield

Lord help me keep my guard up and recognize these demons

These female beast whose lust masquerade as love

These creatures whose thirst for self gratification never yields

May I forever love only THEE Lord and my two sons

Let me teach them how evil hides in three words

How maidens, so beautiful are equally cruel and icy inside

I shall tell them not to search, rather let GOD provide

Listen and HE will say when to make their hearts ready for love

HE will lower their shield and blade and send the love of their life

For this old warrior that opportunity is dead and long gone

Again standing upright, I have forced my tears to dry up

This attempt at love never was, I erase it from my mind

I shall burn all memories of my loveless mistakes

See affection and passion as only vipers slithering a top of Medusa's head

Awake no more true love, this is not your world, this is not your time 

Sargent 8/01

~!~

TRILOGY OF THE POST-MODERN BUREAUCRACY

Editing

Edit here, edit there,

Edit the edited, until --

Malaprop utters her correct word,

Baudelaire loses his splendid verse.

Ruling

Rule this, rule that,

Rule the ruled, until --

Don Quixote builds his delicate windmill,

Colette finds her non-fictional character.

Counting

Count in, count out,

Count the counted, until --    

O’hara awakens from her masochism,

Steinbeck weighs his grapes of joy.       

Brian B. Lin

~!~

READING BETWEEN THE LINES
   By Bonnie LaFleur

In a different time

        Or a different place

WOULD WE BE LOVERS?

I try not to love you

        Though not by choice

I KNOW IT CAN’T BE

I notice every tilt of your head        

I drown in your eyes when they turn my way

WHILE I AM AWAKE BUT

Even having never felt you against me

I know every inch of you        

MY SLEEP IS FULL OF YOU

I run my hands over your soft skin

While breathing the scent of you

ALONE AT NIGHT

I feel your soul touch mine

        Wondering if it is fantasy

 I THINK OF YOU

Will my heart at last rest?

        These useless dreams of passion

AND THOUGH THE SADNESS OF IT FOLLOWS ME

Oh, if the time were not now

        Would I know your lips against mine?

IN THE MOST PLEASANT OF DREAMS, ONLY THERE IT CAN BE TRUE

~!~

Tire tracks of love

Screech away

I topple up the dusty path

In a drug induced

          haze

I rap on my own front door

Forgetting it's mine

Illness responded

Guilt bolted inside

          everywhere

Angels whisper

To me and my reflection

Gently beckoning us away from this world

All I feel   All i taste

          is worry

Mom drowning in tears, her droplets

scaled the rough skin of her cheek

Obviously transparent now

Me. I ruined everything. Including

          My mom.

To look at her suffering, makes me feel the same

How could i not even bother??

Too late now

God already called her

          To her new home

I'm stuck here with nothing but guilt

All alone

She'll be treated better there

Better than she ever was here

         This cold place

Me? I'll fly downward

Instead of divinely floating high

My influencing love will go with me

Racing Faster

         Too Bad

It's him that should serve both our time.

Jaime Wood

~!~

MY LAST GOOD-BYE
     I wrote this poem in memory of my mother who died of breast cancer in 1981.
 Anna

 I sit alone thinking of you, sometimes I don't know what to do. It’s been many years since you've passed away, but for me if seems like only yesterday. I look at your picture and I still cry, I don't understand why you had to die. When I think of all you've missed in my life-how you won't be there when I become somebody's wife-I get an awful pain in my heart, it really tears me apart. When things go wrong-making me sad and blue-I just want to run to you. Then I remember that you're no longer here and I can't help but shed a tear. Even though you're gone and I miss you so much, I will always love you a bunch. I will never forget you, your memory will always be in my heart. It’s just so sad that we have to be apart. Even though I feel angry and hurt because you had to die, I will always love you and this will be my last good-bye to you.

~!~

Winding Roads
 Dreamer13  

I run and I run,

but still there’s on end.

My i'm so tired my friend.

I wish I could sit on a tree or a log,

but all I see around me is a hollow bog.

When I get to home again,

I'll sit down and never wander off again.

~!~

Indoors by lamplight, cold and insular

They grow old gratefully

Hoarding a wealth of grudges.

(Blind rats in wineless cellars

Keep their secrets.)

They will judge you before

Looking at you,

Cadaverous old sticks

Stroking the grain of prejudice.

Music is anathema,

Is blackened dusty books

In airless attics.

They do not despair of the world,

Being unaware of it, except as

Monochrome newsreels with the sound turned down.

A death's head protects

Their uninvadeable islands.

They do not

Ride the backs of porpoises by moonlight

Or dive at dawn to seek the undreamed

Richness of the deep,

The mysteries of mermaids

Or the transformations of drowned sailors.

COLIN MARSHALL