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.

          

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MIRROR
Michal Renee Trader

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I'm withdrawn, I'm all alone.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.

'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

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YOUR VOICE
Cindy Jane Creighton

 

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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

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

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!

   

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MOTHER’S LOVE

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...